Been "toying' with this

[solo1]

Model railroading, N scale .  "N' scale stands for nine mm track width.  Very small.

I bought this for the Christmas tree.  I added a few switches and more track with the intention of maybe putting the layout under a glass top coffee table. Here is the rough layout, just to see if it'll work (It will).

This is Kato equipment, Japanese quality, not Chinese crap.  The locomotive is a copy of the Norfolk and Southern diesel electrics that I see every day here in New Haven. Great detail even down to the yellow front grab rails and lights. The pencil shows the size.

I believe that I'll proceed wih a coffee table layout and keep it modest.

[BF]

    

Sheldon Playing With His Train Set - The Big Bang Theory	powered by Aeva

[R J]

I'll lay $$$$ that you keep growing with your railroad.

My next door neighbor in California was a little railroad nut, he also owned the Lincoln Dealership in town.      There was a small display on the showroom floor that ran 24/7.   It occupied the kids while Mommy & Daddy bought a new car.   It got shut off once a month to be dusted off and the wheel bearings lubed.    It went rolling and whistling for another month.

He had a layout the ran through 4 of his basement rooms.

He even knocked little holes in the block wall to run his trains through.

When I moved back to Iowa we were talking one day and I asked him how much $$$ he had in his trains.

He said close to $200,000 all total.

I thought to my self, that would buy a lot of motorcycles.

All the neighbor kids came over and helped him run the trains.    If 1 came off of a track, one of the kids would scamper under the layout to a hole where they could reach the loose car and reset it.

[solo1]

Nope, RJ, what you see is about it. Self limiting on coffee tables. coffee tables aren't very big.
If one of you starts talking 'choo choo' you know what you can do.  I'm old enough to go young again so make all the jokes that you want. 

You can go..............whoops, lost my train of thought.

[art]

Nothing wrong with small trains. I have an engine that was given to me for helping clean out some hobby stuff of a man that had to go into assisted living. His hobby was making different sizes of trains. His son gave me a lionel  size solid brass old steam engine and tender. Assembled they are about 18" long and never been run. They are on display on my desk. Just these two pieces are valued at around $1700. Beautiful collectors item.

[f6john]

    My Dad started a tradition of giving me a Lionel train at Christmas back in the late 50's. First year was just the engine, tender car, transformer and a little track. Then I would get other cars, track and switches in subsequent years. I still have "most" everything but's all been in the attic for the last 30+ years. No coffee table for my stuff though, it's 027 gauge.

[cookiedough]

Train set values have gone way down over the past 20-30 years.  My mother in laws husband who died in 1975 was a huge train user and collector.  He literally had 100's of box cars and real engines and enough track to fill up an entire large room with all the extras dating back to the 1960's and even older.  His family also worked on the railroad a long time ago.  It was his hobby big time. 

Anyways,  train collectors are not many anymore.  She was thinking her value would be 10K but only ended up to be 2-3 grand in value now vs. 10 grand 20-30 years ago if she would have sold them way back when.  She finally sold almost all of the stuff recently since only will depreciate in value and we didn't want boxes and boxes of that stuff at our house not being used and no room for it anyways. 

[Gryphon Rider]

Do you have large model train shows in the US? Every year there is a huge event in Calgary called Supertrain. Various model train clubs in western Canada have displays at an indoor soccer field. The event is usually packed with people. When my kids were smaller I brought folding two-step ladders with me so they could see without me having to lift them up all the time. The displays were amazing in their detail.

[Jess Tolbirt]

i have been to the train shows where everyone builds their own train tracks on a 4 by 8 sheet of plywood and they have certian demintions to go by where everyones display will match up together making one huge display,,after they are set up the train master is the one who makes it all work out with his controls,,they had a camera on the engine and caboose and it looked as real as coud be watching it through the tv monitors...then there are these, http://www.midsouthlivesteamers.org/ one of these steam engines can cost a 100 grand.

[solo1]

My thoughts about model trains go way back.  Oh gosh, another short story here, excuse me.

It was 1936. We were in the middle of the Great Depression. Dad was working, but with seven mouths to feed, times were tough.

I was eight years old and wanted a Lionel train set for Christmas.  Since i didn't much understand the concept of money yet,  I thought that Dad could easily afford to buy me the Lionel train, especially since I was the only boy (four sisters).

As i remember, I got the usual practical gifts on Christmas Eve, socks, hankies, etc.  I was disappointed.

Christmas Day rolled around and Dad brought out this BIG box and gave it to me.   With shaky fingers I tore open the wrappings.  At that instance some semblance of grownup attitude hit me............

It was a train set, alright, but not a Lionel.  I knew instantly that what I was looking at was what Dad could afford (barely), a Marx Commodore Vanderbuilt train set.  It was not a Lionel but it sufficed.
I played with it all day until it was time to eat supper and I had to take it off the dining room table.

To this day, I can only imagine the Love that my folks had for me,  to sacrifice hard to come by money to satisfy their son.

Since then I built a layout in HO guage many years ago for my oldest son, Wayne, for Christmas.

And that's why this N gauge small effort will be a reminder of my Dad and Mom many years ago.

Wayne, solo1

[R J]

Nothing wrong with small trains. I have an engine that was given to me for helping clean out some hobby stuff of a man that had to go into assisted living. His hobby was making different sizes of trains. His son gave me a lionel  size solid brass old steam engine and tender. Assembled they are about 18" long and never been run. They are on display on my desk. Just these two pieces are valued at around $1700. Beautiful collectors item.

 

 

[old2soon]

Dad was a huge believer in realistic. Because of that middle rail Lionel was out of the question. He got us-my brother and me-an American Flyer styled after a steam locomotive. I believe it MIGHT have been a 4-8-2 on the wheel layout. Do I have to tell you WHO spent a LOT of time Christmas day making SURE it was safe for his sons??  And-again memory here  we could NOT put the liquid into the engine that made the smoke.  This was also back when the tinsel was metal and could and would short the track out if you were operating the train and that tinsel landed on the track.  I do recollect a lot of fun hours playing with that train. Forward or reverse on a loop-no switches or any other things for the layout.  Man that seems so long ago as I approach my 70th birthday.  Wayne-thanks for yet another memory jog!  RIDE SAFE.

[solo1]

But RJ, I already posted a pic!