New to O Scale and Upset

Hi, Welcome to the NUT House. Since you live in MD you are close to York, PA. Why don't you join the TCA (Train Collectors Association) and go to the York meet the 17th, 18th & 19th of October. You will find all you need to know about TCA on Google. If you care to call me, I will tell you all about it. 207-541-9444

Hi Wilson, and welcome to you.  It's unfortunate you ran into some grumps in your initial outings.  (That may happen here too; just ignore them).  Perhaps you might want to visit all the home layouts, clubs and shows you can, to help you decide on a gauge.  (I couldn't decide, so have two O-gauge tracks and one S on the same layout).  It's all good.

One thing that many agree on is that the wide variety of equipment and features makes this the golden age of miniature trains, so you are certainly entering at a fine time.  Have fun.

Joining TCA and going to York was good advice. At York you can talk directly with the manufactures.  Also there will be about 10,000 other O gaugers to chat with.  Also there are two good trade publications you should subscribe to.  They are O Gauge Railroading and Classic Toy Trains.  Get into the hobby slowly.  There is a lot to learn.  As you do learn, you may want to change direction.

Wilson:

You're going to learn a lot here...

I'll point out one bit of terminology you're going to hear referred to quite a bit around here, already mentioned in this thread but not yet defined:

"LHS"--short for "Local Hobby Shop"

Let the journey begin

---PCJ

And you know that how, Jumijo?  You a mind reader of some sort?  

I will maintain confidentiality.  Sure can't say that for some here.  And the poster should most definitely NOT post the names here, for obvious reasons.

Welcome Wilson! Have you tried M.B. Kleins up in Cockeysville? They have a good selection of just about everything and a knowledgeable staff. That plus their mail order department lets you shop 24/7 if you want.

Jerry

There are grumpy, uptight, intolerant people all over the place these days. You are going to find some of them right here on this forum in due time. Don't be afraid to ask questions. We have all been new at some point, although some people act like they were born experts and their opinions are the only ones that matter. It won't take long to figure out who they are. Don't let it discourage you from enjoying a hobby of your choosing. There are plenty of us that will help you and are more than willing to answer questions.

There are pro's and con's to all of the common scales. My advise is to take your time and learn a little about the hobby before you spend a lot of money and decide you don't like where you are going in the hobby. I did this myself, though I have been a lifelong model railroader. These days I have N, HO and O gauge trains, which is a little crazy, but I like all of my stuff.

Wilson - your experience is why I'm convinced that the invention of the internet, along with ebay, email and internet forums - saved this (and probably many other) hobbies.

I got into O-gauge just 6 yrs ago when I was 47, and had it not been for the internet, I wouldn't have known where to start or where to buy.

Welcome to the community and enjoy the ride!

Wilson,

Welcome to the Forum. 

I'm also a Marylander, residing in Frederick Country, so you can also contact me by e-mail as well.

My advice would be to go slowly and get started with a starter set.  For a little bit of money you can get a train set, a transformer, and some track. 

Some folks are able to decide early on what part of the hobby is for them.  Some of us, however, take quite a journey in our pursuit of the hobby. 

Seeing my childhood trains, postwar AF, 15 years ago got me re-interested in this hobby.  I started collecting postwar AF switching to postwar Lionel really quickly after finding out how hard it was to collect AF.  A couple years later I moved from postwar to modern traditional trains when I purchased a couple of starter sets.  Fast forward a couple of more years and I moved towards scale size trains, finally focusing on scale sized trains. 

If I had it to do all over again, I would probably go with 2 rail O scale trains.  What keeps me in 3 rail, however, is I have collected some O scale trains that are very hard to find in either 3 rail or 2 rail.

Have fun, don't get bummed by anyone who might be negative, and most of all, run some trains even if its just track laid on the floor!

Jim

Hi Wilson from another Marylander.  Welcome to the world's largest on-line insane asylum. 

You can get a lot of good information here.  And remember, as your teachers told you in school, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask.  Unfortunately, we have a few cranky nattering naybobs on this form that will take you to task for asking questions that they feel have bee asked and answered to death.  But pay them no mind.  Ask away.

And if you have questions that you don't want to publicize here, you can e-mail me also.  My e-mail is in my profile.

Again, welcome and have fun.

Welcome back to the hobby Wilson.

Not being one to tell anyone what to do, but as has been mentioned here, S is fine but limited in new items...though hunting on ebay is open season as there's a small amount up for sale on a frequent basis{old but neat stuff}. "O scale" has a huge following of trains, cars and stuff and one could go any way they choose- tinplate, steam, diesel...mixed. Your railroad, your call...the hardest part will be "what do ya want on your rails"?!..then follow that lead.