honestly, i am not even considering any detail stuff right now. i want to learn and understand track layout first so all i am going to get is a single train and track for a while, i want to figure out track switchers and that stuff first

im thinking maybe i can clear some room in the basement, and do some sort of plywood sheet with sawhorese table or similar. im just debating what set i should start with, not sure i want to drop big bucks on a dcc set i like the train in the golden spike set. it will just be simple and fun, no big scenery stuff. just track and trains, maybe a nice yard to put them in

some of you have probably read my thread about the thoroughbred trainset i got for the friend in the hospital.
well now i want a set!!!!
i was wandering around the hobby shop today and i love the looks of the union pacific trains, i would def need a set to start as i do not own any trains right now.
what would be my best route to go for an easy set that will not always be out, i dont really have room for a permanent setup so it would be put away after use untill i can figure out something better. i am brand new to this hobby, but i have tinkered in hobby grade rc cars for a while so i know about maintenance and detail stuff

went back to the hobby shop today, bit the bullet and got another set, the same one actually.  brought it to the hospital and set up the old one to see what was wrong, it looks like the box is fried they run extremely slow and often need a push start, so i swapped the box and tried both of the original trains (one at a time and slow) they both semed to run fine. so now he has 2 full setups and 3 locomotives but only 1 working control box. atleast this way if something else goes there are extras and he has twice at much track now. it seemed logical, instead of $30+ for a box alone i got the whole set for $60

could the control box be damaged by this? or just the trains and track.
what should i use to clean the tracks, i know one of the trains had some trouble running with cars attached to it and spun the wheels on the track, it probably polished them a bit

he is 5 but only runs it under his dad's supervision, he is maticulous about setting the train cars on the track properly and coupling them together, i know that he did run both locos together on the track at high speeds for a while tho. im thinking that may burn out the trains. if the control box still works i may try to get a different loco and see if that does the trick

turns out the set is toast, they tried to run it today, plugged it all in set it all up like usual and nothing worked, i will have to see if it was the train or the control box that went. i think tomorrow i will be taking it back to the hobby shop to see if i can exchange it. this is killing me, this poor kid deserves a toy to play with. 

just talked with his mom, for now we are gonna just do one train. we will get a nice track expansion set and maybe another simple oval layout to run a second train totally separate later on down the road. that should solve the problem.
thanks for all of the help!

ok, so what i got out of this is, i can not by any means run 2 trains on the current track and power setup i have.
i am not going to go dcc because of cost.
so im better off just running 1 single train and spending money on track to make it more fun than adding a second train.
there doesnt seem to be any way to add more juice to the current track to run 2 trains on the same line.
am i atleast on the right track with this?

newbie,got myself into quite a pickle.
a few days ago i bought a bachmann thoroughbred set for a friends son who is in the hospital, he absolutly loves it but there seems to be an issue..... i got him another locomotive in the style he likes (cheap one made by model power)
they both work but now he wants to run them both on the same track at the same time, ( the small 48x36 oval that came with the set) they are obviously not equally matched locomotives as they run at different speeds, i got an email from his dad today saying that now they dont want to run properly in reverse and it is beginning to smell when he runs both trains.
im assuming that having 2 trains is overloading the track, is there any way to fix this issue, any bigger controller or better power supply? or does he just have to run 1 train at a time?
this stinks i just wanted to make the kid happy and not spend a fortune but now i think i wasted my money on something i wont be able to expand without a large investment.

PLEASE HELP!!!!