Thanks Jon
I want a meandering branch line to start with in G scale as that seems the more popular and will be electric or battery . I have a lot of experience in battery stuff with My RC boats .
Good about 2ndhand stuff assume eBay is the best place ?. Lucky I have a shop just up the road from my work in Orpington.
Have sort of an idea but not sure what the biggest incline you can have do have to work that out and bits and pieces like that
You're lucky to be within easy reach of Kent Garden Rail - pop in there and have a good long chat about what you want to do. You're also probably not that far from Chalk Garden Rail in Gravesend, Peter there is very helpful. Second-hand track can often be bought from retailers (as well as KGR and Chalk, Garden Railway Specialists - GRS - in Princes Risborough usually have a wide selection in stock), but eBay is a good source - do watch prices, they can vary a lot - as with everything, you get good deals and you also get chancers..... generally as a rule of thumb you should reckon on paying between £3 and £5 per foot for second-hand track, from very grubby stuff to almost pristine. If you spot a batch listed that you're not sure about, just ask on here and you'll get plenty of advice re condition, price, compatibilty etc.
If you decide that you're going the battery RC route, as quite a few do now (though there are still many of us here using track power without any problems at all), then you don't need to worry about track cleanliness and electrical continuity. Some folks on here are, shall we say. a little bit "evangelical" about battery power, but all systems have their pros and cons and many of us have and use both track and battery power as appropriate.
For inclines, only have them when you absolutely can't avoid it - like real railways, they should be kept to a minimum! If you have to have them, try to keep to around 2.5-3.5%. At a maximum, 4% should be considered a working limit. Some people manage more than that, but you're into the realms of short trains only, multiple-headed locos, powered "helper" cars and similar stuff. Of course, if you want to build a rack line then the LGB rack locos will handle anything up a 25%!
Jon.
