25 Things I Learned About Model Trains
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
- Here are 25 Things I've learned about HO Scale model trains after 2+ years. Derailments, secret features, couplers, prices, and more!
0:00 Intro
0:10 Track safety
0:33 Trains derailments
1:01 Terminology, Parts
1:45 They don't show pics of real model
2:06 You don't need a Rerailer
2:24 Track Cleaning
2:45 Be Careful what you buy
3:15 Models not often produced
4:16 Different Couplers
4:54 F is for Front
5:14 Candy
5:26 Don't curve after a curve
5:44 Multi-track drifting
6:09 Model Trains aren't perfect
7:09 Dust
7:24 Cool little features
7:53 Glue Trailer Hitches
8:14 Model Trains may cause cancer
8:35 Trip pins
8:50 Nobody sells at MSRP
9:28 Lack of videos
9:53 Spare parts
10:27 Don't glue Kato Viewliner grabs
10:36 Rotating bearing caps
10:52 Innovations
Music:
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I learned that I have 30,000 dollars in credit card debt
When the bank calls me I tell them I can’t pay it back yet
@@JackBlpck427CEEDIT CARD DEBT ‼️‼️
Tomorrow I might buy myself this dining room set... or this Boba fett
@@MadmanBuck credit card debt, credit card debt, credit card debt
Bro got a dcc sound caboose ☠️
Somethings I've learned throughout my 8 years of collecting HO/OO models:
- steel track sucks
- older engines and rolling stock are (usually) cheaper than modern equipment
- hornby is foul
- hornhook couplings are actually pretty reliable
Horn hooks struggle around curves
@@isaacwatanabe9599 That's true if they are body mounted and going around curves with a small radius, if they're truck mounted or body mounted and are being run on larger curves they work great.
Hornby is ok but quite good.
@@shaqtus3365
Really depends on the design as well. G-scale Horn-Hooks used by LGB and Piko have wide loops that allow for lots of movement even with body-mounted couplers. The ones used on OO models by Hornby seem to be a lot narrower and thus more prone to having issues.
Hornets good
Once you get a taste of operations (i.e., running trains like a real railroad), it takes the hobby to a completely new level.
Yes, a railroad needs a purpose.
As someone who has never collected model trains, I find this is very interesting and informative
This is definitely a good video for a beginner. With me having model trains of my own it takes a lot of work to care for it but 100% worth it.
Where can I buy them. Also, I am only looking for modern passenger trains, not weird Indian Railways .
Some stuff I learned from 5+ years of messing with HO trains:
(Mega post incoming)
- Try to focus a region, time period, or specific railroad. If you buy everything that looks cool you will have a whole lot of choices and quickly end up with a lot of trains. I did not do this and now I have stuff from the 30's to modern day from all over North America and Japan...
- Try to find a local club, will give you people to meet and a place to run, but be wary of drama.
- Decide if you want to use DCC (digital) or DC (analog). DCC makes it much easier to run multiple trains at once, but is more expensive. Analog is fine for smaller layouts or single loops.
- It is easier to buy a new locomotive with DCC/sound than to install it yourself. DCC/silent is generally not too bad to do yourself if you want to save money, but make sure you get the right decoder! Sound is awesome on steam locomotives!
- Digitrax DCC decoders suck. Mine either burnt out or would frequently "run away" and quit responding. I have had good luck with ESU, SoundTraxx, and TCS.
- Careful with steam locomotive smoke units, they can melt the plastic around them and cause major damage, especially if they run low on fluid.
- Avoid Bachmann, and be careful with older MTH. Bachmann is known for being the most "budget" of train brands, and MTH ignored a lot of industry protocol and did things their own way (often making them way to complicated to operate and work on).
- More detail is not always better. They get waaayy more costly and waaaay more fragile. There is something to be said for cheaper rolling stock you can throw in a box and not have all the tiny details fall off. Prototypical is awesome, but runs the cost up. Especially if you are going to be around kids (or cats). I have seen lots of people overpay for very expensive rolling stock or locomotives just to manhandle them and tear them up.
- If you ARE picky about detail and prototype, be sure to double check something is accurate before buying it. A lot of companies make "foobies", or will produce one prototype and paint it all kinds of different schemes to sell more.
- Rolling stock (North American) usually has a build date AND sometimes a "shop" date. Be sure to check these if you are trying to keep to a specific time period.
- Keep the boxes! They make it easier to transport the more fragile equipment, and make it a lot easier to sell if you decide to do so.
- Find good retailers. I particularly like ModelTrainStuff and Lombard Hobbies. Other good ones include Overland Hobbies and Hiawatha Hobbies. Broadway Limited has an "outlet store" for refurbished items where you can find good deals.
- Be very careful when buying on Ebay to check for damages. Also note that most Ebay retailers will run up the price well above MSRP (you can probably make some profit doing this yourself if you are patient). Ebay sellers will sometimes lie about broken bits or put "stock" pictures up instead of actual ones.
- Have fun. Most people who are this into trains are a bit "on the spectrum" and can be sometimes difficult. But if you are having fun that is what matters. If you want Thomas and Percy to pull a mix of 30s wood reefers and modern intermodal doublestacks mixed with mismatching german passenger cars, do that if it makes you happy, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Thank you for mentioning the chemical warnings that come with model trains. I think this is a major thing that most people look over. Some cars even have dead weights in them that create lead dust! You definitely should wash your hands after touching your trains, and avoid eating or touching other surfaces before you have done such. A great video, keep up the awesome work!
One thing i learned is that i can't afford it
Fantastic video - thank you!
I am getting back into model railroading after a sixty year lapse and your video ix extremely helpful
The one thing I learned that stuck with me, Early HO Diesels by Bachmann, TYCO, and Early Life Like models had Pancake motors often called "China motors" and since then Bachmann Stepped up their game (but they still have a weak chassis) TYCO has left the game, and Life Like created the Proto 1K and 2K which were based off athearn designs and life like merged with walthers in 2009.
Awesome video, just got into HO trains. This was extremely helpful. TY for sharing. -JC
Excellent video my friend, I started using Kato rails thanks to you, I also show details of popular locomotives since you hardly find videos like this in my language.
This was very helpful as I plan on getting back into model railroading once I have my own place again (been living with friends for the past 7 years). Me and my Dad built a 4x8 0-27 layout when I was a kid but I'm definitely going to be going with HO because I won't be able to afford anything larger scale. Can't wait to get back into it.
Something you will want to do is buy stuff used at first unless you have a decent amount of money. If you do buy used I would recommend you buy used proto 2000, athearn blue box diesels, and used kato locomotives for diesel locomotives, they run really well and are decently priced, anywhere between 30-90 dollars usually, the most I would pay for an athearn blue box is about 40 dollars. Avoid the old bachmann's, tyco's and life-like's unless its a first gen life-like, those use old varney style drives and are pretty reliable. For steam engines stick with assembled bowser kits, tyco mantua steam engines, and if you can find them for a decent price and in good condition, try out a varney steamer. Usually they are priced anywhere between 30-100 dollars, I would recommend the highest you pay for a tyco mantua is about 50 dollars unless it's someones project locomotive and has a bunch of extra detail parts on it. I can't tell you much about newer models, they are usually pretty good. One thing I do recommend is nickel silver track, don't use steel or brass track if you don't want to clean it constantly. Have fun and good luck building your layout.
I was HO for 27 years and switched to G in 1996. I recently thought about returning to HO because G is so expensive but to my surprise decent HO locomotive with DCC decoders with sound are almost as expensive as G now days. The rivet counters have caused details to add extra expense to all scales.
@@ronselliers6951 Yeah, I've noticed that while doing some early browsing. Of course, I'm also very interested in some of the more well known locos which are priced even higher due to their popularity. I've seen UP 844 going for almost $200 higher than other FEF-1's. Also been looking at ATSF 3751 but that can be a pricy one as well. Steam just seems to be way more expensive than diesel so I'll probably need to suck it up and just start out with a dash 9 or something similar. Maybe I'll do a couple of those Rapido mystery boxes or something.
I felt the need to show my appreciation for excellent video! Good information, very informative!
Learn something new everyday, didnt realize the F symbol on the locomotive. Great informative video
So glad there was a picture. I got confused when he said Metrolink because there's Metrolink in Missouri too. It's a passenger commute line mostly in St. Louis. I love trying to see these trains because of the new paint pattern they recently put on the trains.
Informative & organized. Thanks.
A really Impressive and highly detailed video - thanks for posting. All the best and God Bless. 🙏❤🇺🇸
Nice video! I keep my trains in their box to protect them from dust.
Great video sir.
Really cool! I want to go back to the hobby but the biggest factor is money
Super helpful !😊
Excellent video ! ! !
I just started back in March and I was inspired by Craftyfoxe, thanks!!!
I just started today with my UP 1943
Was this before, or after I told you to get model trains 25,000 times?
@@Transitfan2022 Stop 🤣 🤣 🤣
@@MysticRivers2 so, I didn't inspire you?
Thanks this was helpful but I still need the rerailer I have N scale😅
Amen 😂
a lot of these problems is why i like o scale, it’s only major setbacks is price and its large size, but i feel like a lot of the derailing and defect issues don’t really effect me at O scale
Well price does have something to do with it
That SD70ACU is sooooo clean I love it
ikr
Good Video. I do think that you need to get a KCS locomotive before they disappear into history.
I have a Kansas City Southern de México box car. Glad I found it.
ALLLLL FACTS HERE!!! 😂
Nice!
Ok, on the topic of rerailers, you don't need them for HO/OO or larger. You DO need them for N scale, especially if you run steam.
Definitely right on #2 lol. Not discussed as much. I’m about 3 years in and just now getting over it lol. Peeped the metro card, I’m a native NYer myself.
Me and everyone thought you want to put candy in the boxes kkkkk
At 3:57 I thought you would never end with train companies
Number 6 is what always happens to my 2 steam trains!
GOOD WORK
I actually bought an Aurora Minatures SD60F, and it runs pretty well.
I learned a lot from this video
dude the rail runner was my most favorite train when I was like 3 years old.
thanks dude
I hope you were an N-gauger. I can relate to what you shared. The jargons are killing me. I'll wait for the train anatomy video in case you haven't done any lol.
Don't worry about the Prop 65 thing in California. We know it's a joke. It's even plastered in restaurants and grocery stores. Just another thing to ignore. 😂
I thought you put the candy in the boxes
@5:49
i actually played the Densha De D games
they dont use switches to drift, they somehow make the front of the unit jump to make it drift
sometimes even the back including the front bogey for the coach behind it
sometimes ever a 2 wheel bogey drift, where 2 of the wheels are locked on the inner track for if theyre side by side
I have mainly Lionel HO sets, though probably all of the track would need some cleaning to use and I haven't used them in years.
Dude learned about the dynamic envelope with model trains😂
I only have 1 train, and 1 boxcar, but I mostly use it as desk eye candy (I got the locomotive at an estate sale and it was made in 1951!) I don’t have any tracks, but if y’all have any tips, please let me know!
facebook i found alot of ho scale stuff for sale one day was like 4 big totes of it for 100 bucks made a whole layout with it sold it and since moved to g scale outside to please the wife with no train taking up half the room anymore lol
I was into model trains gowning up but sold off everything. Was looking to introduce my boys to it but man the prices are Super high now. Makes going out side with a simple basket ball look very nice lol
Do you prefer tabletop or floor layouts?
W/ floor layouts I can just change up the layout whenever I want and have more space for trains to run
vs
4x8ft table w/ scenery
Hi cool video ❤
One thing I learned is that I can’t afford new equipment, I only buy used. Train shows are a HUGE help.
Bro named literally EVERY MP40 operator except Sounder lmao
i have ho scale back then, it was emd fp7 with Santa Fe livery on it, i usually put the track in circle because there's not enough rooms in my living room. and one day i forgot that my ho scale was in my playbox. and then i see my mom has a box to be donated to charity and i saw my ho scale, and i was devastated. literally.
Ive learned over the years is that if it looks good from 3 ft away then im happy. Also there are some retailers who sell at more then msrp
Cool
9:24 buy your locomotives first hand, when you are buying locomotives second hand you’re taking a chance on it being damaged. First hand for the most part ensures that it will have little to no defects. I would say buy your rolling stock second hand because there is less things to break on them and you can get them for some really good prices.
This should only be a problem if you dont know how to work on your own locomotives
You do great Minecraft train animations
I feel like having a fell bent pieces gives it character
I wish i had the space to setup my big Märklin set again but unfortunately it has been stored in boxes for years...
I really want an accurate HO model of a Southern Railway Ms class mikado, but the only model is brass, and I don’t buy brass models because they’re too expensive. I understand the problems with modeling a railroad with specialized equipment.
So funny thing rotating bearing caps and fans have been in the o scale market for years. Also Over in the land of o we have a boat load of extra features mainly smoke lights etc and o scale trains are much less likely to derail due to their weight
I learned I don't have space for them, and I also wish I had just done N scale. I don't really collect them anymore, but I still have my nicest engines sitting on my desk.
Did you fix your csx ditch lights? I know that 777 had a broken ditch light and thats similar
The plastic wheels on low end model trains (like the ones I had as a child) will quickly foul the track and cause conductivity issues. Tyco and LEGO trains don't seem to be effected by this as they pick up power with the wheel flanges and the side of the rails do not get as dirty.
Do you have any American steam locomotives just curious
@CraftyFox can you tell me where you got the containers that open?
Re: Cancer, funniest cancer related thing I've ever seen is I was at Disneyland with my extended family after a wedding down there (in SoCal not at Disneyland) and walking through their outdoor mall/food court area outside the parks there was this sign on a pole as you walk in with that prop 65 warning, so there ya have proof that Disney is cancer
If your trains derail often then you are not doing it well. You must use body-mounted couplers and make sure the trip pins are at the correct height.
bro this guy was my childhood for his minecraft train tutorials on minecraft
I found that cleaning the wheels of the loco is at least as important as cleaning the track.
If you’re new to the hobby don’t hesitate to buy a few books from Kalmbach to shorten your “learning curve.” There is a great deal to learn about owning, maintaining, and operating model trains that it will take you years to truly learn what you need to know about the hobby unless all you want to do is run a train on a loop of track under a Christmas tree. Be patient and forgiving with yourself because you will make mistakes and things will break or stop working. You may get frustrated. Just relax, take a break. With time you will learn how to repair most problems with your models and feel very proud when you do. And above all else, have fun doing what YOU enjoy doing with your trains!
[I, have been doing model rail road for 59 years now ho scale. I, own many brass cars and freight as well]
Do model trains even have brass or styrene cause I’ve never encountered this unless it’s a Bachmann thing or something
At 4:30: I get the same thing with my Hornby 00/HO scale "Flying Scotsman" with a detachable tender. Anyone got a good fix?
The very first one about just because it’s on a siding it’s safe is because it is in what is called the dynamic envelope which is the distance around the track needed for that turn or straight if something is in it the Tran will hit it
Hey CraftyFoxe can u get a steam locomotive next😂😂
The Acela is made to coupled to another Acela that is why it is so high when you had it being pulled by a diesel electric locomotive
is it common for a new locomotive to have defects? i just got my first engine with no track to test it on and i am worried that it has a defect that i won’t know about until i run it for the first time. would athearn be willing to fix even a few months/years later?
It depends. Anthers should have a warranty on it.
If it's new it should have a one year warranty on it at least, one thing you can do to test it without track is if it's ho scale you can take a 9 volt battery and hold the batteries terminals up against a set of wheels if it's a diesel locomotive, you should be able to find a video of how to do it.
One thing id like to add is the 3 foot rule.
If you cant see it from 3 feet away those details dont mater as much.
I say that as a fine scale modeler.
Dont get me wrong I love seeing fine details up close, but as someone who models Japanese late steam, and theres not always good options for a lot of stuff Id want, sometimea you gota think about what you can and cant see at speed on a layout
For crafty or anyone who knows where did you buy your NS engines from
can we get the broadway limited California zephyr passenger cars by the way those need 22' radius curves
I learned the hard way to nail down track, because I had a sd70mac that flew off my table and broke.
Most modelers who have been at it for awhile dabble in different scales and that opens a whole new can of worms.
Get a switcher/shunter mate!
Pawsome!!!! I am into model trains. =^.^=
Beautiful layout and models , I can only afford n scale tho
I've never felt anything is wrong with N, except the occasional product envy, when looking at some HO products not available for us...🤔
I learned that I always caused a similar derailment to East Palestine everytime I go full speed on my curves
hi, do somebody know where ca i get us diesel loco in 3 rail AC version, i cant find it no where
You should run all of your train cars that you have in a video
Lombard hobbies is the best
Hello, I am looking for a train set for my grandchildren (10 & 12) and I. They come over every weekend and I thought it would be a fun project. I am 100% new to model trains. Here is what I am looking for, please point me in the correct direction.
Looking for:
*To spend $2000 or less (little leeway, I want the best I can afford)
*O Scale
*Freight cars
*Something with low maintenance (I am not a tinkerer)
*A tried and true work horse that won’t break down with reasonable use.
*Metal wheels on cars, no plastic stuff. Looking for something to last.
*Starter kit but if companies don’t offer what I am looking for in a set, I will buy them separately
*Durable low maintenance track (plan to have 4x8 set up)
**Knowing what you know about trains, what set would you buy for your grandchildren?
Thank you!
you can build a table for placing your track on so it is not on the floor.
Ive found that the best rolling stock for drifting is hornby railroad passenger coaches
UTA Also has the MP-36PH
The only thing I learned about model trains are the sized between HO & N scale…
The pipe that is on all this American cuplers like the Kadee, that can come in contact with tracks etc…..canyon just cut it with a sidecutter? Or a at least make it shorter? In Europe we don’t use them.
I definitely no stranger to buying the wrong model and it's always the scenario of comparing the model to what I'm looking for and realizing I bought the wrong type. It's so damn annoying and now I have to sell it off to regain my losses. The fact that model railways is a very small market (particularly OO) where I live makes it more difficult for people to be interested
#7/#8 - be glad you're buying US prototypes. Australian prototypes - particularly the narrow gauge stuff is super expensive or just doesn't exist.
Oh wait, I’m gonna forget the steam trains
So crafty fox I have a question remember ur Donald and Douglas tutorial can u update them but with the banner number as well as duck and Oliver to