[vinnyfl]

Hello all and thank you for inviting me into your community. I have been a reader for a few months now and you guys seem to be very welcoming and knowledgeable. I am trying to soak up as much information as I can.

Anyway, to my question.
I have a bunch of old Lionel 'O-gauge' trains passed down from family. Some work some do not. Most are 50's,60's era. I am setting up a 6'x12' bench in my A/C'd garage and would like to set up a layout with all new track and electronics. With that said I would like to use it to test and get some of my old trains up and running as well as purchase some newer sets. I am not sure of the theme of my layout yet but for now I would like to try to be able to run 2-3 trains at one time (if possible). I want to do a top notch job and only do it one time.

So my questions are:
Can anyone suggest a layout for a 6'x12' area?
and
What tracks (brand and size) and what electronics would you purchase to do it right the first time?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Big Ed]

Hello all and thank you for inviting me into your community. I have been a reader for a few months now and you guys seem to be very welcoming and knowledgeable. I am trying to soak up as much information as I can.

Anyway, to my question.
I have a bunch of old Lionel 'O-gauge' trains passed down from family. Some work some do not. Most are 50's,60's era. I am setting up a 6'x12' bench in my A/C'd garage and would like to set up a layout with all new track and electronics. With that said I would like to use it to test and get some of my old trains up and running as well as purchase some newer sets. I am not sure of the theme of my layout yet but for now I would like to try to be able to run 2-3 trains at one time (if possible). I want to do a top notch job and only do it one time.

So my questions are:
Can anyone suggest a layout for a 6'x12' area?
and
What tracks (brand and size) and what electronics would you purchase to do it right the first time?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Are you following this?
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=4183

Electronics? how big is your pocketbook?


AC garage! I am jealous!:thumbsup:

 

[Reckers]

Vinny, welcome to the forum! My first suggestion is to echo what Ed says: follow that thread to get yourself thinking about what kind of track you want. Second suggestion is to invest about $60 in the Anyrail software. It's a very user-friendly program and you download it to your pc. It will let you arrange layouts within the boundaries of your available space: a whole lot easier than juggling pieces of track. It's also a program you can set for multiple brands of track, to try-before-you-buy on any track brands you want to compare. Last of all...keep coming back to the forum and talking about what you want to do!

 

[Big Ed]

Or,

http://www.thortrains.net/index.html


http://www.thortrains.net/marx/kdlay0a.html

 

[Reckers]

Don't get thor about it, Ed....

 

[Wabashbud]

My suggestion is to just keep reading these forums. You'll get more than enough info about track and electronics. Make sure and get at least a loop started and begin running a train, then you'll begin to see what the posts are talking about.

 

[T-Man]

Welcome to MTF!
For beginners I always refer them to read the Thor pages.
HE has the 027 basic manual.
Also he has layouts. Pages of them.
HE shows one that is simple and then you just add on. One was 25 by 25. He shows it in steps.
I always like the table concept. Make a loop and go from there. No thing permanent, just to try out.
I am sure you will come up with a plan.
The more info you have the easier it will be.
Make sure to tell us when you get an idea. Then, you just get started!

 

[vinnyfl]

Thanks for all of the advice. The Thor pages are definitely very helpful. I was just wondering what some of you guys would do for a setup to run old and new O-stuff.

Thanks!

 

[T-Man]

I don't have a plan. I mix and match. I have always liked a period table with accessories. Setting up a prewar table with green switches etc would be neat. I have seen a postwar table. No LEDs, but ran with a lot of power. You can even have an older postwar table, the 40's. A lot of options exists.