Very basic questions

[louder]

Hey everyone. I am very new to model trains and I just have some basic questions if that is ok? I have had a search on the internet but I have to be honest I am not really sure what I am searching for as I still don't know the terms used in model trains!

How do you couple and uncouple trains/carriages?
What do 0-4-0, 2-6-4 and numbers formatted like this mean?
What brands of N gauge track are reliable and give you good options. So far I can only find UniTrack and Peco (I had to google Peco to find the answer to join the forum!)
Can someone point me in the direction of any N-Gauge superstores? I figure I will be be able to learn a lot just be searching through products and working out what they do from there. I mean I had no idea you could motorise points!

I am brand new to the world of model trains and while I have some experience in model making, this is all a bit foreign to me!

Where I am currently at:

I have build the space for my layout which I am now planning. (So I need to pick track!)
I have a DCC controller from Bachman on the way.
I have a train on the way, it is DC but I also have a DCC chip that I am going to install the chip in it.
I've decided on an era but not a theme for my layout.

Sorry to be such a pain, I just find that the information available is either all in technical language which I don't understand yet or focused on HO scale (which I found out is the same as OO)

I am very eager to learn.

[NeMo]

How do you couple and uncouple trains/carriages?

Lots of alternatives, but virtually all UK stock will be supplied with Rapido couplings that are meant to be coupled and uncoupled manually. Alternatives from Dapol and Peco offer semi-automatic coupling.

What do 0-4-0, 2-6-4 and numbers formatted like this mean?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whyte_notation

What brands of N gauge track are reliable and give you good options. So far I can only find UniTrack and Peco (I had to google Peco to find the answer to join the forum!)

All the track sold is reliable, but they offer different advantages. Peco Setrack has a fixed geometry that makes it easy to build ovals, sidings and so on. Kato Unitrack is pre-ballasted and very reliable when it comes to electrics, but it doesn't look as realistic as Peco Streamline, which takes more work to put together but looks nicer.

Can someone point me in the direction of any N-Gauge superstores? I figure I will be be able to learn a lot just be searching through products and working out what they do from there. I mean I had no idea you could motorise points!

There really aren't any "just" N gauge stores out there, but places like Hattons, Rails, Osborns, Kernow, Model Railways Direct -- among others -- have big selections at competitive prices. That said, many of the smaller stores are well worth visiting, online or otherwise. Kent Garden Railways, for example, has a lot more N than its name might suggest!

If you're completely new to the hobby, joining the N Gauge Society is a no-brainer. For £21, you get six issues of an excellent magazine, a handbook containing a couple hundred pages on N gauge modelling aimed very much at beginners and intermediate hobbyists, as well as access to a special store which has their own exclusive products (including some excellent kits aimed at beginners that come with everything you need, including transfers).

Cheers, NeMo

Cheers, NeMo

[Newportnobby]

Very good advice from Nemo there
You have a local model club who recommend you visit at least 3 times before joining so popping along to see them may answer many of your questions...........
http://www.chestermodelrailwayclub.com/index.htm

I put together a basic guide in getting started and it may help you avoid some pitfalls...........
http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=35556.0

Don't be afraid to ask questions on the forum as it will save you time, money and angst I can assure you!

[louder]

Thank you for this information. So is it possible to mix set track and streamline? now I understand what the ST and SL stand for in the product names.

I've noticed in both SCRAM and AnyTrack, not all track pieces listed on Peco's site are on the system, is that normal? I have found some very good 2x4 layouts online which I am going to play around with in AnyTrack.

I have now found the Peco PL-10 motor switches and the little turnout box which look really fun, however obviously they do stick under the baseboard which isn't ideal but that is a solution.

So with the ST/SL track I can cut sections to size to fit my needs?

[Newportnobby]

Set track is code 80 so will mix with code 80 flexitrack/points but I wouldn't recommend mixing code 80 and code 55.

[NeMo]

Thank you for this information. So is it possible to mix set track and streamline? now I understand what the ST and SL stand for in the product names.

Up to a point, yes, you can mix them. Peco Setrack and Peco Streamline both use the same sized rail (called Code 80 rail) though their Streamline 'Finescale' range embeds that rail a bit deeper into the plastic than their standard Streamline range, giving a more authentic appearance. Basically, this means that while all three will connect happily enough, only Code 80 Setrack and Streamline connect without any differences in rail height, whereas Streamline 'Finescale' track will not connect smoothly without some adjustment made for the differences in rail height.

So with the ST/SL track I can cut sections to size to fit my needs?

I don't think there's any point to cutting Setrack. You might as well use it as it is, or combine it with code 80 flexitrack if you want fewer joins between sections of track. Code 80 flexitrack combines well with Setrack points and crossovers.

If you choose to do the whole layout in Streamline, I'd strongly recommend going for 'Finescale' Streamline. Because the rail is embedded deeper in the track, it not only looks better, but it also proves to be more durable and reliable.

Cheers, NeMo

[austinbob]

I use Anyrail and haven't noticed any bits missing from the library. Could be wrong though. Don't forget there are 2 libraries for Peco. Code 55 and code 80.

[louder]

Ah right thank you,

I think the bits I believed to be missing were marked F...which obviously now I know is finescale! Awesome

So one last question for tonight, what is electrofrog and insulfrog, I assume frog is something to do with the track, relating specifically to points, from what I can find its the little bit of track that crosses over. So I would guess one of powered and one isn't. How do I know which I want and where? I am DCC if that changes anything.

I am going to pop to my local model shot tomorrow and speak to the guys there, apparently one of them is in the model train club and is happy to show a few bits and talk me through some products.

I must say, everyone is very helpful and nice. Thank you all so much.

[ntpntpntp]

Insulfrog is plastic at the V, whereas electrofrog is metal.   Metal is better, allowing the loco wheels to maintain electrical contact and run through slowly without stalling.   However electrofrog needs a little more thought when it comes to wiring and considering possibility of short circuits - nothing you can't learn though!

You're doing the right thing going to talk to a guy and hopefully being shown some of these things with an opportunity to discuss and learn.  good luck!

[d-a-n]

If you'll be going down the DCC route, you be best off using electrofrog points.

What era do you want to model?

[NeMo]

So one last question for tonight, what is electrofrog and insulfrog, I assume frog is something to do with the track, relating specifically to points, from what I can find its the little bit of track that crosses over. So I would guess one of powered and one isn't. How do I know which I want and where? I am DCC if that changes anything.

Insulfrog is easier to use, but very short wheelbase locos (such as shunters) may have problems crawling at low speeds across the plastic insulating bit (though if properly laid and kept clean, this problem may be more theoretical than actual).

Electrofrog gets the power to short locos even at very slow speeds, but the price you pay is significantly more complicated wiring otherwise short-circuiting is a problem.

DCC does have specific requirements so far as wiring goes; I'll let others answer that (I use DC for reasons of cost and simplicity).

Cheers, NeMo

PS. Unitrack points let you switch between insulating and electrically live frogs, as you prefer. They also allow you to isolate the siding coming off the point, or not, as you prefer. For this reason, even as a running-in track for new locos, there's a lot to be said for beginners buying some Unitrack and 'playing trains' for a while as they experiment with track design, wiring, DCC, etc.

[Bealman]

G'day from Australia, louder, and welcome to the NGF! 

Lots of good advice above. Have fun!

[Railwaygun]

i s there a local Model Railway club ?- well worth joining

http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/other/clubsheader.php

Go to some shows, and look at layouts / talk to operators. There are often layouts under construction on show, and they can give valuable help.

http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/events/exhibitions

( the find by post code option is very useful)

take your time. get a circle of track + siding and have a play ( I recommend Kato Unitrack of course). get a feel for the loco /couplings and the track setup.

expand it without fixing it permanently - so you can see how a final layout could look / perform.

don't set it in stone (- ie fully ballasted/sceniced) until you feel confident.

is your DC loco "DCC ready" ie with a DCC socket already fitted? if not, you will have a DIY job ahead, the Forum history usually has links to "how do i fit DCC to an XXXX".

prepare to ditch the Bachmann DCC controller ASAP - limited functions, and useability. see DCC section for tons of advice ( usually conflicting!)

Good luck and remember Rule 1!

[louder]

Thank you all.

After venturing to the model shop I have returned with some code 55 flex track that will be sacrificial while I work out what is possible and what looks good in the space. I've started planning (you can see where I am up to in the layout section of the forum) and I even got a carriage to roll around the track and test corners with to see what looks and works best. I also have some underlay to test clearance height for something like a tunnel. They also gave me a Peco N adage planbook. It is for setrack but its got lots of other useful information and it was very kind of them.

Lots of really good information here.

The era I am going for is 1945 - 1970s DB electric trains with some diesel shunters. A family friend is German and seeing as I think the 40s-50s period of design is lovely and want trains with overhead wiring they fit the bill!

After looking at controllers I don't think there is a massive amount I will need that the Bachmann one can't do really. I think at most I will have 3 trains as the space is so small. The only change I would make is going wireless but the cost is quite prohibitive, plus then I would have to look into DCC points and well, one thing at a time for me.

The train isn't DDC ready but I have found a few tutorials online. The model shop offers a DCC service for £35, inc the price of the decoder and he did say I could watch the process is I wanted to.

The largest issue I have is what to do next. Part of me wants to buy some track and just play with my train when it arrives, but then with me leaning towards code 55 thanks to the help of people on here, it's not just as easy as buying what I need and clipping it together. So do I spend £50 on a setrack pack just to get playing? I can't seem to find a way to temporarily hold down SL Code 55.

It's going to be another week till I can get my first train moving on the track but that's ok, perhaps I could come up with a theme.

[Newportnobby]

Sounds like the shop was very helpful to you.
I fear that's the problem with flexi track (regardless of code) in that you can't just connect bits of track and be up and running in no time as you need track cutters (Xurons), a set of small files, packs of metal and plastic fishplates, Tracksettas and summat to hold the track in place. It does not help the impatient
If you're going to buy an oval of track to watch a train going round it won't hurt to get set track as you'll need an oval of track to run DCC ready locos in before fitting a chip to them and this can be kept separate to the layout proper. I still advise you not to buy set track/insulfrog points.