Where to start? I have been away from the hobby for a few years and I sold off everything I had so I am starting from scratch. I will be modeling in HO as that is what I know and it is what my friends model in.
I do not have and will not have a dedicated space for the railroad so I will have to look at options for temporary, portable setups. Initially I will not be doing some grand track plan so I will use track options that will allow me to change things up easily.
My first purchase was a simple figure 8 set of Bachmann EZ Track. This will allow me to get something running with very minimal effort. I got this from Facebook marketplace for $25. A little later down the road I will likely purchase a Bachmann EZ Track track-pack.
You can get this from Amazon for about $130 and it is enough for a 4'x8' starter layout. They include a plan that uses the parts and it looks pretty interesting as a starting point. This set along with the figure 8 set will give me plenty to work with.
The ratings on Amazon are mostly positive. It seems that if you like it you really like it and if you don't like it you really hate it. As usual, online feedback is disproportionately negative and certainly model railroad purists do not like it. I am intrigued by the concept and after my past experiences I am not interested in jumping back into the old track and cork method. Anyway, it is cheap enough to try and if it sucks I can easily switch to another product without much fuss.
Power will be supplied, initially, by my old MRC Tech II. I bought mine nearly 30 years ago but it has almost never been used. This will get the trains running and help me evaluate track and engines.
I got most of my old engines back from my friend Tim, who bough my stuff several years ago. Being old Athearn blue-box locos they were just sitting and unlikely to ever make it on his layout. I also got several of my old rail cars back so I have toys to play with.
In summary, I will use EZ track with DC power to run a collection of old engines on a simple figure 8 track. This is where I will start and I will be glad to make this first phase happen.
Hmm, no mention of the other three items you got from me! Another blog post perhaps?
ReplyDeleteFishing for gratitude eh? I'll get to it. I have lots to talk about.
DeleteWelcome back to your hobby! Like you I am a wargamer who has returned to model railroading. However, I decided to go with N scale.
ReplyDeleteI started off with Bachmann EZ track as well. But I have now moved to Kato and I am using the T-Trak modular system. There are several reasons, but the one that is most practical is that I am setting it all up on top of my wargames table. And I’m not giving up wargames!
I look forward to following your new blog.
Hi Ed, thanks for the comments! I had my comments settings a little goofed up and did not know I had items waiting to be reviewed. I will also not be giving up my wargaming and the RR will need to be movable at least at the beginning. I will not have room for a more permanent setup for a long time.
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