Starting my First Railway

Thank you all. I appreciate the different perspectives on the matter of curves. JonD, you are 100% correct; for the time being I want to play around and see what I can do. Most likely this railway will be around for probably about 10 years max, then be dismantled. So, I'm not going to put that much money into it. I'll build a more prototypical railway when I have my own yard that I can manipulate however I see fit.

One other thing. I assume its a UK thing, maybe... what is "Horses for Courses"?? I'm assuming it's basically "to each his own".
 
BakerJohn said:
One other thing. I assume its a UK thing, maybe... what is "Horses for Courses"?? I'm assuming it's basically "to each his own".
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John

It actually means the exact opposite, to each his own means 'please yourself, it's your preference, or, anything goes' whereas horses for courses means 'having the right mount for the particular going, or, to put it another way having the right tool for the job'. In the context of track curves it means having an appropriate radius for the type of railway being modelled.

David
 
Gavin Sowry said:
View attachment 233456

....allow me to respectfully offer a contrary opinion. Some Shays can run around R1 curves, this is one of them..
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My pal Bruce and I have seven Shays between us, including a couple of three-trucks, too, and while they might run round the way that you are showing in your photo, none of them will run round a left-hand R1 without dismantling the drive shafts.

Still, my own curves are 4.7m and 4.9m radius, and those on our society track are even wider, so it's not much of problem for us.

tac
 
One more bit of (dubious) advise. It is not a race, no need to buy it all at once (G scale can look a bit expensive). But get something running. That will help you decide on your next steps - whether to are a watcher or an operator/electric or steam - will suggest what style of layout and its complexity will best suit you. In ten years time you will just about be ready to make a fresh start - with a lot more knowlwdge, so that works in well.
 
David1226 said:
John

It actually means the exact opposite, to each his own means 'please yourself, it's your preference, or, anything goes' whereas horses for courses means 'having the right mount for the particular going, or, to put it another way having the right tool for the job'. In the context of track curves it means having an appropriate radius for the type of railway being modelled.

David
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As you say David context is everything :) But I always thought it can be applied the way John thought.......without any qualification. :giggle: Max
 
stockers said:
One more bit of (dubious) advise. It is not a race, no need to buy it all at once (G scale can look a bit expensive). But get something running. That will help you decide on your next steps - whether to are a watcher or an operator/electric or steam - will suggest what style of layout and its complexity will best suit you. In ten years time you will just about be ready to make a fresh start - with a lot more knowlwdge, so that works in well.
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This is really great advice. I bought a bunch of stuff that I didn't need. I was all over the place. I wouldn't want to know how much money I've wasted on the wrong stuff. Be very careful on what you buy also. I found some loco's seem like a great deal but some are very hard and very expensive to repair. I have a mid generation Shay that the moter blocks replacement 175.00. I payed 200.00 for the whole train. So I say losts of research ....
 
stockers said:
One more bit of (dubious) advise. It is not a race, no need to buy it all at once (G scale can look a bit expensive). But get something running. That will help you decide on your next steps - whether to are a watcher or an operator/electric or steam - will suggest what style of layout and its complexity will best suit you. In ten years time you will just about be ready to make a fresh start - with a lot more knowlwdge, so that works in well.
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When I first started 14 years ago (First year indoors, then out into the garden), the cost of a lot of G scale put me off - I bought 3 LGB starter sets at first, plus track and small coaches and wagons - back then a starter set was £180 and the digital starter set was £400.
Those costs were (in my mind), justifiable, but then I saw that some coaches were £200 each and there were locos over £1000.

But when you consider it, when I have sold stock, I generally get my money back, so the big outlay on stock and track is not out of order - if you are married this makes it easier to justify the outlay (I'm not married now).

So now I buy whatever I want knowing that if I take care of my stock, I can generally get my money back.
 
AustrianNG said:
But when you consider it, when I h is by no means a guarenteeave sold stock, I generally get my money back, so the big outlay on stock and track is not out of order So now I buy whatever I want knowing that if I take care of my stock, I can generally get my money back.
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I agree in principle with the above but with a big caveat. Likewise I was fortunate that when I started out, at a similar time, benefiting from bringing in direct from the US stock, when you could get $2 - £1. I also bought LGB track components, line side items and some stock. When I came to sell off the US 1:29 items to switch to Bachmann Spectrum and AMS 1:20.3 stock (and 16 mm live steam) the pound had dropped against the dollar and Bachmann resale prices had slumped. In addition at the point I needed to upgrade my switches/curves from R1/R3 to R5's or equivalent, to cope with the needs of the new stock, LGB had just gone bust and there was a sudden spate panic buying on Ebay of their items. I also managed to "add value" along the way to one or two live steamers and built from kit stock. As a result I have not made a loss on what I have sold so far, even allowing for commission payment (just don't count your labour and inflation ;)).

Why do I relate this story ? Not to be smug and say, "how clever I am". Nothing could be further from the truth, it was pure luck and happenstance that both my needs and the market's shifts coincided and I ended up just about "even stephens" so far on the cost of the turnover of my items. You need the prevailing market forces to work in your favour for this to work. Whether it be exchange rates, having the right stock in the right place at the right time or the state of the economy and the publics' relative disposable income and interest being up there to create the market. Looking after your stuff and keeping all the packaging intact (how the Germans love their "original verpackt") is by no means a guarentee things will generally maintain their value. I think we will all have to be more circumspect in the future. Max
 
I think what everyone is saying, is go and enjoy yourself playing with your trains and track, don't worry if it doesn't turn out right 1st 2nd or even umpteenth time you'll always have the chance to change things at your leisure. And never forget, no one is born an expert!
 
It's a hobby, you pay your money and make your choice. I have neighbours in to Cars, scuba diving, old motor bikes and a wife in to horses. They all spend far more than me on their hobbies. As for the theater or football matches (same thing?), add in the travel and food - Yikes!
LGB is cheap, and as Paul suggested, re-sellable.
 
Hi all!
So, there's been a conflict with my design plan and I've had to go back to the drawing board to replan my layout. The area I intended on eclxpanding thr garden for my track is claimed by my two young cousins. They put their bounce house there. So, does anyone have any advice on crossing grass / walkways with track? Note: We have a lot of foot track on our property, plus 3 dogs.
 
Lift out section - made from 2 x Ali T sections, joined by s/s bolts with RHS ali spacers 100 mm long - and then a couple of ali angle pieces to finish the edges.

The 45 tonner is quite weighty as it is battery powered - it's the heaviest point load that the bridge would likely have to take.

In the end, there's absolutely no flex, and the span is 2.4 metres.

PICT0002.JPG
 
Rhinochugger said:
Lift out section - made from 2 x Ali T sections, joined by s/s bolts with RHS ali spacers 100 mm long - and then a couple of ali angle pieces to finish the edges.

The 45 tonner is quite weighty as it is battery powered - it's the heaviest point load that the bridge would likely have to take.

In the end, there's absolutely no flex, and the span is 2.4 metres.

View attachment 233595
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That looks awesome!
I was thinking something made of styrene and wood, but I do like the concept of no supports better. My span will be about 11 feet (3.4m) with an additional section that will have to come away about 4 feet. This is a quick diagram I put together with minimal dimensions taken of the space. (It is pouring rain at the moment.)
 
BakerJohn said:
That looks awesome!
I was thinking something made of styrene and wood, but I do like the concept of no supports better. My span will be about 11 feet (3.4m) with an additional section that will have to come away about 4 feet. This is a quick diagram I put together with minimal dimensions taken of the space. (It is pouring rain at the moment.)
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Well, bearing in mind we're talking 'lift out' - you've got to be able to lift it :D:D:D:D:D

That piece is just about easy enough for me to handle. Given that there is absolutely no flex, it's probably a bit over-engineered, but when I ordered the section I was working on rule of thumb, and my thumb is obviously on the large side.

It's also a question of what standard aluminium sections you can buy. I also managed to buy the stuff from somewhere that would cut to length, so I had them cut the 100 mm spacers for me - much safer as they're all the same length with good square cuts :devil::devil:
 
BakerJohn said:
That looks awesome!
I was thinking something made of styrene and wood, but I do like the concept of no supports better. My span will be about 11 feet (3.4m) with an additional section that will have to come away about 4 feet. This is a quick diagram I put together with minimal dimensions taken of the space. (It is pouring rain at the moment.)
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Talking lift outs is fine, however if you are at ground level LGB Track laid on a concrete base then Tram Tracked in Concrete will survive pretty well all that is thrown at it. You will need to clean out the grooves before running but possibly much easier than lifting out a bridge and having to store it in a smallish Garden? Food for more thought. Oh and a lot cheeper than Ally Section as well.
 
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