Complete noob looking for guidance and understanding

[Rburn99]

Hi,
100% beginner here. I think I had an oval track toy train once as a kid but that was loong ago. Now that I can see retirement down the road I'm thinking about actually getting into the hobby. Something N scale because of room constraints. To show you how noob I am, when I started looking into it I was surprised to see [switchyard I believe is the correct term?] layouts where the trains cannot run around the track. Trying to see why this is preferred and if I might like it is proving hard though. The only layouts people seem to want to show in use in their videos are the ones where the trains do run around the track. Videos of layouts that aren't closed loops are pretty much just shots of the layout from different angles and unmoving trains. Do you just put a train on the track with randomly mixed cars and then reorder it using locos and them mix them up again and repeat? To be safe I guess I would want to find a layout that could have a couple trains running around through scenes like I envision when I think of model trains and also with a small switchyard somewhere because I've read that is where the fun is.

Not knowing about this (or anything really) is making it hard to decide on creating a layout. I'm not worried about being historically accurate but I also don't want a circus train with dumbo popping up and down out of the roof. I installed AnyRail and messed around with it but I don't want to end up trying to make something I'll regret. The landscaping looks very interesting but I'm not having any trouble finding tutorials on that.

Can anyone suggest books that would help? It seems there are a ton of books that a few people are selling but many(most?) seem decades old, or don't seem to be geared toward people who know nothing about the hobby yet. And without being able to look inside them first before buying on the internet I don't know if they'll be what I need. Our library has nothing. I have found a few layouts here and there (on scarms site for example) but even those seem to be for people who already know something about the hobby. I contemplated this 7 book offer but wasn't sure it was legit. https://www.jamesmodeltrains dot com/members/sales-page/.  After searching for reviews of each book individually and finding no results for any of them I searched the guy's picture and found it had been used 49 other times on all sorts of sites selling unrelated things. Glad I didn't give them my credit card! So before I end up getting scammed I figure I will try asking for a point in the right direction from people in the hobby.
Thanks!
Rob

[crewearpley40]

Welcome a good starting place : A beginners guide to model railways 


https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=35556.msg416493#msg416493

[Corbie]

"Making a Start in N-gauge Railway Modelling" by Bardsley is a great book.

[Train Waiting]

Welcome aboard Rob.

This is great guidance written by a very helpful chap who posts regularly on the Forum:

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=35556.msg416493#msg416493

It certainly helped me.

If you are planning modelling a North American scene, the Kalmbach company in Milwaukee produce a range of very helpful booklets and other publications including the monthly Model Railroader.

If your interest lie more with the UK or European scene, Peco in Beer, Devon, England produce a lot of excellent literature including the monthly Railway Modeller and Continental Modeller.

Many of the techniques are the same no matter where you are modelling, but the terminology varies a bit, as does prototype practice, so I'd go for the publisher most relevant to area you wish to model.

Best wishes.

John

[Bealman]

G'day mate, and welcome to the NGF! 

Excellent advice in the last post.

Just take your time and browse everything, both online and on paper.

Remember..... it's a hobby, and as such, is meant to be relaxing.

Chill! 

[port perran]

Welcome aboard.
Starting out in this hobby knowing virtually nothing must be incredibly difficult.
How much space do you have available for your baseboard ?
That will determine your choice of layout to a certain extent I think.
A roundy rounndy (where trains go round a circle continuously will allow you to sit back, maybe with a glass of wine) and watch your trains. This is very much my choice.
A shunting (or switchyard) layout will require much more interaction from yourself as you will need to continually operate the locomotives as they shunt wagons around a yard. This interests many people but personally, I get bored very quickly.
Roundy roundy layouts do, of course, give you the opportunity to add shunting yards and branch lines etc for added interest if you so like.
Both types of layout lend themselves to scenic opportunities ranging from countryside to urban scenes. This is the part of the hobby that interests me most.
Anyway, I wish you luck with your research and, as others have said, there is a wealth of information and knowledge available from the good folk on this forum.
Just ask away and someone will know the answer.
Good Luck
Martin

[Ditape]

 

[Newportnobby]

Hello Rob, and welcome aboard
As Port Perran says, if you can let us know what space you have and maybe what track system you prefer (there are pros and cons for each really) then I'm sure some of us could suggest track plans which might be of help. The bulk of our membership models UK but we do have a large contingent preferring US, European, Japanese etc. The basics are pretty much all the same though.

[RailGooner]

Welcome aboard Rob!

[weave]

Hi Rob,

Welcome and good to have you aboard.

I obviously don't know your abilities but when I first started I couldn't get my head around the electrics, point (turnout) motors, soldering etc. and found it all very disheartening. I just wanted to run some trains and then learn as I went along.

Luckily I discovered Kato Unitrack which some find too toylike but it allows you to get up and running in 10 minutes and can be put away just as fast. So I recommend buying an oval starter set (get the one with the passing loop, Kato M2 20-853 which comes with controller and built in point (turnout) motors) and have a play. It can always be used as a test track in the future if you decide to go down the Peco track route.

I'm still rubbish at electrics and soldering so have stuck with the Kato track which can be made to look good (not by me  ) but the main thing is that the hobby is fun and not a chore.

Looking forward to hearing your starter point ie. board size and location/era etc.

Cheers weave 

[dannyboy]

Hi Rob and welcome to the forum. There is some good advice in the previous replies, but @weave makes some good points about Kato Unitrack. It can seem a bit dearer to start with, but you can operate a good sized layout without touching a soldering iron! My first layout was a 4' x 2' coffee table layout using Peco track - my second layout is about 12' x 4' and is all Unitrack - I love it   . Points have motors built in and use just two wires  . Have a good read, especially the advice on this 'ere forum and when you are ready, ask away - somebody will have an answer.

[bluedepot]

hi rob welcome to the forum!

tim

[Rburn99]

Thanks for all the welcomes! and the reading tips! Looking forward to reading it all. I'm reading the post suggested by Train Waiting at the moment.
As far as the base size, I have to carve out a piece of the basement from my wife's piles of crafting supplies and our clothes hanger (aka treadmill) so I won't have a huge area. What I originally was thinking was a 4x8 because it seemed the easiest and required the least amount of sawing I was thinking I'd like 2 trains running loops at the same time (double oval with figure 8 in the middle seemed cool) But then I read you shouldn't have track more than 30" away from you because of Murphy's law of derailment. And then the bit about 'you will want to do switching (consisting?) or you'll get bored'. So now I'm thinking if I put it in a corner of the basement I can have a 3ft deep shelf type thing running 8x8 along 2 walls and I'd get a few more sq ft that way. I'd like to look at more track plans and see what I could do with that base shape. Do you guys recommend all those Model Railroader books (103 realistic track plans, 101 more track plans, etc)?

Oh, and here's a question I've had in my head ever since I saw a loopback I think it's called.. where the track circles around at one end in a tight radius and reconnects to the same line with a wye connection. How does that work electrically? When the engine is traveling one direction say the power is on the right rail and ground on the left rail. I get that you have to insulate the connection at the switch to avoid a short but when the train comes back on the same track again heading the opposite way, the power would now be on the left rail relative to the engine and ground on the right. Wouldn't that make the engine want to run backwards? I haven't gotten into any books on wiring yet so maybe it would be obvious after I do.

[Newportnobby]

I'm useless with electrickery but what you describe is called a 'reversing loop' and I'm sure you'll get lots of solutions as to how to solve the problem, probably employing the use of an electronic gizmo.
See Diagram A in the following.................

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=43697.msg542092#msg542092

Edit - Brian Lambert's excellent site shows a way of wiring the reversing loop........

https://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/Electrical_Page_3.html#Bookmark16

[PeteW]

Can anyone suggest books that would help?
Rob

Sorry - late to the party (dead laptop lately), but I'd heartily recommend this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Scale-Model-Railroad-That-Grows/dp/0890242232

Starts easy, simple construction, adds stuff later, builds into a very substantial model railway (sorry, railroad!) I found it hugely inspirational when I was in a similar position to you.