BELIEVE IT OR NOT TRAIN MODELING DOESN'T START WITH PURCHASING A MODEL TRAIN SET AT ALL. THE FIRST THING YOU HAVE TO DO IS CREATE AN AREA UPON WHICH TO PLACE THE TRACK, CREATE THE SCENERY, AND ADD OTHER MODELS SUCH AS BUILDINGS AND CARS. KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO CREATE A COMPLETE ENVIRONMENT SUCH AS THIS IF YOU'RE JUST STARTING OUT, YOU CAN SIMPLY SET UP THE MODEL TRAIN SET ITSELF IF YOU PREFER.
REGARDLESS OF HOW COMPLEX YOU WANT YOUR FIRST PROJECT TO BE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO SET IT ON AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED. THIS CAN BE A TABLE YOU CRAFT YOURSELF, COMMONLY REFEREED TO AS A “WORK BENCH” AMONG TRAIN MODELERS. ALTERNATELY, YOU COULD SIMPLY PURCHASE A TABLE TO USE. THIS CAN BE CHEAPER WITH SMALLER TABLES BUT BUILDING THE WORK BENCH YOURSELF MAYBE MORE COST EFFECTIVE WITH LARGER TABLES.
IT SHOULD ALSO BE MENTIONED THAT BUILDING YOUR OWN WORK BENCH TENDS TO GIVE YOU MORE OPTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO ADDING SCENERY. A WORK BENCH CONSTRUCTED OUT OF PLYWOOD WITH A FOAM BASE ALLOWS YOU TO MORE EASILY ADD SCENERY SUCH AS BUILDINGS OR CREATE UNIQUE FEATURES SUCH AS LAKES. IF THIS SOUNDS A BIT TO AMBITIOUS FOR YOU AS A BEGINNER DON'T BE AFRAID TO KEEP THINGS SIMPLE.
ONE THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT HOW BIG OR HOW SMALL YOUR WORK BENCH IS WILL DICTATE HOW BIG YOUR MODEL TRAIN SET CAN BE, AS WELL AS THE SURROUNDING SCENERY. IT IS BEST TO HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW LARGE YOU WANT THE COMPLETED WORK TO BE BEFORE YOU CREATE YOUR WORK BENCH OR PURCHASE A TABLE.
WHEN PEOPLE FIRST GET INTO TRAIN MODELING THEY TEND TO PURCHASE A STARTER TRAIN SET. THIS TENDS TO HAVE IT'S ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. THE GOOD THING IS THAT A STARTER SET IS VERY EASY TO SET UP AND COMES WITH A TRACK PLAN. THIS WILL ENSURE THAT IT FUNCTIONS PROPERLY AND THAT THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS SUCH AS NOT HAVING ENOUGH POWER OR THE TRAIN DERAILING DUE TO A BOTCHED TRACK LAYOUT.
THE DOWNSIDE TO THIS IS THAT THESE STARTER SETS OFFER VERY LITTLE ROOM FOR EXPANSION. THIS IS DUE TO SEVERAL FACTORS INCLUDING THE ELECTRICAL CAPACITY OF THE TRANSFORMER THE TRACK CAME WITH. WHILE ADDING NEW SECTIONS OF TRACK TO YOUR STARTER SET IS POSSIBLE THERE JUST MAY NOT BE ENOUGH POWER TO KEEP THE TRAIN GOING.
ALTERNATELY, YOU CAN BUILD A TRAIN SET FROM SCRATCH WHICH OFFERS UNLIMITED EXPANSION POTENTIAL. THIS IS GREAT FOR THOSE OF AN INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED LEVEL BUT MAY BE A DAUNTING TASK FOR BEGINNERS. YOU WILL NEED TO PURCHASE TRACK, RAILROAD CARS, AND ELECTRONICS SEPARATELY AND ASSEMBLE THE LAYOUT YOURSELF. THIS CAN LEAD TO SOME AMAZING CREATIONS FOR THOSE WITH THE PATIENCE AND DISCIPLINE TO STICK WITH IT FOR THE LONG-TERM.
THE DRAWBACK TO STARTING FROM SCRATCH IS THAT IT DOES TAKE MORE WORK, MORE PLANNING, AND MORE PATIENCE. IF YOU START FROM SCRATCH YOU'RE DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO HAVE A FUNCTIONING RAILROAD UP AND RUNNING OVERNIGHT.
OVERALL BEGINNERS MAY WANT TO START WITH AN ATTRACTIVE STARTER SET. WHILE THESE SETS TEND TO BE MORE SIMPLISTIC THEY ARE ALSO EASIER TO ASSEMBLE AND OFFER A GREAT INTRODUCTION TO THE HOBBY OF TRAIN MODELING. JUST MAKE SURE YOU DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE MAKING A PURCHASE AND REALIZE THAT THERE ARE LIMITATIONS AS TO HOW MUCH YOU CAN EXPAND A STARTER SET WITHOUT CREATING A JUMBLED NON-FUNCTIONING MESS IN MOST CASES.