Newbie

Biggest piece of advice I can offer - read through as much of this forum as possible, and ask as many questions as you want!
What do you need to know first: what starter set to buy? How to lay track in the garden? What power/control system to start with?

What trains do you like best: British, European (German/Swiss/Austrian), American....? Narrow Gauge or Standard Gauge?
How big a plot of garden do you have to work with (and have you got "planning permission" from the Domestic Management....)?

Ask away, we will help where we can.....

Oh, and welcome to GSC! :)

Jon.
 
Agree with Jon.

And welcome from me too....
 
Zerogee said:
Biggest piece of advice I can offer - read through as much of this forum as possible, and ask as many questions as you want!
What do you need to know first: what starter set to buy? How to lay track in the garden? What power/control system to start with?

What trains do you like best: British, European (German/Swiss/Austrian), American....? Narrow Gauge or Standard Gauge?
How big a plot of garden do you have to work with (and have you got "planning permission" from the Domestic Management....)?

Ask away, we will help where we can.....

Oh, and welcome to GSC! :)

Jon.
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Thanks Jon, is a starter set the best value for money to start? I have decided to start small at first. I like the idea of a small British branch line GWR ish in style. Are there any sets available? I do like the idea of battery powered loco and later steam.
Kevin
 
I think most of us here started with the LGB Stainz set, either passenger or freight and added extra track.

There isn't really any GWR or even British stuff apart from the Class 66 and container flats that are difficult to find now.

However, you could paint the Stainz and coaches into a GWR style. It's certainly been done here somewhere on the forum.

Most rtr G scale is German/Swiss/Austrian, or US themed. You can find British themed stuff, but you might be best looking at the 16mm website for advice here....

https://www.16mm.org.uk/newsite/default.html
 
Hi there, welcome to the Forum, visiting a Garden Railway in your nearby locality if practical, is one of the best ways to progress.

If you like reading, this site, http://familygardentrains.com/primer/index.htm, has a formidable source of information, whilst American in it's slant, the majority of the practical side is based on hands on experience by the author and other contributors, was my first port of call when I started, and still visit the site on a regular basis.

Another useful reference, though it is slightly dated, although it does contain some practical and useful examples is the Technical Manual available on a CD from The G Scale Society, http://gscalesociety.com/
 
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You might want to view the Mark Found series on building a garden railway. It's a bit basic and glosses over many aspects but it might give you enough information to start asking questions.

I can also recommend Kevin Strong's Garden Railway Basics book as chock-full of information and help in making some of the more fundamental decisions.

Good luck.
 
Grumpee said:
Thanks Jon, is a starter set the best value for money to start? I have decided to start small at first. I like the idea of a small British branch line GWR ish in style. Are there any sets available? I do like the idea of battery powered loco and later steam.
Kevin
Click to expand...


As Gizzy mentioned, if you want to go British outline then there isn't a huge amount of stuff that is ready-to-run, and no real starter sets that I can think of - though one possibility would be one of the Bachmann Thomas the Tank Engine sets....... don't be put off by the toylike nature of them, there are a number of people who make conversion parts to turn a "Thomas" or "Percy" into a quite acceptable "model" loco - usually a new smokebox door to replace the "face", some detailing parts such as lamps and some cab/backhead details. With some of these bits and a repaint, you can have a perfectly reasonable loco, and you can do similar things with their rolling stock range.
However that is track powered stuff (though battery conversion is possible).
Look also at that range of body kits that GRS (Garden Railway Specialists) make to build anglicised locos on LGB or other chassis.
I'm sure others will chip in soon with more ideas, there are quite a few on here who model British profile....

Jon.
 
Oh, and on the subject of books for the Garden beginner.... I strongly suggest you DON'T buy the Haynes "Garden Railway Manual", as it is nothing of the sort.... if tempted, make sure you look at a copy or read the Amazon reviews first! There are several books that ARE very good, including "Railways In Your Garden" which I think was published by the above-mentioned GRS.

Jon.
 
Welcome aboard. Follow the advice that's been given. Take it slow. You will make mistakes, but they're a learning experience, and experience is the best teacher. Battery power is the way to go, in my opinion and I see that you favor it. Enjoy yourself, it's a great hobby.
 
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Yes welcome aboard. I just like building and extending (and further extending!). Moss and weeds are my main problem. If starting out again, I'd do things a little differently - I have learned a lot from this site!
 
Thanks everyone, I've arranged to visit someone's layout close to me. Thomas the Tank Engine... .?? I like the idea of starting out with this set and converting over time. More investigations me thinks??!
 
They do stir the interest in the g/kids!
 
Look at the new Playmobil yellow diesel set..
You get a bullet-proof loco, with a simple controller.. Someone will pop-up with a link to conversions (some just a paint job) on here..

You can still also find the older Playmobil R/C trains secondhand, and these can form the basis of many models.

This set is also half the price of an LGB starter set, but only battery.. With an LGB starter set, you perhaps have greater potential for the future??

If you have Grand-kids, the Playmobil is a no-brainer, though!!

Welcome!
 
Do you mean like this? ..

DSC00688.JPG

An older Playmobil r/c 'block' (blue controller) with a 'drop-on' body..
 
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If you want to go with a Playmobil set and then grow/upgrade from there, pretty much the first thing you will need to do is to forget the plastic track that comes with the Playmobil diesel set (either just pack it away, or re-sell it on eBay) and start collecting some LGB or other (Piko, Aristo etc) "proper" track. The battery Playmobil diesel will run happily on any 45mm track. You can then stay with all battery power if you wish, or if you later get any track-powered locos you can just add a powerpack/controller of some sort.

Jon.
 
Zerogee said:
If you want to go with a Playmobil set and then grow/upgrade from there, pretty much the first thing you will need to do is to forget the plastic track that comes with the Playmobil diesel set (either just pack it away, or re-sell it on eBay) and start collecting some LGB or other (Piko, Aristo etc) "proper" track. The battery Playmobil diesel will run happily on any 45mm track. You can then stay with all battery power if you wish, or if you later get any track-powered locos you can just add a powerpack/controller of some sort.

Jon.
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Thanks, thinking more to use when granddaughter is here and just modify. Cheers.
 
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