Model train enthusiasts?
 

Anyone interested in model train? My son LOVES trains (he's 3.5) and we are very lucky to live in a city where we take trains, trams, metros and trolley's every week for transportation (we don't own a car). Living in a big city also means a lot of the father/son activities I did with my dad (fishing, hiking, etc) aren't really available so I'd like to find something that I can share with him.

So my biggest question is, where to start? He is only three so I don't want to sink a ton of money and have him lose interest in a couple of years, but I'd like to find some decent quality trains that we can build. Any advice?

What scale are you interested in? There's a bunch of 'em (O, HO, N, etc.) You can also find quite a few modeling options in each scale. For example, you can probably find Thomas the Tank Engine sets in HO, which might be fun at your son's age.

I can't say I'm a huge expert, and I don't have a model train set up, but I do look at pics in the mags every so often. :)

Hud is about the same age as your boy and loves trains, as well. However, I took the easy route and went with wooden trains.

He has this Imaginarium table set:

http://imagethumbnails.milo.com/003/...164797_290.jpg

Much less expensive than electric trains, takes up a lot less space, easier to assemble/take-down and he loves it. If he's still interested when he gets older, I'll bring my old HO scale stuff down out of the attic and build it back up again.

My dad was an HO gauge enthusiast and it bled over into my life until I was 12 or 13. Our neighbor (some said he an eccentric- I thought he was incredibly cool) had a four panel (4 4x8 boards) in his attic with mountains, bridges, tunnels and a little village. Five different tracks. Dad helped him build the 3rd and 4th boards and I helped by staying out of the way.

Growing up there was an enthusiast who lived in the next town over from us who converted his basement - every square inch of it - into a mostly handmade, stunning, detailed railroad world - HO scale.

At Christmas he'd open it to the public, and I remember the impact it had on me every time my family drove over to see it: there were cities, rural scenes, waterways, mountains, and what seemed to be hundreds of trains and cars - and little tiny people frozen in action.

When I was older I set up a 4x8 on two saw horses, laid some tracks (two interconnecting ovals), and made a paper mache mountain tunnel for the train to pass through. My HO locomotive and three box cars chugged round and round it for hours on end. Great fun making and operating it.

Try to find a model railroader or club in your area where you can take your son, and watch the expression on his face when he first sees it.

http://www.livelocomotion.com/files/...llery_6_lg.jpg

Where to start? I agree about getting a basic wooden train set. Then you and family and friends can add to it as he gets older, if he's still interested. And you could set up an electric HO set from time to time and let him take the controls. But above all, you have to get him the official train engineer's red bandana, hat, and whistle!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_x7WcimbIc7...Bhat%2Bred.jpg

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. He has acquired a pretty good collection of wooden trains and tracks and the apparel. I was trying to gauge if it is a little over the top to start getting into simple electric trains with him yet. We live close to a big hobby store and he loves to go and just watch the trains going around and around.

I really have zero knowledge of model trains (I had to look up the different scales) so you guys have given me a good place to start.

I do like the HO scale idea with Thomas. We used to go to North Carolina every summer for vacation and we'd always hit the Thomas the Tank Engine festival and take a ride on the Thomas train.

Just warn me though...is this going to become yet another expensive hobby ;)

I'm glad you liked the Thomas idea. I used to watch those shows with my son when he was young, and I still have a soft spot for it.

Model railroading really is not *that* expensive, as long as you are not trying to model something to exactness. The track, engines, and cars can be bought for a reasonable amount. It's when you're trying to landscape a large room, and detail all the rolling stock for (say) the Spokane, Portland and Seattle RR, that you're going to have issues. ;)

Perhaps most important to remember:

It's Crabbe Town, not Crabbeville.

~ S.