Hi Guys, I am new to the forum and this is my first post, I am looking for help with starting up, I want to build an n gauge model railway, prefferably with a dcc sound starter set, I would like to build something along the line of a Swiss or Austrian scene, as I am new to this I need some advice on how to start, I want to run maybe 3 or 4 trains to start, can anyone recommend a good online supplier of start up sets, or can anyone recommend an ideal start up set, should I use pre ballasted track etc, are the dcc controllers included with the sets any good, any and all advise would be appreciated, I live in the uk but is it cheaper to by from mainland Europe etc, thanks in advance.

Firstly welcome to the forum.

I don't know a lot about European N but I would imagine you'll be looking at the Fleischmann range for start-up sets. Whether any come with DCC I don't know as I run DC. MGSharp sell European N here:

http://www.mgsharp.com/European_N.htm

I don't know how their prices compare to European suppliers though, but bear in mind buying cheaper from Europe may be a false economy due to postage & ROE costs, unless you are buying a lot in one go it probably won't work out much cheaper. As with most things in life it's best to shop around first.

Before you start I strongly recommend you join the N gauge Society (http://www.ngaugesociety.com) as new members get a book on just about every aspect of starting a model railway, and I found this invaluable when I started my layout, and learned some of the mistakes I made by not researching more into it first.

With regard to ballasting, it really depends on what you want from the layout. If you want absolute realism then there is no substitute for applying real ballast and it certainly looks more realistic than pre-ballasted underlay, but if you are looking for ease of maintenance & construction then pre-ballasted underlay would be more suitable as it's easier to keep the track clean.

I wish you all the best with your layout and look forward to seeing pictures of it when you get up and running.

1st off...................welcome to our little corner of the world. Most members are friendly and helpfull, its just the ruling junta one has to be wary of .
Now youve not said which area of this planet you live on so my following comment can only be a general one.
Its worth finding a model rail specialist shop to visit in your area or for at least 1 visit to see exactly what is on offer and quizz the staff for advice. Obviously if you come away happy its worth staying with that supplier although sometimes you will need to shop elsewhere (on line maybe) for specific items.
Good luck anyway. I`m still green behind the ears because I`ve only been involved  for a couple of years but others here have a lifetimes work of advice and help to offer

Welcome aboard swanmark, you will get lots of useful (and useless  ) advice on here.  I'll ignore jonclox's initial comment  but would agree with his second, tell us where you are in the world and the guys might be able to give you more specific advice.  Also if you could give us an idea of the space you have to operate in I'm sure the guys will advise on and give links to track plans etc.

By the way, there is no such thing as a daft question so ask all you want

Quote from: Lawrence on February 04, 2011, 10:53:23 AM
Welcome aboard swanmark, you will get lots of useful (and useless  ) advice on here.  I'll ignore jonclox's initial comment  but would agree with his second, tell us where you are in the world and the guys might be able to give you more specific advice.  Also if you could give us an idea of the space you have to operate in I'm sure the guys will advise on and give links to track plans etc.

By the way, there is no such thing as a daft question so ask all you want

Hi Guys, thanks for the info so far, I am located in Swansea, west wales, uk, there are no continental suppliers here

Quote from: swanmark on February 04, 2011, 11:24:21 AM

Hi Guys, thanks for the info so far, I am located in Swansea, west wales, uk, there are no continental suppliers here

Actually............http://www.holtmodelrailways.com/contact.html ............ isnt far from you.
I seem to remember they looked quite good but Ive not been there or used them in years. Worth a try I would have thought

Have a look at http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/counties/model_shop_directory.php for shops near you

Do you have an idea of track plan or available space yet?

I have tried holt railways, but he has nothing continental, I think I will be looking at a layout of about 4ft by 2ft to start, but I havent decided on a track plan yet

As mentioned, Fleischmann are probably the most well known European style manufacturer (and probably the best quality too), but there's also Minitrix (the Hornby Minitrix UK outline stuff was a spin off), Roco and Arnold, which are also pretty good and often can be picked up a bit cheaper. Kato seem to be doing a fair bit of European kit too.

Once you've joined the N gauge society, they have a separate WorldWide Area Group for modellers interested in railways outside the UK with its own newsletter, website etc.

Osborn's models (down in North Devon if you fancy a trip) are pretty good for a mix of continental models, but if you've not got anything local it'll be worth shopping around online. There are some bargains on e-bay, but most of the prices for continental models on there are pretty over inflated.

Here's a list of the online shops I know about.
Osborn's http://www.osbornsmodels.com/index.asp
NScale Sale http://www.nscale-sale.nl/en/
A and H Models http://www.ekmpowershop2.com/ekmps/shops/aandhmodels/index.asp
Modelrailwayshop.co.uk http://www.modelrailwayshop.co.uk/index.html

Don't know what they are like as I buy mostly from Ebay. Osborn's are well known.

Buying new continental models can be very expensive. I have managed to get some brand new items from Ebay at bargain prices. Which era do you want to model btw?

Welcome to the forum SwanMark.

By joining a forum and asking questions before buying you have got the first step exactly right!

I am in South Wales as well and do not know of an n-gauge supplier in the area. Being a novice myself i am in no position to give you expert advice but I would advise you to have a clear plan from the outset - it will most likely change in some ways when you start building your layout but I guess the two major constraints on us all are are available space and budget.

My experience so far has been that building a layout obeys the rule of 'everything takes longer and costs more'.

This is a great hobby and the effort put in is well rewarded.

You will meet problems on the way but there is very good advice available on this forum.

welcome to the site fella,
That sounds like a nice size for a starter layout.
I was on holiday a few years ago at western supermere and their was a good model railway shop called called modelmasters i think. They mainly sold euro n scale.

for european bargins try www.thesignalbox.co.uk they have some great sales on there website at the mo.

DM Toys have some great bargains on at the moment. 74.99 EUR for a 405/406 Drg Ep. II looks really cheap to me.
http://www.en.dm-toys.de/liste/tags_en/lokomotive_en.html