Small miniatures are the neatest, huh? You won’t hear an argument from me.  There is nothing so neat as little tiny trains. Something about the uncanny likeness of miniatures really lures us in.  Another interesting thing about these little locomotives is that they are so miniscule you can practically fit them anywhere.  Let’s think a little bit about how we could use them in different spaces:

2’ x 4’ N model railroad layout:

This is the smallest layout that we can use for these little trains.  We could set it up on the coffee table if this is all the space we’re going to use.  If we do this layout though, we are really limited to just having the trains go around in a circle. The only other choices would be a figure 8 or concentric circles.

Pre-fab n scale scenic highlights:

N-scale is so small it is hard to work with. Craftwork is not really feasible for these little guys but don’t worry, several companies offer lines of pre-fab accessories.  A good way of adding interest to your n-model railroad layout is to purchase some of these and add them to your layout. Atlas is a good first stop for these accessories.

Square setup:

A square 3’ x 3’ hobby space will really open up fun possibilities.  I’ve seen some pretty interesting designs for a space of this size and larger. Try a peak at the center of your setup with your train circling around it.  This makes for a really captivating scene in a really tight space.  I wouldn’t advise trying it in a space any smaller than this however.  The attempts I’ve seen to do this just don’t really work.

Add systematically to your track area:

A good way of constructing your design is to add incrementally to it.  You could begin with a simple 2’ x 4’ design and then add to it so that it is a 2’ by 8’ long island type configuration and then turn it into an “L” shape, etc., etc..  You might extend a river so that it is at the center and then have your track criss-cross it as it moves down the table. Use your imagination to come up with captivating detail.  Little ruins or perhaps a delapadated castle by the side of a tributary can really make for a varied and captivating scenic experience.

N scale gives you the most variations for the least amount of space. Challenge yourself to let your imagination overcome the physical limitations of your space.  If you find a particular landscape fascinating, build it.  Others are likely to find it captivating as well.

Here is more information on N Scale Model Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.

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I know, as model train hobbyists we are much more comfortable in our basements with our pliers than in front of a glowing computer screen. Computers must be separated from the universe of model training.  Our dads didn’t have internet connections and we had great model trains without them. Stop acting like such a technophobe!  You’ve already gotten lots of helpful information about model training on the information superhighway. You know it’s one of the best ways to track down that classic model train you remember from your youth. I’ve turned up some outstanding model train software.  Here are some of my premium finds:

Model Train Software to help plan your layout:  

One of the great products you can track down on the internet is the layout visualization and planning software. lots of programs allow you to consider the spatial limitations of your play area and use them to think through your track design ahead of time.  Some of the software also help you by offering default base tracks as spring boards that can then be built on to fit your individual space. The space age graphics of the layout planning software even help you to view your prospective model in life-like eye popping graphics!  It’s a pretty indispensible tool, especially if you were born without the gene for spatial imagination like me.

Model Train Software to help detail your model train and its landscape:  

Another really good bit of software is one of these programs that allow you to print out and sometimes to even individualize the details for your trains and landscape.  So if you want to make one of the buildings in your little town seem as if it made out of red bricks, you just print out a sheet of red bricks and then paste it onto the building to create the façade that you are looking for. To create the lettering in the font and size that you fits your train’s specific type and design, you just select the style you want, print it, and decal it on your locomotive.  The software allows you to change the sizes and to customize the styles so that they are unique to your needs. Pre-fab decals will go the way of the dodo.  It opens up far more options for you to individualize your model train empire.

Model Train Software will soon be able to help you with signaling:  

One of the most intriguing developing stories in the model train field is the current effort to create a Java based computer controlled signaling system.  Such a system would allow hobbyists to control their complex multi-train tracks and accessories from Windows or other common platforms on their computer.  This would take the mystery out of signaling for those that have never been able to fully grasp the more technical aspects of this part of model training. Wow.  You could just control your entire model train layout right from the comfort of your laptop.  No more fussing with the signaling box. I certainly know it would help me.

I can see that you finally see a couple of helpful features in your PC. I am willing to bet these won’t be the last computer innovations we’ll want to know about. There is no getting around the important effects that computer technology have had in the world| of real trains.

Here is more information on Model Railway Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.

Technorati Tags: model railway trains, model train computer software, model train Java programs, model train programs, model train signalling software, model train software, signalling software, signalling software for model trains

Is this as much space as you as you’ve got for your model railroad? It would be really disruptive anywhere else?  I dig you. Nothing to worry about. You can do quite a bit even with just a 4’ x 8’ space. You wouldn’t want to go any smaller for HO.  HO?  Golly, you haven’t heard about HO?  HO is where it’s at these days.  HO trains are one 87^th the size of the real world trains they are modeled after. Want my advice on your track plan?

Try a simple loop format to begin with:  It doesn’t get simpler than this. Around and around it goes like water in a whirlpool.  This works great for the limitations of a 4’ x 8’ space. Don’t let the interior space stay unused. This setup begs for a little model metropolis at the center. Add small details like hills to the central space to spice this basic track plan up.

Just like in ice skating, a figure eight can be simple yet elegant: Don’t underestimate the figure eight. The symbol for infinity is a nice little plan. The figure 8 divides the space into four distinct areas where you can still add decorative detail to the landscape by setting up little buildings and other landscape features.

Concentric tracks also work well:  A loop within a loop works better than you might think at first. You could perhaps have two trains, one on the interior and one on the outside track. Although a train yard usually brings this setup together, you might try a period specific town at its center instead.

Two train tracks:  Another way of adding interest to this set-up is to have two separate trains, one on the interior and one on the exterior of the track   Now it’s a contest to see which little train will draw the most interest. Don’t bother with extra decoration, there’s a war on.

Using N Scale trains increases your track possibilities greatly:  To get more bang for your buck in terms of space, use n-scale trains.  These miniature locomotives are just one 160^th the size of real trains. With these guys you will no longer be trapped into the three types of formats I have mentioned. You can add interest to your layout and variation to your landscape. Try a little city at one pole and a lush forrest on the other. But, of course, n-scale is virtually microscopic to the point of eye strain.

Whatever you choose to do with your 4’ x 8’ space, don’t let the area definitions limit your imagination. Space limitations are the perennial problem in model training but the puzzle solving aspect of this can be quite enjoyable.  Some of the most captivating model train setups I have seen were in spaces where you would never have thought to make a model train layout in the first place.

Here is more information on Model Train Information. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.  

Technorati Tags: 4' x 8' model railroad, model train information, model train layouts, model trains

Just getting started huh?  Well, it’s probably a wonderful suggestion to start fundamental to get going.  It’s wonderful to conceive of the first fundamental track design as one of three possible seeds that you are going to develop into a huge more tangled layout.  Choosing one of them gives you a good starting point from which to expand your toy train empire. So which kernel to choose? Here are some tips:

Start by choosing the area your toy locomotive will reside in:

Recall that the more area you have the more options you give yourself for expanding your empire.  Be aware there are some simple location requirements under which you really won’t be able to build any track at all.  Your tracks need their elbow room for turns.  Too sharp a turn and you will have constant derailments, so don’t attempt to do too much in too little of a location.

What is the minimum location?  

Alright, well here are the extreme minimum requirements for location.  You can never get too huge but you can definitely get too small.  So here they are: If you have the little guys, N size trains, you will need at least a 2’ x 4’ area.  If you have HO models like one of the many beginner kits made by Bachmann, then you’ll need a 4’ x 8’ space.  If you you’re into those O scale Lionel locomotives, you’ll need an 8’ x 16’ area.  Don’t even bother penning up those G scales inside—they should go out in your back yard with the other wild things.  You’ll only be capable of doing the most simple designs with these minimums.  If you want more than a fundamental oval then the price is more real estate.  You should really think of them as a starting point and not a goal.

What can you do within these fundamental requirements? 

There are 3 basic designs that work in these spaces.   The oval shape is the most common and straight forward setup for most beginning model train enthusiasts.  You leave the inside usused like a donut hole or fill it with a creamy mountain or jelly model city and then just wrap a circuit around the edges.  Think Matterhorn at Disneyland with the Disneyland Monorail circling around it.  The version I saw was fairly successful for what it was trying to do.  The second option is to have a figure 8.  It divides the circuit into four areas, though none really leaves much room to do much.  But if you’re mainly into watching the locomotives go round this is a wonderful track.  Like the pebble dropped in a pond effect?  Then concentric circles is your setup.  Most beginners end up making this into a locomotive yard and then expanding outward from this seed.

Any other suggestions for rookies?  

My giant suggestion would be that you use what are called domino tables.  With these tables you can configure your display space to any shape you can imagine.  Since we often change our minds as we expand our tracks, these tables are a God send.  Wife bothering you about what an eye sore your circuit has become? Just move it.  It’s no huge deal with hobby tables.  So you’ll still be able to park your car in the garage.

Just remember the usual cliché; a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.  Most complications that you dream up never really materialize, while the complications you’re not even thinking of can really cripple a train project. But figuring out a solution to a seemingly untenable complication can be half the fun of model locomotives.  So why are you still here? Get going!   

Here is more information on Model Train Track. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.

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You want to know what’s really at the cutting edge of model train hobby? What’s about to break that has every model trainer tossing and turning with anticipation?  What style of model locomotive do collectors go coo coo for?I could go on and on like this, but let me just let the cat out the bag: it’s s scale model locomotives.  Yeah, that’s right, s gauge? If you’re not that acquainted with scales and gauges then you probably don’t know that this isn’t a standard gauge nowadays. Do you even know about different scales?  Alright, well let me give you the nitty-gritty on these before you start hearing about them in the news:

Two words, “American Flyer”:  

This line of locomotives has entered the hall of fame of toy locomotives.  Nostalgia explains a lot.  American Flyer’s s gauge trains had their hey-day right after World War II when the baby boomers were starting to sprout up.  This was in large part an attempt to challenge Lionel who was the king of the roost through the 50’s. S scale is an “inbetween” scale, way huger than HO but smaller than Lionel’s O.  S scale is one 64^th the size of a real train whereas Lionel’s O scale is one 48^th the size.   These are still pretty substantial trains but not so much so that you would have to have them only outside. These locomotives are a lot of fun to color and weather.

S gauge is not common:  

Since American Flyer pretty much created s scale and then went out of business shortly after, you don’t stumble across it much.  A.C. Gilbert, who ran American Flyer at the time, manufactured this gauge as an attempt to make a line of trains that would keep up with Lionel by producing high quality locomotives that weren’t interchangeable with Lionel locomotives. That means there are not that many vintage s scale American Flyer trains.   Because of the law of supply and demand, American Flyers brief life span has increased the demand for their parts and sets.   The nature of this devotion has just made the trains that much more valuable.

American Flyers are about to enter the market again:  

American Flyer’s arch-enemy Lionel bought them out in the 60’s and is now looking to resurrect both brands by re-introducing the vintage 1950’s toys that are so cherished by collectors.  The fantastic success of these releases has driven Lionel to commit to reproduce the s scale locomotives that avid fans are so in love with.  It might not be long before we have to make room for s gauge as yet another main scale in the model training world.

Now’s the instant to put your chips down if you want to cash in early on this tip.  If you want to say “I told you so” to your model train friends you should jump in now.  Don’t say I didn’t give you a heads up later on. It’s like the coffee house fad of the early 90s.  And you said no one would ever pay more just for some coffee. 

Here is more information on Model Train Scale. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.

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