drawing, and finally more dreaming. That’s why I handicapped
our newbie with just an engine and some track. He needs time
to digest the hobby and grow into doing it.
Next we set our newbie on a quest to find out about the engine
he bought. When was the prototype made, where did it run, and
what did it do? What number is on that engine? Who owned
this particular engine? Lots to learn, just about a single engine!
We give him a new quest: find a club or a layout to visit and run
trains. This shows him the hobby in full flower, and also provides
a full-blown example he can get his hands on. All the while, he’s
asking questions and learning answers.
He’s using all his track now and has been talking with other mod-
elers, so he’s created a more complex track arrangement. The
track is still just sitting on plywood, so we can show him some
articles that take a single sheet of plywood and make a more fin-
ished layout. He’s intrigued, but still likes going round and round
in between switching a spur he has added.
Someone asks him what he models. He says he’s into the road
on the side of the loco he bought. But now we’ve got him think-
ing more about what goes into making a layout. And we’ve done
it naturally, without overwhelming him.
Our new modeler got a good start with good quality equipment
(not some cheap train set), and he is able to grow and expand
his hobby involvement now with real purpose.
Item
Cost
Source
NCE Powercab
$ 155.96 Litchfield Station
Kato HO unitrack WGH plan set $ 162.98 Amazon.com
Athearn GP40-2 with decoder $ 98.98 Tony's Train Exchange
1/2" sanded sheet 4x8 plywood $ 34.97 Home Depot
Total: $ 452.89
