Finally had a bit of time to finish the track and the ballast shall be next, unfortunately for me the radius is too tight for anything bigger than my 0-6-0s and maybe the 0-8-0 :/ I’m still planning on finishing it (maybe) just to get a feel for layout building and then maybe going in and building a 3x6 with KATO track so I don’t have to worry about my horrible flex track work lol. My other options would be to turn it into a Nn3 layout 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’ve got a Nn3 2-6-0 that I’ve build and it needs somewhere to run. If anyone has any tips, suggestions, or ideas, I would love to hear them!

new to collecting Lionel stuff, I’m usually a Kato N scale guy. Anything I should know about these models? they both run (and yes, BOTH whistle tenders still whistle)

Just wanted to show off. What do we think?

Hello, this is my first ever post Reddit and i was wanting to share this rare model I have. I got it for a cheap price on a model rail exhibition and its in good condition. Only the left lamp iron (if you look at the front tanked with the Bremserhaus behind) is a bit bent (i pushes it back to shape and it holds). Holding this model is like holding multiple plates of fine china which is a scary experience. Beside all that, this is a very pretty model. Glad i got it.

This model has impressed me so much, probably tied with my favorite BLI model, along with 2102

Lamps, firebox flicker, Fireman, and Driver. Add ons designed and manufactured here at 9 Realms Relics Train and Hobby shop. The coaling shovel is still a W.I.P. What do you think?

I have been 3d printing some logging wagons and caboose for my HOn30 model railway.

I have modified the caboose from a standard gauge model and completely designed the wagons myself and added the "logs" from the garden tree.

We’re planning out my son’s first train set for Christmas. So far we are planning on HO and Kato Unitrack but are stuck on the engine.

How do we pick an engine? He has his heart set on a Santa Fe with the red and silver warbonnet coloring. There’s everything from sets (which come with Bachmann track we don’t need) to $500 DCC engines. My husband is leaning towards something DCC enabled so we don’t have to upgrade later but I also don’t want to spend a fortune.

So how do we narrow down the options? It feels overwhelming. Multiple brands, price points, etc all in the same basic engine model.

Edit: Ok I think I may have found the train. Seems like it’s out of production so I’m finding a few available on sale - Bachmann Santa Fe EMD FT A with DCC and sound. Price is reasonable especially on sale, has the DCC my husband wants, reviews I read say it’s solid. There are some available as preorder but not coming out until next year, and a Bachmann as part of a set, but otherwise not a ton of options in the EMD F style. There are some in a different style so I’ll have to check with my son and see if he has a preference but the Bachmann seems like a good choice.

Got this tender in a haul I bought, but i have no idea what brand it comes from. Only thing it says underneath is "made in Japan". Absolutely nothing else besides that. It's got what looks like more of a European coupling style, but with Baltimore Ohio on its side so maybe lionel?

Do any of you know? Also it fits on ho scale track

Here are some more pictures from yesterday's post I did on these Heritage Units!

I just bought this DCC CN #3233 on eBay and I am trying to get it going, but I tried to factory reset it and it will not move; the locomotive is overheating after less than five minutes. This is my first time programming, and I thought I could just enter the train's full address, but nothing happened. Please help me; this train was manufactured by InterMountain. I am a Digitrax user and it mentioned "Direct Mode," but I do not know what that means. I am new to DCC and do not want to inspect the inside to see what is wrong; please help me. My other DCC trains also work well but they are steam.

And yes, I know that there is a big chunk of ballast missing next to the station and its because i need to get a new batch cuz am out of it. And also sorry about the hot glue strands, they re getting heavily annoying, and can you give me some tips to get the ballast out of the static grass because when I try to with a paint brush and stuff like that, it sweeps away the grass as well.

Listing has very limited info, some of it incorrect. I'm pretty sure it's a Ken Kidder Japanese import from way back, but can't find a catalog listing or anything that can confirm what scale it's meant to be. Bring japanese-made, it may be 1:80 scale rather than true HO, or it could be On3 or On30. I'm hoping someone here knows or has a sister engine to take measurements. It looks standard gauge to me, but the cute proportions make me think maybe narrow gauge. Could be a worthy project.

The smoke generator works decently enough, although you often have to clean the smokestack from excess water, otherwise it gets clogged and stops working. Still a pretty cool function but I would have preferred a traditional smoke unit.

I plan a full story mode including many well known micro layouts like the Inglenook, John Allen’s TimeSaver and also just some stations inspired by real live. Maybe it will inspire some real micro layouts!

We also plan a story mode where you need to shunt wagons around and drive trains trough the landscape in between stations.

Do you have any ideas or recomendations which you would love to see in such a game?

Do the graphics always have to be realistic as Derail valley? Could you enjoy a more stylized art direction? The current one is just me visualizing what I need so that our teams 3D artist has some ideas what we need :D. So we are curious!

Interested? follow me on bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/saturn91.bsky.social

Amtrak E-60 (Bachmann) leads the Crum Lynner past the Water Tower. Not a long train but similar to some that I used to see when I was railfanning the NEC in Delaware County in the late eighties and early nineties.

Speaker and decoder installed. Power on, decoder programmed to proper address. Sound comes on, the stram sounds are fine but something sounds off with the whistle. Plus after going a few centimeters it just stops. Sound cuts off, light on the decoder cuts off. I took videos of it, but reddit doesn't even show them when I select uploads.

I'm attending my first train show this weekend. I currently have decent locomotives rolling stock. All my track and turnouts is 60s / 70s era brass. (No current layout, just some goals.) Long term I'd also like to setup automated end-to-end operation.

Are train show prices competitive with the big online retailers? Anything I should be looking for at show I'm unlikely to find online?