Scale vs Tinplate

My story isn’t exactly the same, but close. I was into O Gauge and although I was never a serious scale guy, I did a fair amount of scenery, landscaping, and other detail work. But my biggest sin (as it were) was I bought locos and rolling stock willy-nilly with no real regard for road name, theme, or even if I really wanted or needed something. Lots of $$ spent and lots of stuff sitting in boxes. One day,  I packed it all up and took a break.

 

Fast forward several years and that’s when the tinplate bug bit.  I love the look, colors and sounds of the trains and have tried to keep my current layout (still under construction) under control with a classic toy train look.  And it is more fun! 

 

As far as your excess supplies and stuff, why not list them on the For Sale board here? I’ve found it to be a better experience than eBay.

Looking at the layouts on YouTube I find the more fun layouts are the more classic Lionel types.  This is only my opinion but this becomes more of a chore than fun when taken too seriously.  So....my goal is to get some trains up and running even if they go in ovals.

John... Right up my alley.  I took out 1/3 of my Hirail O for a SG/tinplate O gauge, in the form of carpet and tube-rail and accessories.  Much more stress free...

 

Blow out the packaged up stuff here, and get some carpet and tube track (from USA Track), this is exactly what I did, and funded most of the track and carpet that way.

 

Start here for some vids on my YT channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKiqjltqEnA&feature=plcp

Agreed.  And the other thing is to go back through the pages of the Tinplate Forum and you’ll find many examples of some of the fantastic tinplate/ toy train layouts that members have built.  As you’ll see, some of them are simple loops with a few lights, signals, and other tin accessories & structures. Minimalist stuff.

I guess there can be a lot of satisfaction in creating the whole realistic-scale-mini-universe thing, and there certainly is some huge talent here on the forum, with truly jaw-dropping results.   But I get enough detail-oriented stress in life, I really enjoy just playing with toy trains.  Minimalist is the word, tinplate all the way.   Where is Electroliner, take a look at his videos posted on the forum, I challenge you to watch his videos and not have a huge grin on your face by halfway through.   Way, way too much fun.   The "Train Night at Dave's" videos on YouTube also catch the tinplate feeling, just pure enjoyment.    

Scale vs. Tinplate... I do both.

I have a small hi-rail New Mexico landscape themed scale layout. On it I run scale sized equipment that I enjoy detailing and weathering.

I also setup a tinplate Standard Scale floor layout. Big, bright, colorful and noisy. Few things on it could be called "scale sized". A mix of big STDG size stuff and smaller more O gauge stuff. But then I do try to stay within a prototypical theme, i.e. New York City. And I try to mix cars and vehicles with similar sized accessories; like small cars/people with smaller building and larger cars/people with larger buildings. This can give a nice forced perspective effect.

Bottom line with tinplate (and any toy/model railroad) is do what you enjoy.

My work reality is I do small, perfectionistic, tedious stuff all day ( dentist)!  I don't want more on my day off I just want Fun.

No need to choose. I have a loop of Standard Gauge running around the outside of my 0 gauge layout. For some reason I don't care much for 0 gauge tinplate. I like 0 scale 3-rail and Standard Gauge tinplate, so that's what I run. To quote a line from a comic novel I read a very long time ago: "Everybody to his own ulcer."

I'm doing both as well.  My 12'x15' extension onto the layout will have a double main for the scale trains, and a simple loop for the couple of prewar lionel sets and new marx sets that I have.  While I appreciate the craftmanship that goes into some of the layouts pictured on this forum, mine will never be this detailed am I'm okay with that.

 

Jim

My planned layout will be a little of both. You will travel through different modeling eras. The long leg will be all tin structures, signals etc, you will pass through a section populated with Plasticville & Marxville and later Marx signals and the end will have more modern structures like the Madison Hardware, Lionel Aquarium, Mel's Diner, Palace Theater etc.

 

Steve

I do both on two different layouts in two different rooms--one all-tinplate (including all accessories) and the other hi-rail.

I have the worst house for a layout!  Large house but cut up into many rooms but no one space large enough.  Even the basement is divided up into three room of odd size.  I should be in N scale instead!

You might want to think about knocking out a wall. Older houses tend to be chopped up into tiny rooms, and lots of folks have enhanced their living spaces by combining rooms. Of course it depends on what you are doing with the current space; if every room is spoken for as is, or if you've got some space to play with. 

Send me an email - I can use some or all of it:

 

publisher@ogaugehobbyist.com

 

Edited to add - John - My intent is to offer to purchase the scenery items you referenced. Perhaps I was unclear. Also, I left the m in dot com off my email address in the original reply.

 

 

"Harry", that's what i like about you.

 

Sending you his stuff would be practical solution for him and the completion of an "idealistic" gesture of yours.

 

Ed Boyle

How big of rooms are we talking? I know my layout fills a room that is 14' by 14', and it a lot to handle/keep up with at times.

Reminds of the old joke - "Know what I like about so and so?"

 

"What?"

 

"Nothing"

 

Not sure I get your meaning Ed. Maybe I was unclear, I was proposing buying it. I wasn't asking him to give it to me. The next time I ask someone to give me something for free will be the first time. From John's previous posts on certain building kits, I know he has purchased some nice kits that I can certainly use. 

 

Not sure what the "idealistic gesture" and toothy grin means either.

 

From years on the forum, I know John has a pretty challenging professional life and has had some frustrating false starts on getting his layout going. I doubt he would have the time to assemble an ebay or other effort to sell it so it will sit in his basement and frustrate him.

 

If John had his email address in his profile, I would have emailed him.

 

I perceived my offer as helpful. Novel concept in the land of back handed snarkism, I know.