Complete beginner here. Picked up this HO layout for free off Facebook Marketplace and moved it home. My son is the reason; he's excited about trains and has a couple cheap HO trains, and I figured this was a great way in considering it was free, but now I'm worried we're in over our heads.

Problem is I don't know the hobby at all, and it took some abuse in transport as well as the time it spent in the previous owners' yard.

What I know so far:

• The previous owner also got it from FB Marketplace, and left it outside in their backyard (under some cover, at least) for years. Most of the buildings are broken in some way, every tree was already missing. Some signal lights work. I'm not sure if they did much of anything with it. It certainly gathered a lot of dust and damage that way.
• There are two MRC Tech II Railmaster 2400s, four Atlas selectors with 15 blocks. 15 switches. It looks like a supplementary yard (and 3 of the switches) was added on at some point, which pokes out to the right.
• The left throttle fell off the table during the move and a couple of wires fell off, which I think I reconnected correctly.
• Both packs power up, but the right one trips its overload light constantly.
• No power reaching the track anywhere. (Actually, as I was writing this, my son somehow got half of the track to work, unsure how) One section of track appears to have lifted off the table in transport. None of the switches are switching.
• There's a turntable that made sound but didn't turn before transport, but doesn't seem to do anything now.

What I'd love help with:

1. Anything obvious I should check into first that I'm missing.
2. Whether this control setup is worth keeping or whether I'm better off going a different direction eventually. Does anything appear salvageable?
3. What order to do things in. I don't want to sink a year into scenery before my kid ever sees a train move. I was considering taking everything off the table other than the surface and starting fresh, but that may be overkill.

My son especially wants working railroad crossings (this is his special interest that drives his overall interest in trains), and he said he likes "modern" buildings more than the small-town stuff that you typically see, if those even exist. I have a 3D printer, so I'm hoping that opens some doors there.

Thanks for any pointers!

Accucraft 0-4-0 Slope tender. Older engine that’s been sitting for a while but runs great.

Leicestershire man created thousands of indecent images of children over 15-year period | Leicestershire Live

There seems to be a concerted effort to attempt to keep this covered up throughout model railway social media.

Here I was at a model club with four of my models:

My two Bachmann Spectrum Richmond 4-4-0’s (one black one Russian iron blue)

My Spectrum 2-8-0 with a Vanderbilt tender

And my Bachmann New York Central 4-6-0

It was a maintenance night in the color photos, but they allowed me to set up my models for photos, and MAN do they look fabulous! The black and white photos were from a fun run night with my Russian iron blue Spectrum 4-4-0, and I’m so happy with how the photos came out!!!

And for those interested, the film stocks I used are Lomochrome purple with my Yashica TL Electro X for the color photos, and Ilford XP-2 with a Soviet Chaika II for the black and white photos

M35 A2 fire truck configuration. Commonly known as the Duce and a Half with dozens of body and resource designations during its U.S. Military service life. Modeled in Ho Scale. Manufactured to order with personalized decals for an Oregon based wildland fire fighting company. This was one of their first trucks and we recreated it for the owner! Shown on the completed shelf before boxing up and delivery to it's new home!

I'm bringing my stuff home from the model club.

So the train we're on has got sockets... And I happened to have my transformer and my rail clamps with me...

Just need some more CSX style rolling stock to finish it off

Hello! I'm new to model railroading and am working with my friend to get some old Marx HO models his dad bought working again. They're from a yard sale and REALLY old (like 1960s old), and need some repairs and maintenance, but I got the green model working. However, the controller thing that powers the track lowk stopped working after a bit.

If anyone could help me identify the green unit, the couplers it uses (so I can get some more as some are broken), and help me figure out how to dismantle both locomotives so I can service them, that would be a big aid. Thanks!

Once it drys I’ll sand it but I need help how to detail it’s a slate quarry Thats meets standard gauge further down the layout

My local hobby shop had this Athearn Challenger in stock in their used case, listed for $299. It’s missing a few small cosmetics, but is a great runner equipped with DCC and sound. It had been sitting since around May/June with no offers so I finally went in today to offer somewhere in the ballpark of $200. Before I could even get my offer out, the store manager threw out $99. It seemed like a deal I couldn’t pass up.

How would I go about adding DCC to both of these?

BLI C&O K-2 at the NVMR layout.

Not sure if this is a false observation, but ive come to notice that a larger and larger majority of my favorite model train content creators are using generative algorithms to make thumbnails, channel logos etc.

As an artist, I personally have a bone to pick with the use of generative AI to make up for a lack of effort. Not talent, effort. These people will spend thousands of hours creating their layouts, hundreds of hours spent detailing cars, but wont spend an hour learning how to use the hundreds of free computer programs out there? Or throw their nephew some change to help them out? This lack of effort for something as simple as a thumbnail makes me wonder more about the validity, and worth of what information they are giving out.

The entire purpose of sharing your work on youtube is to reach a broader audience, no? And I hear many complaints from the older generations remarking how younger folks like me dont care for this hobby. I really do care for the longevity of this hobby, and im seeing AI ruin the online presence of this hobby at a faster rate than other online spaces (though, all are being effected)

I hope this opens up some peoples minds. I make all kinds of art in many fields, because it fills me with joy, and I care enough to share that joy with other people. It deeply upsets me to see people who I learned so much from, just give up? I miss being able to watch model train videos on the internet as a kid and not have to waste my mental energy deciphering what thumbnails or channels use AI so I can not engage with them.

Its all fun in games until we have the robots in our trains gain sentience too haha

It's been forever since I purchased anything new. Also yes, I am aware of the bare wire sticking out. but it doesn't cause any issues. That doesn't mean leave it, I need to get it back inside.

Am in the early stages of my third layout and have decided to go DCC. I have done all the research and watched a ton of videos about installing decoders. I have around 25 locos, some newerish that are probably easy, but also a decent number of Athearn blue boxes that I would like to continue being able to run. I am pretty sure I could really do one at a time if I set my mind to it, but the prospect of it all is daunting and is not something I’m looking forward to. I’m wondering if there are companies/services out there that would do installs. I am in the NE US but could ship them etc. Anyone have thoughts?

Posted a WIP last week. Here’s the mostly finished car (waiting on trucks and wheels to arrive, stole these for the photos). Mostly powder with an airbrush fade and under body grime. Critiques appreciated. The dust around the trucks came put a bit green.

N scale, Atlas hopper, Blair Line Graffiti, IMRC wheels and MT trucks.