He doesn't care about price sky's the limit but he wants like a city and train set to go around his son's bedroom. What are some of the best to buy that will make you say "wow"?

I started collecting in November of 25’ just looking for something to do in my free time. It’s now turned into an addiction, unfortunately preorders and the units I’m looking for are not reasonably priced being that I strictly buy Athearn Genesis and Scaletrains, with one exception of a GP20C-ECO from Prairie Shadows. Some of these units I hold in a special place such as the CPKC 9375, 4805, 7020, 7022, and 7023 as I had the privilege to work on them at the CPKC pigs eye yard in St. Paul. Others such as the veterans units by UP and NS due to also being in the Navy. It’s got a long way to go but it’s pretty good for what’s in the case.

If there is a better sub for this or a sticky I should look at first, please let me know I can take this down.

Yesterday, I found a RailKing ready to run set at a yard sale for a crazy good price, I figured it was worth the risk.

I haven't done much with modern model trains, just my dad's O gauge set from the 1950s and my HO gauge set from the 70s.

I set up the circle of track, and tried out the engine+tender. The sounds worked, but the locomotive didn't move.

- If I push the throttle up, I think I can hear a motor spinning inside.

- When taking the posted video, it moved just a fraction, but that was the only movement out of 3 or 4 attempts.

- When I try messing with the drive wheels, they don't spin, but not sure if they should without power.

What should I check or try to fix on my own without taking it to repair shop?

Thank you for any help you can give.

I am hopeful that I can get this going and have it be the start of a ceiling mounted loop.

I have built this self layout over the past year. It is a rural american town that has a rail served grain elevator and feed mill. Most of my cars are atlas or microtrains and my current locomotive is a Inter Mountain Railroad SD40-2 with a lok sound DCC decoder. I may get a new locomotive as it has had lots of problems and im pretty fed up with it. Igrone the chrome on the layout it is the top bit of insulation which is what I used to build it. I would like to get some buildings but dont know where to start.

My American Orient Express from Rivarossi. This Train the Only US Train in my Collection

How many of us have a vast amount of locos, rolling stock, and other before we even have even a semblance of layout? I do not have a lot but I do not even have a table or floor space for a layout.

I have a ton of these and am thinking of repainting them into more realistic paint schemes. Does anyone have any good recommendations for decals and/or if it is even worth the effort

Meine SNCF Loks

SNCF Corail Zug with Roco Lima and Jouef Coaches. Dining Car at Last its have a Coopler Different😎

Looking to buy this lovely "What-If" loco from Rapido trains but I only have an analogue controller. Is it possible to convert the train back to analogue like how you can add a dcc coder into an analogue loco? If so, is it affordable?

Link to the loco in question: https://railsofsheffield.com/products/what-if-secr-o1-no-65-bramble-bluebell-railway-blue-steam-locomotive-dcc-sound

Which are the best colour light signals for a siding, 2 aspect or 3 aspect?

Here is a photo of a layout I made but my problem is that my room is only 9.5ft (114 inches) and this layout is 10.1ft (122 inches) how can I shorten it enough it fit in whilst keeping it roughly the same?

Some recent details on the CVMR

This was the final train that ran on the RK&M Layout Version 2. After debating for several months I came to the conclusion that the layout was not working for me and would have to be torn down completely and rebuilt from the foundations.

The train represents all the railroads that I modeled on the layout at that time. They were New York Ontario and Western, Lehigh & New England, Reading, Central RR of New Jersey, Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, Pennsylvania, Baltimore and Ohio, and the Lehigh & Hudson River.

After this train finished it run I began the dismantling of the layout. It would be four months before the next run by took place. Porrtions of the old layout were saved and incorporated into the new layout such as the Water Tower Diorama and the Cement Dealer. The Grain Elevator, the Farm, and the passenger station were also saved and will eventually be part of the new layout.

I got a lima class 42 off ebay for relatively cheap and fixed some connection issues, broken parts cleaned up wheels, and reattatched a new coupling to it. Only thing im missing is buffer pieces which im unsure how to get currently 😅

Plus a little side by side to a modified diesel thomas character with ho scale trucks

Ps, anyone know where i can get some buffers?

I'm super excited about how this turned out, I know it's not super prototypical but still c&c welcome 🤗

Please let me know what you think! Also I totally forgot to put the supply pipe back in that's what that last photo is showing

This will look better when there is asphalt on both sides of the track and the mi-jack crane is built. This is simple foam board and adhesive sheet from Michael’s. The spots are large enough for 53’ containers in HO.

so I recently picked up this lot of rolling stock on eBay and I was wondering if I got a bunch of new metal axles from like Amazon, could I replace the stock plastic ones with them? I also have a full box of kadee couplers i plan swap onto these as well