Setting up a model railway

lindens

It has been an ambition of mine since childhood to have my own model railway to play with:o

We have just moved house, the new house has an attic "hobby room" and there is a spare corner for a model railway:T. Coupled with this is the excitement of unpacking all the boxes from our old attic and finding my FIL's old Hornby 00 tracks and train sets (from the 1950s I would think).

So where do I start?

I imagine I have room for a base board of about 1m x 2m, so quite a small track but doable i think. It will be permanent so no putting away required. Mostly I want it to be fun rather than totally realistic.

I am a complete beginner btw so not even sure of the right order to do things in. Presumably i need to ensure this old stuff i have found still works?

So any MSE hints and tips welcome including any good websites/ideas/shops & sellers, would be gratefully received.

TonyMMM

Find and join a local railway modelling club, there is bound to be one somewhere not too far away.

Alias_Omega

Old steel track would have corroded, and a nightmare to clean up. Old trains will work with old equipment, however newer systems are digital i believe.

You can buy track from eBay, and dig out the old controller. I think the trains might need service...oil engine motors etc..

Tropez

Given your avatar, perhaps you could have a go at designing something based off the Deeprun Tram, or the Ulduar one?

lindens

Tropez wrote: »

Given your avatar, perhaps you could have a go at designing something based off the Deeprun Tram, or the Ulduar one?

what a cool idea

OAP1945

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
First you do not "play" with a train set you "operate" one
Second a 1x2m boards is not big enough for OO
Third are you sure you want to go down the road of, no space, no money,no sane conversation. Nights at club meets trips to rail shows hands stained with paint and glue

Yes OK I am married to a model rail operator, our first was in 1972 1x3m along the wall in "our" bedroom,
moved house 2 and a half walls in a spare bedroom,
moved house purpose built fully lined and insulated garden room, moved house, brick out building. layout now complete and too stunning to scrap so added large fully lined and powered shed to build another.............. need I go on... be afraid... be very afraid

having said all that I would still choose the same man with the same hobby

fairy_lights

An old family friend did something similar. His wife passed away and he was all alone in a big cold house, quite lost and lonely for a while until he realised that he had all the time and space to indulge in his hobbies, and ended up converting the entire top floor of the house in to a dedicated model railway room!
He's got a lot of foldable tables running round the room, (the type you would use for pasting wallpaper) and has set the track up on those so he can play with it at standing height.
He is involved in a model railway club but I'm not sure what they actually do. A lot of his (mostly male) neighbours have been round to have a look at the railway so it's turned in to a really social hobby for him and certainly brings him a lot of enjoyment.

lindens

A club doesnt really sound like my thing - and I haven't got time for that. I just want to dabble in my own time.

onomatopoeia99

You can just about get a minimum radius loop in that space, but it's very tight, another foot or so of width would help a lot.

Peco publish a book of track plans for small spaces which is worth a look for inspiration.

tykesi

What's this got to do with marriage, relationships and families?

BlondeHeadOn

tykesi wrote: »

What's this got to do with marriage, relationships and families?

Because all 3 will almost certainly be affected by this hobby?


And probably not in a good way.......