Posts Tagged ‘model trains’

Is this where you plan to put your model train layout?  That looks pretty good but did you say it floods a bit in here when in Winter.  Yeah that’s the drawback, isn’t it?  People have lots of diverse locations that they place their hobby trains and each has its different benefits and problems.  Let’s think this through a bit:

 

Just throw it on the floor like your laundry in college:  

The lazy solution is to just leave it on the ground.  This preserves the time and trouble of getting or making a hobby table, but it is not very good for tinier locomotives.  Bending over and kneeling down do not make for the best hobbying experiences for adults.  The bird’s eye view of the tinier gauges foregrounds the weaknesses of theses locomotives.  It also addes to the chances of taking unexpected slips when you accidentally step on your trains.  You really need a display hobby locomotive surface for the HO and smaller variety locomotives.  Even O locomotives look better on a train table.

Pre-existing shelves, the fortunate lazy man’s option  

If you’re really fortunate there is a location in your house that is already elevated and large enough that it can play a dual role as display area.  This natural shelf answers the problem of line of sight perhaps and if you are extremely fortunate can find the perfect place for our toy trains.  This is certainly better than putting your locomotives on the carpet for the visual aspect of things.  You might try to fool yourself into believing that you have found the perfect spot but think of the problem aspects of this arrangement.  These spaces tend to be too small for a hobby train layout and they tend not to be configured in the right way.  So, such spots dictate a host of limitations to your toy training.  This is never a good way to grow your model train empire.

Another fortunate possibility is that you happen to have a spare area just lying around somewhere:  

Some hobby trainers just use an old table they had lying around unused.  This helps in that you can carry it to the spot you would like, but the majority of tables that are not specifically built for toy training have other problems.  Not only are many such tables wobbly, but you still have to adjust your train display to fit with the pre-existing measurements of your area rather than the other way around.

A table that screams “I’m cheap but I know the value of hard work crafting”:  

For the make-it-from-scratch crowd, nothing is better than creating and building a display area themselves.  It is incredibly satisfying to design a table that exactly matches the precise requirements of our track plan.  You can also really give your locomotive surface some unique personality in this manner.  This isn’t for everyone.  If you aren’t that into making furniture then you’ll want to avoid trying this.  Just as large of a drawback is the fact that such tables tend to be permanently one size and as your hobby training empire expands you have to go through the trouble of building yet another surface to increase your surface area.  Also, if you are pressed for time, this will really add a substantial amount of time that you have to spend getting ready before you even start your actual model locomotiveing.  I won’t put down homemade tables except to say that if your engineering talents don’t extend beyond model locomotives, trying to build a surface can really be a black hole of time and effort that you may not have much to show for on the other side.

Hobby tables, the option if for those who are willing to shell out the clams:

There are these special kind of hobby table that is just perfect for hobby locomotiveing.  They are called “domino” tables because that can be connected on any side to form any shape, no matter how idiosyncratic the shape.  The tables also can be adjusted to sit at more than one height so that you can customize it to the specifics of the surroundings you’ll be displaying your locomotive setup in.  They let you realize your mental plan as you saw it.  Also, because they are lightweight they can more easily be moved out of the way and since they can easily be changed and added to as you see fit, they can grow with your model training ambitions.  You can also more easily transport your table if you want to show your design around.  For this reason, these areas are really the best decision for toy locomotive displays.

 

With your area decision out of the way you are now free to really embark on your hobby locomotive adventure.  Good lucky and happy hobbying!   

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

Technorati Tags: model train accessories, model train table, model train track, model trains

Model Train Scenery is the most important of designing a train set. Any avid collector will tell you that it is not so much trains that they find interesting so much as the many different kinds of settings in which you can place it. Hobbyists and general enthusiasts agree that the real joy of model train collecting is indeed creating the immersive environment that surrounds it. This highly detailed task allows you to not only observe and recreate the world around you in painstaking detail, but pushes the limits of your imagination as well. While some find it fun to measure and scale down the familiar aspects of their personal environment, others enjoy this pastime because they can relive different eras in history or visit faraway lands that perhaps they have only read about in books.

No matter what your vision is, there are many retailers available, both in your neighborhood and online who can help bring it to life.

One thing that you should consider when you design your model landscape is the overall scope you would like to include. Human eyes cannot really take in more than one scene at any given time, so if you want to include more than one setting, you should be sure to separate them with a nice stretch of track that will allow your brain to identify what is coming.

This means that you will not only need enough pieces to establish your multiple settings, but other minor accessories to fit in between the scenes. This could be trees to follow a long stretch between two rural areas or a small patch of mountainside that connects a small country ranch with a nearby town.

These can be very simple things, like a lake with some deer, or a glen of trees near a modest hillside. If you do this properly, everything will flow together smoothly and you will not be overwhelmed by an overabundance of intrusive detail.

You should also try to include different levels of elevation in your model train scenery, both topographically and urbanely. In your cities, you need buildings of different heights, much like in real life. Along your countryside you should form hills, valleys, and mesas perhaps with hidden groves or orchards.

These different levels help your eye to appreciate the perspective of relative space and the overall scale degree to which you have constructed your model. There are even designers who put smaller buildings behind larger ones to create an illusion of distance. The more realistic it seems, the more you and your friends and family will appreciate your hard work.

Technorati Tags: g scale trains, model railroading, model train, model train scenery, model trains, n gauge trains, o gauge trains

Here’s an aspect of model training we haven’t thought enough about, the surface where we’re setting up our trains. Even with N gauge this can be important. You could simply put these trains on a regular surface, you say. Wait a sec.  Let me try to argue my point. The kind of table you choose your N scale locomotives on can actually be very significant.  Here are some reasons why:

A unbalanced surface can’t handle it:

To begin, you don’t want to choose a surface that is weak and that will lean or that can be easily bumped over. You don’t need your trains to stay upright against a the “Big One” but they shouldn’t fall over when the school bus shakes by outside. One horrible moment and your locomotives could be in fragments tossed about the ground. Imagine the possible cost and the time you just trashed! Don’t open yourself up to this setback.  If you’re practiced with your hardware you could fashion this train table yourself.

Cool Tip: Here’s a cool suggestion. Remember that unused ping-pong table that lays forgotten in the basement? Sure you do, it’s the ping pong table that became your new model train table. Ping pong tables are nice and big so they free lots of options for your design.  Think of how complicated you could make your HO track plan on a table of these measurements.  Even if you have a Lionel O or one of those new S gauge trains, you’ll find that you can really do a lot with a table this big.

Portable tables for travel:

Look to shell out a bit for a strong train table. A quick web search will list a gaggle of leads focused on train tables.

Cool suggestion #2: Here’s a room saver: Lower your table from the ceiling.  Want your car port back for your cars?   Attach your table to the ceiling with a pulley device and your problem is overcome.

Interlocking tables:

The best bet when it comes to tables, though, is domino style tables that can be used in any configuration. These tables usually come in 2’ x 4’ cuts that can be fastened in any direction so that you can make really long pieces by connecting the thin sides or you can make wider tables by connecting the 4’ to 4’ sides.  What these great domino tables let you to do most however is to grow your train layout in any way that you would like.  Unlike other types of tables that force you to change your design to match their dimensions, these tables allow you to control the limits of your layout. The light weight design is ideal for model train lovers.  If you want to take your model train down in the basement, you can just carry the table down to your work area.  If you want to take this over to your brother’s house to show his kids your track, it is light enough to be hauled.  They are so easy to reconfigure that you might actually have difficulty keeping to one track plan.

And these tables can grow with your model training experience letting you expand your surface setup along with your developing toy railroad layout.

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

Technorati Tags: model train table, model trains, n scale model railroad, n scale model railroad lay out, n scale model railroad table, n scale model trains

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.

Technorati Tags: model train layouts, model trains, N Model Railroad Layout, n scale model railroad layouts, n scale model trains, toy 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