Hello!
I'm a newbie at this, so if I ask a stupid question, please be patient. This might get windy... I have decided that my 5yo son (and later daughter, when she gets older) and I will dive into model railroading. For Christmas my son (and I) got a Bachmann train set, and a figure 8 expansion, and have since purchased a track pack with some switches. Its enough for us to fool around with for an afternoon or a couple of days at a time, for now, with just the one train. Maybe add some more cars later on.
I have some room in the garage for a decent semi-permanent layout. The EZ track setup is DC, which is fine inside with just the one little train.
quick question: can DCC trains run as DC trains? If we got another locomotive, I would almost want it to be at least DCC ready.
The area in the garage is a "workshop" area. It would be an L shaped layout along two walls. About 10 and a half feet square, but I'm restricted in that we still need to use the space for storage (under the table, mostly.) Shelves are on the third wall, and the car would be another.
I'm debating whether it should be HO or N scale. My son seems to do well with the HO size, but he is still getting used to it. I'm worried N would be too small for him. Whatever happens in the garage will probably happen in stages, with some sort of master plan in mind, but who knows?
I want the set up to have working lights. Sound, not as big of a deal, but it would be a cool bonus. I'm thinking in an HO set up, approximately set around the 1940s (but not completely restricted to that), and having one passenger express line, with one or two trains (a big steamer, probably), and then a town and a yard at opposite ends for loading/switching with some freight moved in between. Probably 4 or 5 engines total. (not all nec. used at once.) In HO, it would almost have to be multi level to have some track to travel in between. In N, I would probably make it multi level, but I could have more trains, more track and more scenery. Which would be more money.
This is probably going to be a several year process from start to finish (I don't have a huge budget for this...just a little here and there).
I guess I'm just looking for opinions on which way would be better to go. N is small, but I could get more running room. HO is a nice size and has great detail, but I have to be more selective about track placement.
Any input is welcome. Thanks!
I'm a newbie at this, so if I ask a stupid question, please be patient. This might get windy... I have decided that my 5yo son (and later daughter, when she gets older) and I will dive into model railroading. For Christmas my son (and I) got a Bachmann train set, and a figure 8 expansion, and have since purchased a track pack with some switches. Its enough for us to fool around with for an afternoon or a couple of days at a time, for now, with just the one train. Maybe add some more cars later on.
I have some room in the garage for a decent semi-permanent layout. The EZ track setup is DC, which is fine inside with just the one little train.
quick question: can DCC trains run as DC trains? If we got another locomotive, I would almost want it to be at least DCC ready.
The area in the garage is a "workshop" area. It would be an L shaped layout along two walls. About 10 and a half feet square, but I'm restricted in that we still need to use the space for storage (under the table, mostly.) Shelves are on the third wall, and the car would be another.
I'm debating whether it should be HO or N scale. My son seems to do well with the HO size, but he is still getting used to it. I'm worried N would be too small for him. Whatever happens in the garage will probably happen in stages, with some sort of master plan in mind, but who knows?
I want the set up to have working lights. Sound, not as big of a deal, but it would be a cool bonus. I'm thinking in an HO set up, approximately set around the 1940s (but not completely restricted to that), and having one passenger express line, with one or two trains (a big steamer, probably), and then a town and a yard at opposite ends for loading/switching with some freight moved in between. Probably 4 or 5 engines total. (not all nec. used at once.) In HO, it would almost have to be multi level to have some track to travel in between. In N, I would probably make it multi level, but I could have more trains, more track and more scenery. Which would be more money.
This is probably going to be a several year process from start to finish (I don't have a huge budget for this...just a little here and there).
I guess I'm just looking for opinions on which way would be better to go. N is small, but I could get more running room. HO is a nice size and has great detail, but I have to be more selective about track placement.
Any input is welcome. Thanks!