So You Want to Simulate the Life of The Model Railroader?
If you have a passion for trains and have always thought about creating a small scale replica or prototype of a certain theme or era then the model railroader can help you get started. I personally love trains and every time I get stopped by one, I think to myself of different things I still need to plan for me to simulate my railroad world. I don't know about you but I don't start tripping out or getting all upset waiting in the car for the train to pass. Instead ideals start flowing in my head on different design concepts I would want to create for my own miniature HO scale world.
I think the biggest step as a model railroader is the planning. You have to plan for your bench work, track layout, control system, scenery, building structures, people, vehicles, rolling stock and locomotives you want to use along with all the other aspects of model railroading. You want your locomotives to seem as real as possible with sound and exhaust simulation.
All of this should be considered if you want to simulate the real world as in today or back in time. The most realistic layouts are planned very well with all these points in mind. You should take your time when planning. You do not want to rush the project and then have problems with it all later down the road. To this date, I am still planning my southwestern corridor from Windsor to Toronto located in Ontario, Canada. This is a busy corridor with freight and passenger service.
You should tackle each design concept one at a time so you do not get to overwhelmed trying to full-fill everything at once. Also by taking it with baby steps you will get alot more done in an efficient way. The best way to start is by writing down all your ideals that come across your mind. Start drawing small sketch track layout designs. I recommend using a paper pad that has square grid lines on the page. That way you can scale each square like so, 1 square = 1'-0" or whatever scale you want. This makes things alot easier when estimating the cost of bench work, track and wiring. Make a list of material you will need to start building your bench work. Do the same for all design stages of the model railroad layout plan.
Once you have the different stages written down or drawn you will start to have a clearer picture and more ideals which is always good. Something on paper is always better for you as it gets your creative juices flowing through the brain. Start taking pictures of the trains you want to model or research them using books, magazines and the internet. Have fun with it because if you are not having fun planning you should just give it up now. Planning is just the beginning and a key crucial step towards the rest of your journey designing and building your simulated model railroad world.
I think the biggest step as a model railroader is the planning. You have to plan for your bench work, track layout, control system, scenery, building structures, people, vehicles, rolling stock and locomotives you want to use along with all the other aspects of model railroading. You want your locomotives to seem as real as possible with sound and exhaust simulation.
All of this should be considered if you want to simulate the real world as in today or back in time. The most realistic layouts are planned very well with all these points in mind. You should take your time when planning. You do not want to rush the project and then have problems with it all later down the road. To this date, I am still planning my southwestern corridor from Windsor to Toronto located in Ontario, Canada. This is a busy corridor with freight and passenger service.
You should tackle each design concept one at a time so you do not get to overwhelmed trying to full-fill everything at once. Also by taking it with baby steps you will get alot more done in an efficient way. The best way to start is by writing down all your ideals that come across your mind. Start drawing small sketch track layout designs. I recommend using a paper pad that has square grid lines on the page. That way you can scale each square like so, 1 square = 1'-0" or whatever scale you want. This makes things alot easier when estimating the cost of bench work, track and wiring. Make a list of material you will need to start building your bench work. Do the same for all design stages of the model railroad layout plan.
Once you have the different stages written down or drawn you will start to have a clearer picture and more ideals which is always good. Something on paper is always better for you as it gets your creative juices flowing through the brain. Start taking pictures of the trains you want to model or research them using books, magazines and the internet. Have fun with it because if you are not having fun planning you should just give it up now. Planning is just the beginning and a key crucial step towards the rest of your journey designing and building your simulated model railroad world.