Beginner Mistakes


I don't know it it is entirely a beginner mistake, but there is a thread on another site hundreds of posts long that asks what mistakes people made in designing their layouts. The number one mistake people make is not providing staging.

I made that mistake, but was able to add it. Made a huge difference.
 
I've made plenty of mistakes, but the one that stands out the most was a grade that a cog railway couldn't have gotten up. Ahhh, to be young and optimistic!
 
My biggest mistake was thinking that I already knew enough to build a so-called 'dream' layout, without taking time to read various Kalmbach [& other] books on track planning and layout design. I knew enough to avoid the usual operating headaches of derailments, dead spots, etc.; but when I read John Armstrong's Track Planning For Realistic Operation 6 months after 'finishing' my layout, I discovered I could have built something so much better. :( Ever since that time my enthusiasm for the layout has diminished. Trouble is, I'm not in a position time-wise or money-wise to tear the whole thing down and rebuild.
 
SpaceMouse said:
I don't know it it is entirely a beginner mistake, but there is a thread on another site hundreds of posts long that asks what mistakes people made in designing their layouts. The number one mistake people make is not providing staging.
Click to expand...

That's one mistake I will not be making on my next layout, although how much is enough? It may be sort of like the old saw from the photography forum, that you can never have too big of a darkroom sink. Even my Kato Karpet route has four staging tracks, and two other places I can park significant length whole trains and still have the main open to run. My big layout will have more, but I havent even begun to design it.

Andy
 
Although there have been plenty of mistakes on the layout, the biggest mistake I made in the hobby was not visiting and operating on other layouts before I designed mine. I believe this would have given me a better background on all the different methods of building and operating. This would have prevented many of my re-do's and I could be much farther along. Books and forums are helpful, but seeing and doing is better.

All of the following caused major change or modifying:

I went from the size of using half of double car garage to all of a full double car garage and into adjoining shop.

I went from "...just me and a few friends. Definitely no formal ops!" to large operating sessions.:eek:

I went from running on "guts only" to presently installing a full signal system with computer control.
 
The worst mistake would been grades, thank God for m.u. and pushers!LOL's and that was my answer to the problem!
 
Well other than the usual of buying too much of the wrong stuff I did pretty good until I became an :D expert :D Oh! well I guess the worst was two years ago I made a modification the yard trackage, which necessitated disconnecting a bunch of wiring.(This layout uses power routing, press a button all the switches and track power is set for the selected route) Since it was my design, well no problem, I knew where everything went, I didn't even have to have a drawing of it. Well time came to pass, in which I did nothing to the layout and tonight while doing another addition, I noticed a bunch of wiring that I now have no idea of where it is supposed to go, so now I'll have to trace it out to see what it is for. and what the original plan might have been. So now its back to square one. Oh! I did put some tags on them, but I can't remember what the lettering I used means. Model railroading sure is fun eh! :eek:

Cheers Willis
 
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Oh, yeah, I've done the spaghetti bowl of wiring routine before. This time, My EE brother helped and made sure we had a drawing, color code and label for each wire. I even ran two extra buses for things like track and grade crossing signals BEFORE I needed them so I have nice neat wire bundles now. It's a thing of beauty. :)

However, I can't even plead to be being a beginner for other mistakes I've made on this layout. I should have done a few operations session before I started on any scenery but no, not me. Now I'd kill for one extra passing siding and having my interchange track be double ended. I'd have discovered this if I had run some ops before anything else was on the layout. To add these two tracks now means major scenery destruction. Grrrr.....
 
lets see:

1) thinking the Athern rolling stock kits were a really great deal.

2) mixing code 83 and code 100 track. the funny thing is the guy at my LHS tried to warn me not to do that but was too eager to heed his warning.

3) getting addictid to buying 1/87 vehicles from wal mart. I have so many now that if i put them on my small 4X8 i will have a never ending traffic jam in a really small town.

4) weathering an engine before i was really skilled at whethering - now the engine will have to be repainted all together. good thing i got it for 30 bucks at a train show

i could go on but im glad i made these and other mistakes with my first layout...which is not complete by the way. when i get to my next, more ambitious layout i will be ripe for a whole set of more advanced mistakes.
 
Not really paying attention as to where Kadee decouplers were installed. When I moved a car into the spot, the pushing car got uncoupled.

So, I moved the coupler.

Lesson: think ahead.
 
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