Beginner's FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)

Welcome! This is a great hobby. It has many facets, and you can enjoy it for a lifetime.

First advice:

SLOW DOWN! The decisions you make now can affect you (and your pocketbook) for a long time!

Don't be in a hurry to make decisions, and don't base them in the limited information you have right now, or just the advice of ONE "guru".

Second advice:

READ! There are several Internet forums, there is a ton of information out there. Some books are ok, but many are biased or too narrow.

I read forums for 4 years or so before I ever even asked a question!

Let me reinforce something right now: Do NOT join and ask if battery power is better than track power, or if you should use brass or stainless steel rail.

READ! Read the existing threads, LEARN to search for keywords on what you have questions on.

There are a lot of experts on the forums, but they often tire of repeating the same basic questions over and over. Asking "newbie" questions often gets you answers from the people who just like to talk a lot, not the real experts.

While searching and reading the forums (see below for my forum recommendations) you will also find personal sites that have a wealth of information on specific locomotives, track laying techniques, etc. I found one in particular that is great, and is responsible for the tone and layout of my site: George Schreyer's site. Hint: there is something in bold that says: "If you don't look anywhere else, look here."  Do what George says.

Third advice:

Join a nearby club and get some hand's on. I put this third because often a club may give you a limited perspective of things. If the club is battery power only, then you may never hear any of the advantages of track power. Just learn what you can.

My forum recommendations: 

There are several Internet forums out there.

There are some Yahoo group forums, but other than manufacturer-specific ones (which you will get into later) there is not one I can really recommend.

Here's my recommendations and observations:

My Large Scale (MLS): http://www.mylargescale.com/  I like this forum best. It's free, although you can pay $24/year and get some extra features like storage for files and an advanced editor for posting. I like the balance of courtesy and moderation, and the powerful editing and picture posting functions. It seems to have the largest readership right now.

Large Scale Central (LSC): http://www.largescalecentral.com/  This forum is also free. Almost as good, almost as active, but there are some ongoing battles, name calling, and just unwarranted discourtesy in my opinion. The forum sort of prides itself on being the place that people that have been banned from other sites wind up here. Maybe I will eventually be in that boat. There are many experts on the forum.

Trains.com garden railways forums: http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/default.aspx?GroupID=7 (note this may change, so then go to trains.com and find the garden railway forums). Free to read, you must register to post. Only 4 subforums, not a real large group, but nice people. Some nice information from the Garden Railways magazine people.

Large Scale Online (LSOL): http://www.largescaleonline.com/ Not free, you have to pay money to even read the forums and articles. Much more commercialized than the first forums. This used to be THE Internet forum for large scale. Now, participation is dwindling. I am a member, read it every day, and I do post on it, but it has less activity than the tiny trains.com garden railway forums. I don't know what happened, but I suspect that people are put off by having to pay to read the forums ("workshops") and articles. I have read all the articles, and most are good, but there's just not enough going on that is new. They have an extensive online library of pictures that is unmatched anywhere. Perhaps LSOL will make a "trial" membership or "visitors pass" so you can make your decision without buying a membership.

I also used to frequent the AristoCraft forum, but got banned for asking too many embarrassing questions. (I had the option of "never saying anything negative again about Aristo products" or being banned). Adios. Forums are typically where people ask for help or opinions. Not being able to be frank and honest to a person in trouble is no help at all. That is too bad, because a wealth of information about Aristo is on this site. Many people with a lot of expertiese have quit this forum, and the technical help and content has dwindled, and there's mostly mutual backslapping about how grand Aristo is.

There is a Bachmann forum also, much less restrictive than the Aristo forum, but you have to temper the negatives you post to a degree, or posts simply disappear. I have not gotten any information from this site that was not on MLS or LSC.

Manufacturer's sites are often more restrictive on what you can say if it can show a bad light on a product. It's too bad that some manufacturers cannot handle criticism. The Bachmann site is not too bad, they will admit a problem, if you do not rub their nose in it. I don't think you can realistically ask for more in their case.

Warning:

Many hobbyists are very passionate about their hobby. There are a ton of "right" ways to do things. Don't take the first advice to be gospel, keep talking and asking questions. Good advice will make sense.

I've tried to stay impartial in the following sections, but I'm only human. My personal goals for my railroad may not be the same as you, so my garden railway may not be the right set of decisions for you.

The best advice is ask questions, listen to the answers and the reasons, and make your own decision.

 

Regards, Greg