...

Right on, Ken, Right on!!

I'll say this much, though: don't be so easy to dismiss what the dedicated hobby might consider "flyover" models.  I cut my teeth on a Bachmann set myself, one step above the Lifelike bottom of the proverbial barrel back in 1988, and while it may not be much to look at, that engine and the rough lot that followed it sustained a strong dream for nearly a decade.

I didn't even have that sheet of plywood - no room for it in a 12'x65' mobile home with 4 other siblings, two parents, and five dogs! But once we took out the carpet, I had bare floor and it worked just fine...I'd put my section track together, slip on lifelike's rubber boots over the gaps [a godsend!], and then crimped the looser connectors with a needlenose pliers to make them a little snugger.  For the four hours I had it out at a time, it worked just fine.

I don't think LifeLike was the bottom of the barrel...

Didn't Tyco still exist in 1988? I know it was around not very many years earlier - it was the train set I got that finally "fixed" me into model railroading. 

There are a couple other companies (at least one of which still exists) that could be in competition for that prize as well. 

This got me thinking

That's what "Reverse Running" is supposed to do, right?

Well, I started thinking.  Almost every model railroader I know will tell you how bad train sets were/are, and how terrible it is to start with a 4x8 layout.  I have a feeling that nobody would actually recommend one to a beginner.  but why is that?

Certainly, a train set and a sheet of plywood is not the ultimate expression of model railroading for most of us, and it's not even an especially good way for most of to enjoy our hobby.  However, I'd be willing to bet it's how 90% of us (probably more) got started.  Think of any well known, even famous model railroader, and the chances are pretty good he got started with a train set.  With that in mind, it must not be that bad a way to start.  The real question is, where do you go from there?

I really like the concept in this month's column - start simple, keep plenty of play value, then build realism into it later.  Put another way, showing someone who's never seen or run a model railroad a magazine spread about a multi-million dollar basement empire is a great way to scare them off more than inspire them.  Show them what fits their skills, budget, and desires - playing with trains!

....

Jeff, you're right - there was Model Power out there, along with Tyco - but by 1988, Tyco made most of the cheap end cars and they made them well - the crane, for example, an old favorite.  But I never had to deal with their drive!!

I put Lifelike at the bottom because one truck has soft plastic wheels with traction tires on both wheelsets, but that is a relative preference.

Ken, I think you're right on - though it seems they all started with Lionel - that's the one they admit to!

Ken,

I respectfully disagree. A single loco on a loop of track has about 5 minutes of play value to me. DCC for a beginner who has only a loco to operate. Sorry, I just can't see this. Ringing the bell, sounding the horn, and flashing the ditch lights are cool... for about 5 minutes. That's $100 per minute. Oops, SD40. $100 a minute and I don't get ditch lights

Reverse Running once again achieved its goal - a contrary view open to challenge, at least for me. Buy the kid a train set and the sheet of plywood = $100. At least it has 30 minutes of play value. $3.30 per minute.

Put a Walthers catalog in the gift box along with the train set. If playing with trains strikes a chord the catalog will open their eyes to the possibilities. When the train set is no longer played with and the catalog has long since been lost..... well there's your sign. Buy them a PS3 next Christmas.

One change..

Spend more for 3/4" plywood. 1/2" is fine, but it will warp. 3/4 will survive a little longer. 

But I think the rest is a good starting point. A train going around will be interesting. 

And attaching a dollar figure to a hobby is a waste of time, personally. I don't want to maximize my return on investment. I have a 401k and RothIRA for that. It should be what it's always been, what ever floats your boat, so to speak. The dividend is in my relaxation, period.

More than a loop

Alan,

I think you're missing the bigger picture.  Or perhaps I am!  As Benny suggested, I started with a Lionel set.  In my opinion, I could not have had a better introduction to model railroading.  Every week, sometimes several times a day, I had a completely new layout.  Switches here, sidings there, it was always changing, and it was super tough and reliable.  The play value is as much in the ability to make new track arrangements whenever you feel like it as it is in watching the train go around.

So perhaps I should specify that the basic train set needs a couple additional turnouts and some extra track, but the basic concept is the same.  Car cars, waybills, prototypical rules, switching puzzles - all those can come later as the interest develops.  Even DCC would not be high on my list for a brand new model railroader, though it definitely has some advantages and added play value, as you pointed out.  But even with a basic set (plus some extra track, unless the set comes with it), there is so much that can be done, and so many opportunities for creativity.

Also, I will admit that the beginner has very different needs if he's 10 or 50.  A few years generally give a lot more patience and tolerance for things which take time to get right.  So perhaps we need to think more about which beginner we're talking about.  Do we know when most people actually get interested in model railroading?

...

Alan, I got about 3 years out of the first engine and the initial string of cars, plus the five we added on right out the gate, plus the RMC subscription.  3 years later, we went to my first train show and tripled the fleet while also adding my first three brass switches to my small lot of steel track.  That lasted for two years and then during the divorce I discovered my mom's old collection from when her and my uncles had a railroad, doubling the fleet and increasing cars a fair amount.

It may be very hard for us as adults to remember how we started.  I cannot, though, because that is the dream I lived for the first ten years of the hobby.  I longed for a sheet of plywood, but all I ever got was the top of a 5'x9' ping pong table, which was fabulous in and of itself!

The other thing to remember is that no matter how you introduce a number of people, only one in ten or one in a hundred will ever even consider becoming a model railroader.  If one makes it beyond the one engine and a sheet of plywood stage, they're very possibly hooked.

Playing with Trains

I agree wholeheartedly with you Ken about the switches and additional track. Take the $100 already spent and add another $100 in track. Now we have some play value going on.

When I received my first Lionel train set at age 5 (a loop but it had cars!) I was hooked from the get go. The brochure that came with it showed accessories. I saved every nickel and dime I could, which were hard to come by for a 5 year old back then, so I could buy a switch. Anxiously I completed the order form and sent it off to Lionel. Then one of the most devastating moments of my childhood train hobby occurred. After an excruciatingly long time Lionel sent the order form back with a circle around the note about minimum order. I was crushed. Months of saving, weeks of waiting and anticipating, all for nothing but utter disappointment.

Mom to the rescue.... yellow pages to find a train shop, gas in the old Mercury to get us there, off we went to Glenn's Train Shop. When Glenn handed me that Lionel switch I was the happiest kid on the planet. I would go on to darn near wear out the rails switching cars in and out of that spur. My imagination created hordes of industries along one short section of track connected to that switch.

Hence, my position that loco alone makes poor bait. Switching cars (a sense of purpose) was the play value that set the hook for me. That is, once I finally got my switch!

Note to Lionel: when you see the handwriting on the envelope and order form is clearly the work of a youngster, don't be such a stickler about company policy. Tyco later benefited greatly from your missed opportunity to build brand loyalty.

...

Alan...how much time elapsed between when you opened up that box and when you got that switch?

Don't you see, this is precisely what Ken Sipel is suggesting?

You were hooked from the moment you opened the box!

All you need is that loop of track and that locomotive.  If that works, the imagination kicks off and then they'll go after more; the brochures, the pictures showing more stuff, the catalogs, they'll hook the bugger right in!  If it doesn't, you've saved $250-$400 you can spend on whatever it is they ask for next, a nice XBox or a pair of Nikes or what not...

Benny...

Disclaimer: there are no right/wrong answers to this discussion

Not so. Had the train set not included cars I would have had no need for a switch. Necessity is the mother of invention, even at age 5. Swapping in and out cars, moving something from here to there, operating the train for a purpose was what kept the interest.

Loco (only) goes in the spur, backs out of the spur..... why? Imagination was already working feverishly creating industries. Imagining cars too would be a stretch.

[EDIT] Sorry, forgot to answer your question.

I have no memory of the time frame other than waiting on Lionel so the realization I needed the switch must have occurred on day one or shortly thereafter.

Ya gotta have cars!

I guess I'm getting senile in my old age, but I always assumed that cars came as part of the package.  Without cars, there is no train (Don't try to argue technicalities here, I know a light engine can be a train, but only technically).  You need at least an engine and a couple cars to do anything.  Of course, a caboose is pretty important, too, but less so than the cars.

I just assumed that when anyone said "just one engine" they automatically meant an engine with cars.

Same assumption until read article to the end

One loco, no cars. However the Kato set does include a single left and right switch.

The track set

Hey guys,

The track set I picked really does have tons of play value. Four turnouts.

But you really do need some cars to start switching and that is where I leave our newbie. This is the point where they decide to plunge in and go for it or not.

As for the age, I was thinking that it was someone who had $500 of their own to spend (probably has a job).

I think DCC is important to begin with because it omits the, "What, now I have to get a whole new control system and put decoders in my old engine?".

Thanks for all the feedback - This is awesome!

Target market & DCC

You might be surprised.  If I had kids and was considering a large gift, $500 would not be out of line.  Bear in mind that a lot of the console gaming systems can easily cost that once you add games and accessories.  So how about parents who want to encourage their kid's curiosity and interest in trains instead of teaching him to sit in front of a box with a screen and push buttons? 

You have a good point, and with so many of today's models coming DCC-equipped from the factory, it makes sense to start with DCC from the beginning.  The only real concern is cost, and as you (and others) have shown, it is possible to get it all into the $500 budget.

Ken only spent $452

Ken only spent $452 with his proposed budget. That leaves another $48 for some inexpensive rolling stock: 2-3 cars if you shop carefully.

That's not careful!

I find that at train shows I average $5 per car, most with decent trucks and knuckle couplers.  Especially if I were not picky about what cars they were, I have no doubt I could do that.  So, with that $48 at a train show or swap meet, you could probably walk away with 9-10 cars easily.

I'm biased....

...Because it's my favorite part of the hobby but I think focusing a newcomer on some rudimentary scenery construction is also a good way to keep interest up and the juices flowing.  For instance, on the plan above a small ridge in between the spur tracks and the back part of the oval adds instant visual interest. Nothing is more boring to me than a "plywood pacific", no matter how many turnouts and cars it has on it.

Michael

My recollection

My Dad built a 4x8 layout with an outside loop, an inner loop that took about half the layout with a crossover to the outer loop, plus a passing siding on the other side and two spur tracks - 6 turnouts in total.  That layout (mostly) had my interest for several years.  I even bought my own (LifeLike) loco that I thought looked pretty good and it ran fairly well, actually.  

My Dad also had some heavyweight passenger cars and a big steamer so I could run passenger trains to the depot as well as run some freight.  I spent hours planning how we could expand the layout, too.  He also let me do some scenery work on it, which was rudimentary at best, but it did the trick for me.  Start with a bit, add a bit more, then a bit more, and soon you're on your way.

And for the $500, Ken is correct.  My son has mostly moved his interest to R/C truck racing and we got him into it for just under $500.  Well worth it to have him do something that requires building, maintaining, tweaking and learning to control the vehicle, as well as being outside operating it regularly.  It was actually cheaper than an XBox or PS3 when they first came out, and you still didn't have any games to play on those things.