Discussion
My 8yr old grandson is showing an interest in model railways and looking for some advice as the best way to go, seen a few layouts for sale on the likes of Ebay but unsure as to what is what ..the speed controller some say analogue or digital sorry for a daft ? what is best. secondhand track are they all interchangeable
Space is not an issue and would look to pin it to a base board is MDF best to use. any info appreciated on this. or maybe some have sets to sell .
Space is not an issue and would look to pin it to a base board is MDF best to use. any info appreciated on this. or maybe some have sets to sell .
woodysnr said:
My 8yr old grandson is showing an interest in model railways and looking for some advice as the best way to go, seen a few layouts for sale on the likes of Ebay but unsure as to what is what ..the speed controller some say analogue or digital sorry for a daft ? what is best. secondhand track are they all interchangeable
Space is not an issue and would look to pin it to a base board is MDF best to use. any info appreciated on this. or maybe some have sets to sell .
Go and see your local model shop (or Jadlam who are owned by a PHer) https://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/hornby-buyers-g...Space is not an issue and would look to pin it to a base board is MDF best to use. any info appreciated on this. or maybe some have sets to sell .
For an 8 year old I would stick with analogue and a new starter set from Hornby or Bachman on a modular baseboard from https://www.whiterosemodelworks.co.uk/product/base... MDF is a bit iffy, 9mm ply would be better if you are going to hand build.
2nd hand is interchangeable as long as you watch out for the "code" description of the track - code 100 will be compatible with Hornby & Bachman track in the sets and is more child proof. Rolling stock should be ok but really old stuff (Triang, Wren, Airfix) would probably be best avoided.
woodysnr said:
My 8yr old grandson is showing an interest in model railways and looking for some advice as the best way to go, seen a few layouts for sale on the likes of Ebay but unsure as to what is what ..the speed controller some say analogue or digital sorry for a daft ? what is best. secondhand track are they all interchangeable
Space is not an issue and would look to pin it to a base board is MDF best to use. any info appreciated on this. or maybe some have sets to sell .
If you buy second hand track it should be interchangeable (in that it will fit together) but lengths may be different and points may function differently. I would stick with one brand.Space is not an issue and would look to pin it to a base board is MDF best to use. any info appreciated on this. or maybe some have sets to sell .
If you buy second hand make sure it's in good condition. I just sold all my son's stuff and some of it had corroded and no doubt wouldn't run properly without cleaning (I stated this in the advert).
I assume you are going with OO? If you end up buying new there is a new slightly smaller gauge (TT120) that hornby have recently re-introduced which might be worth considering.
I'm just about to start a 009 narrow gauge build which is OO gauge modeling on N size track.
Simpo Two said:
woodysnr said:
would look to pin it to a base board...
Wouldn't extra enjoyment be gained by laying it straight on the floor for a few hours so he can make different layouts each time? Otherwise it's just things going round...woodysnr said:
My 8yr old grandson is showing an interest in model railways and looking for some advice as the best way to go, seen a few layouts for sale on the likes of Ebay but unsure as to what is what ..the speed controller some say analogue or digital sorry for a daft ? what is best. secondhand track are they all interchangeable
Space is not an issue and would look to pin it to a base board is MDF best to use. any info appreciated on this. or maybe some have sets to sell .
Like above, I would look at a starter set from either Hornby or Bachmann and get a tail chaser going on the board for him to play with - see how much he enjoys it and go on from there (especially as this hobby can get expensive really quick). You will get a basic controller with the set and could go analogue or digital (though would say Bachmann set if going digital to start with).Space is not an issue and would look to pin it to a base board is MDF best to use. any info appreciated on this. or maybe some have sets to sell .
Apologies if you already know this, but the main difference between the two is analogue powers the track, so you can only run one train at a time, and digital (known as DCC) controls a chip in the loco (the track is always powered) meaning you can run multiple trains on one track. Digital chips are around £20 a go, so if buying second hand you first have to know if it will accept a DCC chip and have the right chip for the number of pins the loco accepts. I started analogue and have heavily moved to DCC and automation over time - so the original choice does not affect anything if it grows as a passion.
I would start analogue, via a train set, and get the Hornby track plan and extension packs first and see how it develops. Though it does all depend on what you want to get out of it too and if you would enjoy building up a more realistic model railway too.
Simpo Two said:
woodysnr said:
would look to pin it to a base board...
Wouldn't extra enjoyment be gained by laying it straight on the floor for a few hours so he can make different layouts each time? Otherwise it's just things going round...
I had a great one when I was a kid. My dad got me a board just a bit smaller than a car, and made a rope pulley so it could be pulled up to the garage ceiling and stored up there out of the way when I wasn't working on it.
I had an inner circle track, a slope up to join a higher/outer 'mountain track' with tunnels etc, and a goods yard/town type layout in the middle. I probably enjoyed the building of the scenery more than the running of the trains. It gave me a good few years of fun.
Collectingbrass said:
Simpo Two said:
woodysnr said:
would look to pin it to a base board...
Wouldn't extra enjoyment be gained by laying it straight on the floor for a few hours so he can make different layouts each time? Otherwise it's just things going round...
Hornby have just released a tabletop gauge which looks quite good value and if you signup to their club (which is currently free) at the moment you get a free badge, lanyard, catalogue and 15% off for the next year.
https://uk.hornby.com/community/hornbytt120-club
https://uk.hornby.com/community/hornbytt120-club
There are plenty of model railway exhibitions around the country throughout the year. Look to see of there is one near you and go and have a look. New prices are getting silly which is now also pushing the price of such as Lima stuff up as well, but locos which run fine can still be had for £30. Digital will likely be more.
I made a layout for my 6 yr old (then 2 
) a few years ago. I probably went a bit over the top, but he loved it on Xmas day, and for the next 18 months it lived on the dining room table. Come covid my wife was working from home in the dining room so it got put away only to have brief appearances, but now that I've finished the refurb of his bedroom then plan is its going up there permanently. Hes now just about old enough that I can trust him to play with it partially unsupervised, although when we were playing with it regularly a couple of years ago he got quite proficient.
I planed it ahead of time of some sort of software, cant remember which one but it would have been a free one, and worked out how big I needed the board. For what I had planned it ended up 4ft wide and just shy of 7ft long. I used 12mm ply to keep the weight down a bit, and then framed it with upright MDF skirting to add some stiffness to the board and more importantly stop the expensive locos nose diving to the floor!
The first picture is after I bought all the track and did a test layout and did any cutting. Then drew around everything before taking it all away to frame the board. I then cut cork sheeting to lay under the track, this helps with sound insulation but also, as you'll see late, acted as a visually good stand in for ballast. I drew around individual track pieces to get the shape for the cork, then assembled that in the shape of the layout.
Followed by some grey paint over the cork, and some leftover blue paint for the skirting, or 'sky', and green for the ground.
And then on to the finished thing!
And my boy on Xmas morning!
Note the 'light switch' hes playing with. There 2 switch on the layout to switch power to the inner and outer loops. Each loop also has a controller for speed and direction control as well as a third controller to use the sidings with insulated rail joiners stopping things getting shorted out. It does look complicated, but part of that is the sparky in me coming out as well as trying to future proof a bit and enabling a bit more 'playability'. It certainly doesn't need to be like that. You can just have 2 loops with a pair of points between them, and the worst that happens is the controller shorts and goes into protection mode. Turn the power off, wait 10 seconds, back on and your back playing. The switches did work really well though when he was smaller and/or cousins were round, they could just control the go/stop without learning the controller. Ours is just 20 years of pent up train set excitement coming out after my last train set when I was 13!
There is also nothing wrong with a classic basic hornby train set, nailed to a board and watch a train go round. My first train set was just a small loop with 1 long spiral siding and from what I remember of it (it was 30+ years ago!) I loved it.
(I'm the one in the middle!)
If you look on Hornby's site, they do add on packs to add to the standard train set loop, and it can be added up to a decent layout. Most sets also come with a printed mat, with a layout printed on it that coincides with the trainset track and expansion packs. It also gives you an idea of the size board. The current one is 1800x1200 so roughly 6x4. That's about as small as you can make it and still have 2 loops.
Sticking to Hornby, especially when its at the 'Train Set' stage is probably a good idea. They do 2 ranges, Railroad - the entry level looks pretty enough and works but not too delicate, as well as the more expensive stuff with little details that break easily. All trainsets are Railroad range. Staying with Hornby also means its easy to add stuff with Xmas and Birthday presents, so track expansion pack for Xmas, Building pack for birthday.
I'll stop babbling now, just realised how much I'd written I'm half watching YouTube and half writing this so got a bit carried away!
) a few years ago. I probably went a bit over the top, but he loved it on Xmas day, and for the next 18 months it lived on the dining room table. Come covid my wife was working from home in the dining room so it got put away only to have brief appearances, but now that I've finished the refurb of his bedroom then plan is its going up there permanently. Hes now just about old enough that I can trust him to play with it partially unsupervised, although when we were playing with it regularly a couple of years ago he got quite proficient.I planed it ahead of time of some sort of software, cant remember which one but it would have been a free one, and worked out how big I needed the board. For what I had planned it ended up 4ft wide and just shy of 7ft long. I used 12mm ply to keep the weight down a bit, and then framed it with upright MDF skirting to add some stiffness to the board and more importantly stop the expensive locos nose diving to the floor!
The first picture is after I bought all the track and did a test layout and did any cutting. Then drew around everything before taking it all away to frame the board. I then cut cork sheeting to lay under the track, this helps with sound insulation but also, as you'll see late, acted as a visually good stand in for ballast. I drew around individual track pieces to get the shape for the cork, then assembled that in the shape of the layout.
Followed by some grey paint over the cork, and some leftover blue paint for the skirting, or 'sky', and green for the ground.
And then on to the finished thing!
And my boy on Xmas morning!
Note the 'light switch' hes playing with. There 2 switch on the layout to switch power to the inner and outer loops. Each loop also has a controller for speed and direction control as well as a third controller to use the sidings with insulated rail joiners stopping things getting shorted out. It does look complicated, but part of that is the sparky in me coming out as well as trying to future proof a bit and enabling a bit more 'playability'. It certainly doesn't need to be like that. You can just have 2 loops with a pair of points between them, and the worst that happens is the controller shorts and goes into protection mode. Turn the power off, wait 10 seconds, back on and your back playing. The switches did work really well though when he was smaller and/or cousins were round, they could just control the go/stop without learning the controller. Ours is just 20 years of pent up train set excitement coming out after my last train set when I was 13!
There is also nothing wrong with a classic basic hornby train set, nailed to a board and watch a train go round. My first train set was just a small loop with 1 long spiral siding and from what I remember of it (it was 30+ years ago!) I loved it.
(I'm the one in the middle!)
If you look on Hornby's site, they do add on packs to add to the standard train set loop, and it can be added up to a decent layout. Most sets also come with a printed mat, with a layout printed on it that coincides with the trainset track and expansion packs. It also gives you an idea of the size board. The current one is 1800x1200 so roughly 6x4. That's about as small as you can make it and still have 2 loops.
Sticking to Hornby, especially when its at the 'Train Set' stage is probably a good idea. They do 2 ranges, Railroad - the entry level looks pretty enough and works but not too delicate, as well as the more expensive stuff with little details that break easily. All trainsets are Railroad range. Staying with Hornby also means its easy to add stuff with Xmas and Birthday presents, so track expansion pack for Xmas, Building pack for birthday.
I'll stop babbling now, just realised how much I'd written I'm half watching YouTube and half writing this so got a bit carried away!
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