Before we get to Doug’s Lionel trains, Hall of Fame member Dave has been back in touch with his loft railway:
“Hi Al, just uploaded this short video…
All the Very best to Yourself ..and may your site continue for years to come.
Regards
Dave”
A huge big thanks to Hall of Fame member, Dave. Don’t thing I’ll ever tire of his loft railway.
Now on to Doug.
You’ll remember him from his Lionel train set.
A lot of the comments Rob got were, “Where are the trains?” – so Rob has been kind enough to send in some train pics:
In fact, he sent in lots of pics.
You can see all the trains on his Lionel train layout here.
Now on to something completely different.
Over the years, certain tips and gems of advice keep popping up in different posts, from different people.
And I thought it might be quite fun to list a few “does and do nots”, and then see what’s added to them in the comments.
So here you go, let’s start with these pearls of wisdom for when you’re starting your layout:
1. Don’t build a complicated analogue train layout – it’s really worth the time to get your head around DCC. It’s easier and you’ll have a lot more fun with your model trains.
2. Making the curves too tight, or not making the baseboard big enough. Derailments are soul destroying, and there’s nothing worse than a train track that doesn’t run flawlessly, or a track that won’t run a new larger locomotives when you add to your fleet.
3. The train rack being right on the edge of the baseboard. Trains have a habit of jumping off the edge when they derail. And adding scenery like mountains and tunnels when your track is rightup against the side is impossible.
4. Not building your tunnels so you can get inside them. It’s no fun fishing out derailments and cleaning the track when you can can’t get to where you need to.
5. Not being able to reach (comfortably) every square inch of your layout. This is why some layouts have holes in the middle.
6. Making the baseboard too high. Sure, it makes wiring underneath your layout easier, but it also make things harder to reach (see above) and harder for the grandkids to enjoy your model railroad.
7. Making your baseboard too low. You’ll get constant backache and wish you’d never started the hobby.
Please do leave a comment below if you have any advice you’d like to share.
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day you pick the hobby back up, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.