While I'm not here very often, Bob D is correct... I am here.
O scale can be inexpensive, it depends on how you approach it.
If you want to compete with expensive mass produced or low volume craftsman made items then you are going to need lot more time and skill than is available to me.
I am not into counting rivets, a neat model without any glaring errors is where I aim.
The link Bob has given you, I hope will show my approach. I should start by saying I have shaky hands and poor eyesight.
To build a railway I require, rail, wheels, couplers, motor/ gearboxes and prototype plans and photos. The rest can be built on the kitchen table.
Given there is only so much time left for me, I tend to also like to have various trucks and common items such as smoke stacks and steam domes available as castings for purchase. Decals are also much appreciated.
While I don't model North American prototype I can tell you how I would approach it today.
Just like my own line I would not be aiming for the largest collection of models, just initially two trains, as I like the random action that trains on a double track main give.
I would base my model on a place and time that used Atlas offerings such as the F9 and the RS3 . Preferably a smallish line with a restricted roster of trains. I would repaint them and detail them to suit. I would use as few commercial items in the process as I could. I would probably treat them to NWSL wheels and gears. I prefer a few well running locos to a fleet of dodgy performers.
If you think rolling stock is dear, try buying it from this side of the pond. I would look to build boxcars and gons using trucks from Athearn and any others available. Kadees would be the other main purchase.
Bodies can be made from card or styrene with wood roofs. When I am in need of several similar items I make my own kits of parts, building the first one to work out any problems. I have often left off some of the finer details just to get things up and running and attached them as a project at a later stage.
It is possible to make a template for the roof shape and have a local wood supplier machine some lengths out of suitable wood.
The same can be done with passenger and head end cars.
Track... for most of the years I have had O gauge I made my own using code 100 rail salvaged from HO track. Atlas and NWSL wheels ran across it just fine. This time around I used Peco code 124 track because it has a reputation for being long lasting even in the Australian sun and I had enough on my plate making the trains and the layout. Outdoors, when painted and ballasted, the fact it is incorrect is not an issue. While I purchased points this time around, it is the one area that money can be saved no matter the scale.
Outdoors I run mainly wheels with a smaller flange and width than the regular NMRA profile. I also have many wagons that have a long fixed wheelbase. Derailments rarely occur and if they do it is usually operator error or a twig laying on the track unnoticed. My track is not perfect but when first laid I examined and fixed every reason for a derailment and it has been reliable now for quite a while.
After some previous trials I realised that a switching layout was not for me. That is why I went outdoors again this time around. If you like switching then you would not need as much in the way of stock or track to start as I did.
To me, the most important thing is to get trains running as soon as possible, the rest can come later.
This post has been a a bit long winded so I will stop it here. :>
regards
Bob Comerford
