Thangs not to do.

[William C Hill]

I  am new to ho and deed a book of things not to do as I gen in to this hobby.   
Thanks, Bill

[Tylerf]

Im not sure there is one but theres hundreds of books on what TO do.

[CNE Runner]

Hey Bill: mistakes are the grease that keeps the economy going! It would take a ream of paper to list all the screw-ups I have done in model railroading. Don't be afraid to try...time and money can fix just about anything. Your best source of information is this, and the Model Railroader, forums. You have some incredibly knowledgable and talented people at your fingertips (No...I'm not one of them). If you are not a member of both...join now. You can learn a lot by just lurking (not contributing) on the website.

I suggest you start off simply - and then build up the complexity as your skill level increases. DCC makes the game a whole lot easier than it used to be. If you are starting out, go directly past DC. Take your time with your trackwork and electrical connections...this will pay dividends later. Want to try weathering a car? Buy a cheapy and work at it...if you don't like what you see you aren't out all that much. I started out with plastic building kits and gradually started on craftsman laser kits. The truth of the matter is that I prefer the craftsman kits to the plastic offerings. 'Want to jump into craftsman kits?. Buy a simple, tab-and-slot, kit in the $12 to $15 range and have at it! Trust me, you will be amazed at the results (it would help to have at least one of Scott Mason's DVDs for some great tips).

I hope we have inspired you to stretch your horizons.

Ray

[Joe Satnik]

Dear Bill,

Not to do: Forget that it's gonna take up some space.

To do:  Plan where it is going to go, how you're going get around it, etc. 

To do:  Realize that there are options.  "Island" (eg, plywood sheet), "along the wall", "walk in", etc. Check to see if your local library or library system has any layout books to check out. 

John Armstrong has written many good track planning books.

Not to do:  Start with a 4' x 8' sheet. 

To do:  Start with a 5' width.  If you think you have room for only 4' wide, put casters on your 5' wide and pull it out from the wall when you need to access the wall side. 

The extra foot of width will give you room to expand from a 4x8 plan. 

It will also allow you to use longer (up to 28") radius curves for longer locos and cars. 

Ping-Pong tables are 5' x 9'.  Used ones are cheap in the 'thrifties' classifieds.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik     

[Yampa Bob]

Hi Bill
There are several things to consider before you start designing a layout.

1.  The era you want to model, vintage or early steam, transition period or modern diesel.
2.   Type of train, passenger, freight, or mix. For a small layout smaller freight cars in the 40 to 50 foot range look good.
3.   Railroad name and area.  You might want to model what you are the most familiar with, such as the railroad in your locale.  A local freight yard will give you lots of ideas for turnouts, ladders and yards, sidings, runarounds, etc

4. (and most important). You need to develop an operating plan. Do not build a layout just because it looks good, then figure out how to operate on it.  Do you want point-to-point, lots of switching action with storage yards, or continuous running with multiple tracks?

My wife and I spent over a year studying all the tracks and yards in our area, taking pictures of locomotives and cars, including reporting marks, and researching local newspaper archives about local railroad history.  Then we began buying locomotives and rolling stock and worked up our operating plan.  Finally we built the layout and laid track to fit the operating plan and equipment.   

Bottom line, no two layouts are the same, the layout has to fit you and your operating plan.

[Tylerf]

My first layout was a 4 by 8 sitting on a ping ping table and it was a good height when i was young. As i got tired of the small track plan i added a 2 by 8 foot  piece on the back then later added another  1 by 8 foot yard on another side turning it into a decent sized layout. But after some time, a small lyout can get boring especially when it was designed when i was 7. So i spent a month planning a new layout based on the cprails rogers pass. The new plan makes so much better use of the space and im very happy with it. So a but reason i did this was the height. As i got taller the 3 foot or so ping pong table got very short and i enjoy near chest level operating not near leg level so my new layout was built on 5 foot tall saw horse type legs being the layout up to about 5 and a half feet. So you have too decide which height suits you best and think a head on what you might want someday. My biggest thing i would change would be getting rid of all my 19 inch radius curves an making them longer so i can run my longer cars and passenger cars.
Tyler

[Terry Toenges]

Just a comment on the height of the layout -
It depends on where you have your layout. Will it be in it's own room or a bedroom or living room?
Do you want to stand up to operate it or sit on a stool or sit down in a chair.
Do want it for just the operation part of it or do you like to sit and watch them run?
Will other kids being viewing the layout?
I ask these questions because I have my layout in my living room so I can enjoy it all the time.
I started out with 4' high for the lowest level. When my grandkids came over, they could barely see the whole layout and as I sat on the couch or a chair to watch the trains run, I couldn't see very much of the layout.
I whacked off the legs and now, the lowest track level is 27" and the highest is 38".
I can relax on the couch and see all the trains running and the grandkids (and anyone else) can see the whole thing instead of just being able to see the track at eye level.