Anyone into model trains and what not? I've always wanted to build model railroad of some type. I got a few bids in on ebay for a used HO set. Hopefully I'll get it.
I have always wanted to build one but I have never had the room. The only problem is that IF I did ever do this I would probably end up getting the Thomas trains to run on it, probably starting with Henry and Bill & Ben... They have them all set up in a shop near me, I sometimes go and look when I have little Grim with me. My friends grandfather used to have a huge model railway set up in his loft(attic) and I found I could watch it for hours. At the moment all I have is baby Grims Brio sets which we do have quite a lot of the Thomas characters for.
Honestly I wouldn't mind that so much. It would still be fun. Now I've read that the O size is preferred in Europe and the HO is preferred in the US. You might have some room for an HO size railroad.
That's a very American looking loco there, I am not a big fan of the state side trains to be honest. I prefer the old steam trains like those that used to run on the LNER, GWR etc. Pretty interested in old railways and how they came about, not a professional train nerd in any respect, but I know a thing or two about people like George Stephenson and Richard Trevithick. At the moment we have nowhere whatsoever that I could even think of setting something up and this isn't really the sort of thing I could put up and take down when I needed to so it may have to wait until my daughter grows up and moves out. Maybe only another 16-20 years!
It's the only size comparison picture I could find. I'm not sure what theme/era I would go with. Steam engines are the most interesting but I like a lot of the older diesels too. When I was a little kid the Union Pacific trains used to come through my town. They looked like this. Back then they still had cabooses and if you were lucky the guy in the caboose would wave at you.
Well it's more than that. It's modeling. You have to design the layout and build towns and scenery. I guess it's what nerds did before there were video games.
I think I have only ever been on one train pulled by a diesel and that was about 8 years ago when I went up north for a festival. In the south east we run on the very out dated 3rd rail system but that also means we have been using electric trains for a long time so it is what I grew up seeing. We occasionally get a restored steam train passing through our station and under the bridge (which looks good if you are stood on it), this always draws in the crowds but for the most part I find current trains pretty boring. Its probably part of the reason I became interested in the older ones.
There are quite a few in the UK too where they have restored older trains but I am waiting until little Grim is a little older before we go. She likes playing with trains now but getting her to go look at them might not hold her interest for very long. That bottom picture looks amazing! Even your steam engines are completely different to ours but I believe that comes from them having to cover massive distances that just don't exist over here.
My first engine. I got a brand new set with track and cars for $34 off ebay. The EMD GP40 built by General Motors between November 1965 and December 1971. 16-cylinder engine which generates 3,000 horsepower (2.2 MW).
Decided to move forward with my train plans. I built this 4x8 table last week. I'm not much of a carpenter but I think it turned out really well. The whole thing is made with plywood and is really lite. Since I'll being doing a DCC system I had to get a couple of new engines. My parents are giving me these for Christmas. Bachman Alco S4 Athearn GP40x
You do it slowly. No need to rush. Lately I've had the urge to build something real with my hands and this fits the bill. My friend is the same way. He's starting to build some stained glass sculptures.
The track is about 95% done. I'll probably start on some of the electrical next. Electrical work is not my strength. I've already blown several lights in my train by volting them for LED when they were incandescent. I have to run power, motors, and digital controllers to 9 switches and I expect that to take another month or two. After that I'll start on the mountains and terrain.