Anyone except me do model trains?

[BigShot]

just wonderin, i got a good size set and i usually spend all my cash on it, yes, i have nothing better to do lols

[OrbitAddict]

My dad does. We have a "train layout" in the basement, and it's about 40 feet long and about 10-15 feet wide. I'm not exactly sure on those measurements, but it's pretty close.

He used to have H-O Scale, and then had O scale, and I'm not sure what scale it is now. Trains are one of his many hobbies. He has many friends who are engineers, and they've let me drive a train through a town before. It was pretty fun!

My dad also built a replica of a G-51 [or G-52, not sure] Mustang from the war. And yes, it is a plane that you can fly in the air. (<-- Some people have asked me if it's a little remote control airplane... Lol!)

The airplane is sitting in my garage....

[AR~Unit»Zero]

I would, but lack the space to set it up. My parents house didnt have enough free space to really do much with it and my apartment certainly doesn't so I'm pretty well out of luck until I get my own house with a basement. 

[A41~CET]

I love model trains.  I like the HO scale.   I dont have a layout at the moment.  Im working on getting my bacement cleaned up and water tight.  Then I am going to use 15 ft X 15 ft for a layout.  I got a bunch of trains, I have some Thomas the tank engine trains in HO scale.    I have James and Thomas.   Im going to get the rest of the Sodar trains and make an island of Sodar trains layout.

Im 30 and love Thomas the Tank engine.   LOL

[BigShot]

if you dont have enough space for a while board layout there is another option, you can have a board, sticking maby a foot out from the wall and run the trains there. you can either do point-point stuff or you could give up some more space for a turn arround

there is no such thing as not having enough room for a layout lol. there are so many things you can do with it, maby i'l post some pics of my layout later, it dosnt have much scenery at the moment, still deciding on the final track plan before i finally do it XD

just spendin all my parents extra cash on trains and track for now lols

[Rázgrìz]

we do too, its still up from christmas, we have O gauge with an engin from the 30's

[Condurre]

No, but I would like to get into it again.

My father and I spray painted some 3/4 inch particle board green (for grass), and set up two circles of HO track (one within the other). We used two "switchers" to allow the train to go from the inner circle to the outer circle and back.

The circles each had their own transformers so two trains could run at once.

It was really simple, but a lot of fun. My cat growing up absolutely loved it.

I could slide the board under my bed when I wasn't using it (to address those who don't have the room for a train).

My grandfather was into slot car tracks which was fun too.

I always used to look at the catalog of different slot car track pieces that were available at the time.

I noticed one track piece that was a slot car track that allowed an HO train track to cross the slot car track.

Do pieces like this still exist?

If so, I'd like to build a combination of slot car and HO train track on some painted particle board.

I would love it... err.. my nephew would absolutely love it. lol.

Condurre

[MrMxyzptlk]

I have two 4x8 sheets of 3/4" plywood that come down via pulleys+cables+motors from my garage ceiling.

Sheet one is a classic figure eight with the good-old plastic trestle set, and has a bunch (4) of those old "activated action scene" track modules around the flat areas. It is a fully painted surface (green "grassy" areas and a brown strip of "road" going across the board and thru the two electronic gate sections) with raised cork bedding. There are no permanent features that are not part of the track.

We used to put our Christmas tree base in one side of the "eight" and stack the presents in the other, but now it's "just a track section." 

Sheet two is a dual oval with a couple of small switch yards in the middle area. I fully intended to turn it into my first full-blown diorama piece, but never made the time to do so.  Hence this sheet remains a pleasant "woody" tone.  Track is tacked directly to board w/o bedding.

Each board has a pair of switched sections that allow them to be linked together, side-by-side, and run as a full, HO setup. (All the switch controls, however are mounted under & on sheet two, so you have to run things from there when they're linked.)

FYI: My wifey loves trains even more than I do, so I have NO PROBLEM-O spending time on these things... so long as SHE can play with them too! (I.e. I do all the work, but....  )

[Wízzßång]

My dad built one on the back of an old door.  It had two ovals, with switchers so the train could go between them.  I had a lot of fun with it when I was younger.

[Condurre]

Well, thankfully all the work is the fun part.

I am thinking I need to build one again. I do miss it especially around Christmas time when I think about it more for some reason. Seeing this topic spawned a ton of google searches from my house today.

Have you ever seen the track section I described in my previous post? slot car track + HO train track crossing each other? I didn't see it in my search results. Unless you guys know, maybe a trip to the local hobby store will yield the answer.

Condurre

[BigShot]

yes, i love the work more then running the trains themselved. thats why my layout gets a bit bigger every week or so lol, used to be 2 seperate boards (my brothers and mine) then it was one big board, then we added a second track and sidings and finally en egine yard, thats where it is at the moment

as for the track piece, i have never seen one, i might try to make one for you if you'd like, dont know how good it would be though



**WOOTS** ok, after working for nearly 3 hours on it, from filming to uploading, here is a video of my set, hope you like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4zvLNICJ-4

note:comments are disabled to prevent people from putting down "bad" stuff so no worries!

[Gryphon]

Model Trains, sadly not, model planes and ships, yep. Used to have an entire fleet of Rebels and Imperials from Star Wars when I was younger.

BTW, Orbit, that plane is probably a P-51, 'P' for Pursuit, just an FYI. Seen several of the full scale ones up close and personal and it makes me wish I had a pilot's license.

[(herd)_Ian7]

i do gundam models... heres a pic of one I did. My dad as one for the x-mas tree.

[BFM_Hydra]

Nice, Bigshot! That's bigger than my dad's set. We don't ever set it up anymore though.

PS. What's a basement??? XD

[KØËHL£®]

Back in the day, when I was like 5 (only 15 years ago), I received an O-scale train set for Christmas and my dad helped me build a layout in our basement. It had switch tracks, a "Silver Bullet" Locomotive, a small town with detailed grass and pedestrians with cars on the roads. It also had a tunnel/snow capped mountain made of plaster.

Those were the days.....I would stay in my basement for HOURS with my Conductor hat on, playing with my small yet VERY cool train set! It was only about 5' x 10' but it was LOADS of fun!

P.S. to Hydra: A basement is a "room" below your 1st floor, usually surrounded by the house's foundation....ROFL!

My uncle also has a train setup which is rather unique....He owns a dentist shop in the city, and he runs his trains along the ceiling/wall up high where they meet. They run on a small platform and circle all around his 1000 sq. ft. dental office. I believe he has 5 layers of tracks, all on bleachers (steplike platforms, so all trains can be seen). You would be sitting there getting your teeth cleaned and then this little 'chugga chugga' would be above your head near the ceiling and you'd watch this little model train set (HO-scale) go by and toot its horn as it left your spot. It was SO COOL! They run all day, everyday! Really quite entertaining.