# Model railroaders, advice for a newb, please! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** toys-models\ **Created:** [November 16, 2021, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455 "2021-11-16T13:07:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/21 "2021-11-18T18:40:10Z")
**NIFTY!!** I double-dog dare you to run a spur into the kitchen with a note attached to the train saying **Please send dinner!** šŸ¤£ There needs to be a thread of Famous Railroad Quotes. Hereā€™s my contribution: ā€œYou better do something you idiot, because in ten minutes; youā€™re going to have 200 tons of locomotive smashing into Central Station on its way to Marshall Fields!ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/22 "2021-11-18T20:05:16Z")
No Judy Garland song that I know of, but ā€œIndian Love Callā€ in Rose Marie is set in the Canadian Rockies [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/f8KesxHBVOU/hqdefault.jpg "Indian Love Call") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8KesxHBVOU) ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/23 "2021-11-18T21:16:27Z")
Can anyone share an opinion on Athearn locomotives? I remember them as basic but well made with brass flywheels and a heavy frame. Now for some of my opinions: Consider if you will be running the trains with the room lights shut off, and only the tree lights on. Passenger cars with interior lighting, locomotives with headlamps, give the scene that much more magic. You might also want to string some tree lights around at track level. Although you have mentioned HO (1:87) scale, and I have no argument with that, Iā€™d recommend that anyone else looking for a ā€œtrain around the treeā€ consider the larger O or G scales. The larger scales just have a better appearance under a tree. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/24 "2021-11-18T21:19:32Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Although you have mentioned HO (1:87) scale, and I have no argument with that, Iā€™d recommend that anyone else looking for a ā€œtrain around the treeā€ consider the larger O or G scales. The larger scales just have a better appearance under a tree. I have a Lionel 027 set, which I got about 25 years ago. At that time, I was working for Quaker Oats, and an employee group at Quaker contracted with Lionel to do some custom train sets for us. Itā€™s all standard entry-level Lionel stuff (steam locomotive, a few cars, and an oval of track), but all of the rolling stock is custom-printed for Quaker (a Quaker Oatmeal box car, a Gatorade tank car, etc.) I donā€™t set it up every year, but it does make an excellent set for running around the Christmas tree. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/25 "2021-11-18T22:11:04Z")
Peco makes excellent track and turnouts (switches). Available in the US. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/26 "2021-11-18T22:12:04Z")
Good to know, thanks for setting me straight on that one! ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/27 "2021-11-18T22:15:22Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Can anyone share an opinion on Athearn locomotives? I remember them as basic but well made with brass flywheels and a heavy frame. Athearn is ok. They have a basic line (RTR, or ready to run) and the more expensive Genesis line. Some of the old Athearn locomotives still exist in the RTR line. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/28 "2021-11-18T22:19:26Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I also read something about ā€œDCC.ā€ Having an old Windows 10 laptop laying around the house, would this be a good purpose for an ā€˜ancientā€™ computer? > [@Tripler](#): > > should read _ **Windows 7** _ laptop. You could run a program called [DecoderPro](https://www.jmri.org/) on your computer, and connect to a command station made with inexpensive Arduino Boards for a [DCC++EX](https://dcc-ex.com/) system. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/29 "2021-11-21T00:45:27Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I double-dog dare you to run a spur into the kitchen with a note attached to the train saying **Please send dinner!** Relevant portion begins at 5 minutes, but the whole thing is good. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/t475_VGa7EE/maxresdefault.jpg "So You Want a Model Railroad - Joe McDoakes - 1955") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t475_VGa7EE) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/30 "2021-11-21T01:34:06Z")
^ THAT WAS GREAT!! Better than I imagined it. Thanks for sharing! The switching station McDoakes was so desperate to own? The aforementioned Rosenberg Railroad Museum has an actual switching station (life size) as an exhibit ā€“ they had it moved from several miles down the track. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/31 "2021-11-24T01:28:12Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Hereā€™s a video I did on my Lionel layout a while back. Just put my Canon camera in a gondola car and let it rip. (As a bonus you get to see my messy basement.) Milhouse: Cool train. Where does it go? Bart: Beats me. But it wonā€™t be back for three hours and 40 minutes. Once it had snow on it. Iā€™m done! šŸ˜„ ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/32 "2021-11-24T02:50:57Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > There needs to be a thread of Famous Railroad Quotes. Hereā€™s my contribution: > > ā€œYou better do something you idiot, because in ten minutes; youā€™re going to have 200 tons of locomotive smashing into Central Station on its way to Marshall Fields!ā€ _Silver Streak_, right? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/33 "2021-11-24T02:54:37Z")
You got it! I wonder how long a thread of Famous RR Quotes in Thread Games could last? I may have my project for tomorrow. Stay tuned. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/34 "2021-11-24T02:58:22Z")
My email inbox has been flooded (relatively speaking) with Black Friday sales from the various online model railroad stores I shop with, as well as from my local shop. Might be a good week to take a browse and see if they have any good deals on things you would want! ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/35 "2021-11-24T13:41:55Z")
I run an N-scale set that sits on a folding table near our tree. I used a white stretch cover for the table (available on Amazon) and kept the layout very simple. It is not secured to the table in any way. What I enjoy most, as others have mentioned, is creating the village and landscaping. I have made it very personal, building paper buildings that resemble buildings where I grew up, adding cars and vehicles that look like cars Iā€™ve owned, and then adding features/vehicles that figure prominently in Christmas movies. (I have an N-scale RV that looks exactly like Cousin Eddieā€™s in _Christmas Vacation_.) Loads of fun. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/36 "2021-11-25T03:35:55Z")
Hereā€™s a good building for a Christmas layout: > **[HO Model Railroad Buildings, Tunnels & Bridges for sale | eBay](https://www.ebay.com/b/HO-Model-Railroad-Buildings-Tunnels-Bridges/262308/bn_1642439)** > > Great deals on HO Model Railroad Buildings, Tunnels & Bridges. Expand your options of fun home activities with the largest online selection at eBay.com. Fast & Free shipping on many items! I agree about the track with roadbed. The OP asked about cats. One of my cats swats at the trains. When he was a kitten the fur on his paw got stuck in a loco mechanism one time and he was very unhappy. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/37 "2021-11-25T15:42:36Z")
^ Hereā€™s a factoid you can use to stifle the pedants you know: the **Christmas Story** house IRL isnā€™t near a train, but in the scene where theyā€™re filming The Old Man admiring his Lamp outside across the street with the neighbors, a trolley car on rails scoots along behind them. This was filmed in Toronto (?), so if you have the tracks in front of the model house with a trolley, youā€™re covered. A helpful tip from your friends at the SDMB. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/38 "2021-11-25T18:03:05Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > the **Christmas Story** house IRL isnā€™t near a train It isnā€™t in Indiana, either. šŸ™‚ The house is in Cleveland, though not on Hohman street. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2021, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/39 "2021-11-27T13:15:51Z")
Too badā€¦itā€™s in HO scale. But I do have a trolley running down the center of one of my streets. It was an SOB to make it, since nothing is fastened down to the table and the roads are made of laminated cardstock. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455/40 "2021-12-01T00:37:37Z")
They have an N scale version, too: > **[N Scale "A Christmas Story" House Structure Kit, 82+ components, in stock! |...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/324910920333?hash=item4ba633328d:g:4P0AAOSwX2xew1IE)** > > N Scale Ralphie's House / "A Christmas Story" House 3D Printed Structure Kit, Super Detailed 82 components plus spares, White PLA+. Condition is New. 1x Porch Floor w/ wood texture. 5x Porch Railing. YOUā€™LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/model-railroaders-advice-for-a-newb-please/954455.md?page=3)