Father son project

[Midnight]

Wow, this is great for such a small sized layout. Any four year old I know would have trashed the thing. ::coughmycousincough:: I wish I could have that kind of support. My dad keeps on saying how I shouldn't start it because I'll spend every penny I earn on it. I mean, I'll save a few pennies. I wouldn't spend all of'em.

~Midnight
​

 

[oldtanker]

That is really cool, now ya got me and the wife talking (wondering if talking with her is good or bad...).....first will be a train set for the oldest grandsons father and other grandpa....the one who got him an engineers hat a whistle when he was 3 but never had trains as a kid....nor did he give his 2 boys trains...he told me he really regrets that. And he only lives a mile away and has the room....WEG!

Then the one who lives up the hill here on the farm! N scale cause they have one now but really doing a layout...may have to stay at my house.

Then for my son in law in Cedar Rapids....

Then for my son in law who will be a daddy next summer....

At least that way I can spread out the cost!

Rick

 

[MilesWestern]

Fantastic, the lighting makes it look real, or at least a model version of "Cars" by Pixar! :thumb:

 

[TrainNut]

Any four year old I know would have trashed the thing.​

The only problems we have is that sometimes the little hands break off the trees at the base as the cars go flying by and then they have to be reglued. Also, sometimes the cars go places they really shouldn't resulting in some touchups every now and then but for the most part, he takes excellent care of it!​

 

[Cannonball]

Amazing work! :thumb:

 

[ozzy]

That is really cool, now ya got me and the wife talking (wondering if talking with her is good or bad...).....first will be a train set for the oldest grandsons father and other grandpa....the one who got him an engineers hat a whistle when he was 3 but never had trains as a kid....nor did he give his 2 boys trains...he told me he really regrets that. And he only lives a mile away and has the room....WEG!

Then the one who lives up the hill here on the farm! N scale cause they have one now but really doing a layout...may have to stay at my house.

Then for my son in law in Cedar Rapids....

Then for my son in law who will be a daddy next summer....

At least that way I can spread out the cost!






Rick

cedar rapids iowa? that all most down where i am, well CR is 125 miles north of me. but im 125 miles away from everywhere so it dont seem far to me....lol someone told me there is a big garden layout you can walk through up around there, i cant remember if it was Cedar rapids or Iowa city tho.

 

[Herc Driver]

Wow...you've been busy! Those garages finished out great. Really nice job! The sun light really enhances all the work you've done - really nice job.

 

[trainnut65]

Trainnut you and little nut have been bussy and it looks great. Nice to see father and son doing things togather. He will remember this for the rest of his life. Great job

 

[Cogent]

Awesome layout! I have recently decided to get back into the hobby because of my three sons. The oldest is four years old so this gives me some really great ideas on what to do with our new family Bachmann train set.

 

[fuzzyloggin]

just stumbled across this thread and was amazed at how this layout developed , you took it way beyond i thought you would when i read the first few posts , well done mate , i certainly will be remembering this if my son keeps up the same level of interest hes showing at 2 and a half when hes 4-5 , what a beauty! thanks for sharing bud

 

[TrainNut]

Thank you! It was a fun layout to build. He has not played with it much lately but that is because his little 2 year old brother is a tasmanian devil and everytime we bring it out, we risk trees getting snapped off or something of the sort. Amazing how two children from the same parents, raised the same way, can be so totally different.

 

[pgandw]

Amazing how two children from the same parents, raised the same way, can be so totally different.

Those with one child are anxious because they believe that correct parenting wil determine the future of a child. Those with 2 or more children just smile, because they know it's all heredity.

 

[aggiewonder]

Amazing how two children from the same parents, raised the same way, can be so totally different.

same thing here...first boy was an angel...second...well, he more than made up for the angel....

an inspiring thread...i've been meaning to get off of my duff as i think the 4 year old is ready...i just need a way to keep the two year old from destroying it!

beautiful. simple, realistic--not only for a 4 year old, but others as well, easy for him to use and enjoy.

well done.

 

[diesel]

I know there's a lotta people sayin this but GREAT JOB! Not only will he enjoy spending time with Dad, but you're doing him a favor. This will engage his imagination as opposed to what video games do. I like how you kept it small so as to not overwhelm a youngster.

 

[TrainNut]

Thank you for the compliment. We have not pulled it out as often as we like lately because his little brother is not nearly as "patient" and adept at N scale as he is. My 5 year old is going to be a surgeon whereas my 2 year old is going to be a demolition expert!

 

[TruckLover]

My 5 year old is going to be a surgeon whereas my 2 year old is going to be a demolition expert!

hehehehehehehehehehehehehe hey, they both give good pay right? :mrgreen:

 

[diesel]

-Don't forget; money isn't as sweet if you have to go through things you dislike to get it

 

[w8jy]

You have done a great job on that layout!
Many years ago, when my son was small, we built an HO layout on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. He also liked cars, so we had a lot of roads, a couple of tunnels and a few buildings.
Last year, he built a similar layout with his 4 year old son. The next time they paid us a visit (they live a few hundred miles away), my grandson wanted to know why there weren't any trains at my house!
So, I started an N scale layout - also 4x8. When he was here last summer, the track was laid and a few roadways were down. He liked the layout, but made it clear that the next time he came he expected to see a lot more trains and a lot more cars!
So, I'll bet that someday he will be building a layout with his son, and you'll have another generation of model railroaders.
I started my layout for my grandson, but I think I am enjoying it even more than he will!

 

[TrainNut]

That's a really neat story. I can only hope that my son will be as enthused about his as he gets older as I am now. It does have it's down side though. He gets so much of my trains at home that when we go out to other train events, he's kind of like, it's no big deal. When we visit the local club, the members there offer to let him operate their trains. He usually declines as he gets to operate Dad's trains at home whenever he wants to. Time will tell.

 

[Pat Hansen]

Wow!

We have a 4 year old who is a train nut as well. We just came back from the Palm Springs, CA area where the "Living Desert" has a huge display of great train workmanship. He spent more time there than any other part of the 7 day vacation. It's an impressive set-up, so I'll post the photos once I get them downloaded.

Anyways, right then and there my wife and I came up with the idea of rather that increasing the pile up the junk toys that are out there we were going to get him started on model railroading this Christmas. I found this site while trying to figure out which scale to go with and and you have helped me make up my mind.

I realize that I'll need to do most of the work so, other than having him do as much as possible what advice can you share with a rookie. Also what mistakes did you (or anyone else) make when you got started?

Thanks,


Pat