I need help!

[sqstott]

Hey guys,

I need help! I am designing a train room for a little boy and I have no idea about trains. I want to run a track around the room on a shelf. I have no idea what size train I need and I'm not very good with the train lingo so please bare with me.
As for the room, I have attached a drawing of it. I really need to know if I'm on the right track. (No pun intended )
Any info would be much appreciated. I realize I might not have given you guys enough information, so please ask me anything that would help.
Thanks a lot!

 

[77railer]

Welcome to the gauge.

I would suggest going with O gauge. You can find tons of it and unless you want to spend big time cash the price is right. You can use aluminuim(spelling) l brackets to support the shelf from below. I have plans on doing the same in my boys room just havent got around to it yet....train club keeping me busy right now. I would suggest storing or rather mounting the transformer in the closet and wiring it to a switch that your son can use to turn the train off and on, dont know how good your electrical skills are but they have to be better than mine. You can set the trans at a speed you like and then he cant hurt anything by switching on and off. Not sure what else you need help with but I know if you give us more that I will will help the best I can and some of the others can help more than I. Hope we can make your vision come true.

77Railer

 

[sqstott]

Still Lost

Thanks for your quick response. I forgot to mention a key point, I am putting this design into a model home, so the little boy isn't really real. But i do want the train to function. Should I use a battery operated cars? Because this is for a model home I don't need an expensive train, do you have any suggestions on a brand or type of train? And how much track do I need for this size room and how do I buy the curves so I make sure that they match up with my corners? Is the size train you suggested large enough to be a large impact in the room?
Sorry about all the questions, I really am clueless about this!

 

[Matthyro]

Welcome to the Gauge sqstott. I have seen a G scale round the room track and train. You don't say how old your son is but there are some nice locos and cars thar a young person whould find easy to handle. If you have a hobby shop nearby go and have a look. Sometimes they have sets on sale.

 

[MasonJar]

If you are doing this just for show, maybe a static display is all you need. LGB (big toy trains - like G scale ~1:25 or so) or O scale (1:48) can be expensive. Would a "Christmas train" set accomplish what you want?

I would suggest that the best thing would be a visit to a local train/hobby shop to see what is available. If you don't have a local store, try www.walthers.com - they carry just about everything that is available, although usually you can find it locally or from other internet stores for less $$.

Andrew

 

[sqstott]

I think I'm going to have to go by the hobby store. Thanks for the help!

 

[77railer]

Let us know how it goes....and give us some pics when ya finish.


77Railer

 

[Dave Farquhar]

K-Line (a Lionel competitor) has a battery-operated O gauge set that it sells for about $40. They're not easy to find, which is a shame because I think they'd sell like crazy. But for ease of setup it can't be beat, it'll be pretty durable, and most importantly, it'll look the part.

 

[Dave Farquhar]

The best price I found on the K-Line set is $34. http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/mdk/mdkko1404.htm

If you want a longer train, you can add cars to it. Any O27 type car will look and work just fine with it. Something like this would be ideal. http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/mdk/mdkk6221471.htm

Expect to pay between $10 and $25 per additional O27 car.

 

[spitfire]

SQ, if this is for a model home I assume it will be taken out once the home is actually sold. Perhaps there is a hobby shop that would like some publicity out of this display. Around here, the stores that provide furniture for model homes get placards with their names and addresses as advertising. I'm not sure what kind of money changes hands, but you might look into the idea. Perhaps the hobby shop would even install the display.

Val