Bird
Rest in Peace
Whew, no wonder I didn't know what "HO" meant. I had no idea there were so many different ones. Thanks, Bob.
Anyone play with HO model trains?
- Thread starter hillslider
- Start date
- Views: 1996
Bird
Rest in Peace
Whew, no wonder I didn't know what "HO" meant. I had no idea there were so many different ones. Thanks, Bob.
OP
hillslider
Gold Member
Hey.....great link. Looks to have a lot of info. This sure is going to cut into my TBN time.
Thanks for the reply.
Rob
Thanks for the reply.
Rob
OP
hillslider
Gold Member
Hey.....great link. Looks to have a lot of info. This sure is going to cut into my TBN time.
Thanks for the reply.
Rob
Thanks for the reply.
Rob
dmccarty
Super Star Member
Bird,
I don't think its sooooo important to know what HO means....
But one should really know how to pronounce HO.
A friend of mine, lets call her Sally, needed to buy a train for a gift. Sally knew nothing about trains. She walked into the train store and promptly asked to for a HO train.
Sally did not pronounce HO as H. O. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Sally was very embarressed while the train guy had a good laugh after he figured out what she really wanted. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
She knows a bit more now. At least she can pronounce HO correctly.
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Later,
Dan
I don't think its sooooo important to know what HO means....
But one should really know how to pronounce HO.
A friend of mine, lets call her Sally, needed to buy a train for a gift. Sally knew nothing about trains. She walked into the train store and promptly asked to for a HO train.
Sally did not pronounce HO as H. O. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Sally was very embarressed while the train guy had a good laugh after he figured out what she really wanted. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
She knows a bit more now. At least she can pronounce HO correctly.
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Later,
Dan
dmccarty
Super Star Member
Bird,
I don't think its sooooo important to know what HO means....
But one should really know how to pronounce HO.
A friend of mine, lets call her Sally, needed to buy a train for a gift. Sally knew nothing about trains. She walked into the train store and promptly asked to for a HO train.
Sally did not pronounce HO as H. O. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Sally was very embarressed while the train guy had a good laugh after he figured out what she really wanted. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
She knows a bit more now. At least she can pronounce HO correctly.
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Later,
Dan
I don't think its sooooo important to know what HO means....
But one should really know how to pronounce HO.
A friend of mine, lets call her Sally, needed to buy a train for a gift. Sally knew nothing about trains. She walked into the train store and promptly asked to for a HO train.
Sally did not pronounce HO as H. O. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Sally was very embarressed while the train guy had a good laugh after he figured out what she really wanted. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
She knows a bit more now. At least she can pronounce HO correctly.
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Later,
Dan
geneP
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2000
- Messages
- 835
- Location
- Central Mississippi, USA
- Tractor
- Case-International 385, Kubota L5450 w/LA1150A loader
I'm not into trains, I live too close the the tracks to have affection for them /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif But close to me there is a small business that make bird houses, the decorative kind that sells in department stores. Their office is an old grain bin with blown in insulation, decorated very nicely. At the top of the wall section is a shelf about a foot wide running around the room. The shelf neatly curves around the AC ducting and a steel beam short-cuts one of the curves to resemble a rail road trestle. On the shelf is tracks for a model train. From the description above it must be the garden scale, each car appears to be about 12" - 16" long. The train runs all day, and you never hear a sound from it. The owner says it is a precision German built train designed to be installed outdoors. Needless to say, the owners of the business are very clever and artistic.
geneP
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2000
- Messages
- 835
- Location
- Central Mississippi, USA
- Tractor
- Case-International 385, Kubota L5450 w/LA1150A loader
I'm not into trains, I live too close the the tracks to have affection for them /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif But close to me there is a small business that make bird houses, the decorative kind that sells in department stores. Their office is an old grain bin with blown in insulation, decorated very nicely. At the top of the wall section is a shelf about a foot wide running around the room. The shelf neatly curves around the AC ducting and a steel beam short-cuts one of the curves to resemble a rail road trestle. On the shelf is tracks for a model train. From the description above it must be the garden scale, each car appears to be about 12" - 16" long. The train runs all day, and you never hear a sound from it. The owner says it is a precision German built train designed to be installed outdoors. Needless to say, the owners of the business are very clever and artistic.
hwp
Platinum Member
Model Railroading, like any other hobby, is an hole which can absorb an endless amount of money. There are a seemingless endless list of questions that need to be asked before getting in very deep, but you have to begin somewhere. My best advice is to look for a hobby store that has staff who are model railroaders. They will help you sort throught the most pressing issues. For example, digital command control (DCC) is now widely available. This allows the operator to control each locomotive and accessory individually. But like everything else, it gets expensive - a simple DCC costs about $500 for the control unit and $100 per engine or accessory controlled. I still run my pike using a dual transofrmer wired in common track mode - but my guess is that I will convert to DCC is the not too distant future - ouch!!!
There are a lot of good plastic engines and rolling stock available but they are not of the quality of brass equipment. The cost of engines can run from as little as $10 to $5000 per unit! A good quality plastic engine can cost $500.
Over the years my layout has gone from very basic on a single sheet of plywood with a single engine and a few cars to a much more complex configuration (approx. 10' x 20') with over 40 engines and about 100 cars, about 50 indivually power track segments and about 50 switches. My initial engines and rolling stock were plastic - now I only buy brass models of specific road names and configurations. I spend hours and hours working on my system and enjoy it tremendously - but is is expensive. eBay is a tremendous source for equipment but you have to know what to look for - it is very easy to get burned. I recently bought a brass engine that was described as mint. The pictures looked great. The answers to all of the questions were appropriate. But when I received it I found that someone had crudely cobbled out sections of the frame to try to allow the leading and trailing trucks to turn sharper to negotiate tighter radius corners. The seller claims he didn't know about these modifications. Needless to say that the item is worth a fraction of what I paid for it. It still looks good and runs well but it isn't mint.
But it is still a great hobby - and it doesn't have to be expensive, but it can easily become so. Good luck! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
There are a lot of good plastic engines and rolling stock available but they are not of the quality of brass equipment. The cost of engines can run from as little as $10 to $5000 per unit! A good quality plastic engine can cost $500.
Over the years my layout has gone from very basic on a single sheet of plywood with a single engine and a few cars to a much more complex configuration (approx. 10' x 20') with over 40 engines and about 100 cars, about 50 indivually power track segments and about 50 switches. My initial engines and rolling stock were plastic - now I only buy brass models of specific road names and configurations. I spend hours and hours working on my system and enjoy it tremendously - but is is expensive. eBay is a tremendous source for equipment but you have to know what to look for - it is very easy to get burned. I recently bought a brass engine that was described as mint. The pictures looked great. The answers to all of the questions were appropriate. But when I received it I found that someone had crudely cobbled out sections of the frame to try to allow the leading and trailing trucks to turn sharper to negotiate tighter radius corners. The seller claims he didn't know about these modifications. Needless to say that the item is worth a fraction of what I paid for it. It still looks good and runs well but it isn't mint.
But it is still a great hobby - and it doesn't have to be expensive, but it can easily become so. Good luck! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
hwp
Platinum Member
Model Railroading, like any other hobby, is an hole which can absorb an endless amount of money. There are a seemingless endless list of questions that need to be asked before getting in very deep, but you have to begin somewhere. My best advice is to look for a hobby store that has staff who are model railroaders. They will help you sort throught the most pressing issues. For example, digital command control (DCC) is now widely available. This allows the operator to control each locomotive and accessory individually. But like everything else, it gets expensive - a simple DCC costs about $500 for the control unit and $100 per engine or accessory controlled. I still run my pike using a dual transofrmer wired in common track mode - but my guess is that I will convert to DCC is the not too distant future - ouch!!!
There are a lot of good plastic engines and rolling stock available but they are not of the quality of brass equipment. The cost of engines can run from as little as $10 to $5000 per unit! A good quality plastic engine can cost $500.
Over the years my layout has gone from very basic on a single sheet of plywood with a single engine and a few cars to a much more complex configuration (approx. 10' x 20') with over 40 engines and about 100 cars, about 50 indivually power track segments and about 50 switches. My initial engines and rolling stock were plastic - now I only buy brass models of specific road names and configurations. I spend hours and hours working on my system and enjoy it tremendously - but is is expensive. eBay is a tremendous source for equipment but you have to know what to look for - it is very easy to get burned. I recently bought a brass engine that was described as mint. The pictures looked great. The answers to all of the questions were appropriate. But when I received it I found that someone had crudely cobbled out sections of the frame to try to allow the leading and trailing trucks to turn sharper to negotiate tighter radius corners. The seller claims he didn't know about these modifications. Needless to say that the item is worth a fraction of what I paid for it. It still looks good and runs well but it isn't mint.
But it is still a great hobby - and it doesn't have to be expensive, but it can easily become so. Good luck! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
There are a lot of good plastic engines and rolling stock available but they are not of the quality of brass equipment. The cost of engines can run from as little as $10 to $5000 per unit! A good quality plastic engine can cost $500.
Over the years my layout has gone from very basic on a single sheet of plywood with a single engine and a few cars to a much more complex configuration (approx. 10' x 20') with over 40 engines and about 100 cars, about 50 indivually power track segments and about 50 switches. My initial engines and rolling stock were plastic - now I only buy brass models of specific road names and configurations. I spend hours and hours working on my system and enjoy it tremendously - but is is expensive. eBay is a tremendous source for equipment but you have to know what to look for - it is very easy to get burned. I recently bought a brass engine that was described as mint. The pictures looked great. The answers to all of the questions were appropriate. But when I received it I found that someone had crudely cobbled out sections of the frame to try to allow the leading and trailing trucks to turn sharper to negotiate tighter radius corners. The seller claims he didn't know about these modifications. Needless to say that the item is worth a fraction of what I paid for it. It still looks good and runs well but it isn't mint.
But it is still a great hobby - and it doesn't have to be expensive, but it can easily become so. Good luck! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
