It will definitely be worth it! About fifty years ago my grandfather started me with a small doortop loop/layout - I loved it!
And even though you didn't ask... He set me up with a Lionel 1033 transformer, because there is a pair of throttled terminals that only reach up to 11~12 volts) My mid-70s Lionel switchers ran just fine with that much voltage - but not terribly fast like they did at 20+ volts available on most other post-war transformers - and much less likely to send the train over the edge. I used to like to see them run FAST and its a shame - because my first trains were smashed to bits from numerous trips off the table