Greg's web site!

Beginner's FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)

Welcome! This is a great hobby. It has many facets, and you can enjoy it for a lifetime.

First advice:

SLOW DOWN! The decisions you make now can affect you (and your pocketbook) for a long time!

Don't be in a hurry to make decisions, and don't base them in the limited information you have right now, or just the advice of ONE "guru".

Second advice:

READ! There are several Internet forums, there is a ton of information out there. Some books are ok, but many are biased or too narrow.

I read forums for 4 years or so before I ever even asked a question!

Let me reinforce something right now: Do NOT join and ask if battery power is better than track power, or if you should use brass or stainless steel rail.

READ! Read the existing threads, LEARN to search for keywords on what you have questions on.

There are a lot of experts on the forums, but they often tire of repeating the same basic questions over and over. Asking "newbie" questions often gets you answers from the people who just like to talk a lot, not the real experts.

While searching and reading the forums (see below for my forum recommendations) you will also find personal sites that have a wealth of information on specific locomotives, track laying techniques, etc. I found one in particular that is great, and is responsible for the tone and layout of my site: George Schreyer's site. Hint: there is something in bold that says: "If you don't look anywhere else, look here." Do what George says.

Third advice:

Join a nearby club and get some hand's on. I put this third because often a club may give you a limited perspective of things. If the club is battery power only, then you may never hear any of the advantages of track power. Just learn what you can.

My forum recommendations:

There are several Internet forums out there. There are some Yahoo group forums, but other than manufacturer-specific ones (which you will get into later) there is not one I can really recommend.

Here's my recommendations and observations:

My Large Scale (MLS): http://www.mylargescale.com/ I like this forum best. It's free, although you can pay $24/year and get some extra features like storage for files and an advanced editor for posting. There's a lot of good people on it, and the balance of courtesy and moderation is pretty good. There are powerful editing and picture posting functions. There is a caveat to the forum software though, if you are not a first class member, you don't get the WYSIWYG editor, and posting pictures and links is more complex. You can post Youtube videos also, but again, you have to do it "just right". It seems to have the largest readership right now. Unfortunately, in recent times, some of the moderators have become very partial to their favorite brand, and some have become "instant" experts and beat "nonbelievers" down with tons of "reply verbiage". There are basically 2 moderators that take the brunt of the work, and they do an excellent job. Some other history: At one time there were some active Aristo-Craft "bashers" on MLS. Lewis Polk was not happy about the bashing, and approached the MLS forum owner and requested action, but MLS refused to "censor" the forum against negative comments on Aristo-Craft. (Eventually one "basher" was thrown off). Shortly after being refused the power to censor MLS members, Aristo-Craft pulled their sponsorship, and not surprisingly a new alliance between Aristo-Craft and LSOL (see below) sprang up. My opinion is that as soon as a forum sells out, then your readership loses faith in using the forum for real information. Congrats to MLS at working hard to be fair and impartial.

Large Scale Central (LSC): http://www.largescalecentral.com/ This forum is also free. Almost as good, almost as active. More focus on modellers. There used to be some battles, and name calling, but recently has gotten much better, and in a way, is even more courteous than MLS because there are no "egotistical" moderators, just the site owner, and I think he is very level headed and fair. It's rare when he has to come in and make a comment. There are many experts on the forum. The software is more simplistic, but many things are "automatic", like pasting a link or picture, which is much easier than on MLS.

Trains.com garden railways forums: http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/default.aspx?GroupID=7 (note this may change, so then go to trains.com and find the garden railway forums). Free to read, you must register to post. Only 4 subforums, not a real large group, but nice people. Some nice information from the Garden Railways magazine people.

Large Scale Online (LSOL): http://www.largescaleonline.com/ Not free, AND you have to pay money to even READ the forums and articles. Much more commercialized than the above forums. This used to be THE Internet forum for large scale. Now, participation is dwindling. I am a member, read it most every day, and I do post on it, but it has less activity than the tiny trains.com garden railway forum. I don't know what happened, but I suspect that people are put off by having to pay to read the forums ("workshops") and articles. I have read all the articles, and most are good, but there's just not enough going on that is new. They have an extensive online library of pictures that is unmatched anywhere. Perhaps LSOL will make a "trial" membership or "visitors pass" so you can make your decision without buying a membership. Some history: after MLS refused to censor anti-Aristo-Craft posts, a new alliance sprang up between LSOL and Aristo-Craft, you can see evidence in the glowing video reviews of every Aristo-Craft product produced. Farther back in time, when LSOL was the only game in town, one day, without warning, the site just "disappeared" with the note that LSOL was closed for good. When this happened, the other forums sprang up. After about a year, LSOL reappeared, in the form of a pay only site. It has never recovered it's stance in the community.

I also used to frequent the Aristo-Craft forum, owned by Aristo-Craft, but got banned for asking too many embarrassing questions. (I had the option of "never saying anything negative again about Aristo-products ever again" or being banned). Adios. Forums are typically where people ask for help or opinions. Not being able to be frank and honest to a person in trouble is no help at all. That is too bad, because a wealth of information about Aristo-Craft is on this site. Many people with a lot of expertise have quit this forum, and the technical help and content has dwindled, and there's mostly mutual backslapping about how grand Aristo-Craft is.This is pretty typical of a forum owned by the manufacturer.

There is a Bachmann forum also, owned by Bachmann, much less restrictive than the Aristo-Craft forum, but you have to temper the negatives you post to a degree, or posts simply disappear. I have not gotten any information from this site that was not on MLS or LSC.

Note: You must appreciate that manufacturer's sites are often more restrictive on what you can say if it can show a bad light on a product. That said, it's too bad that some manufacturers cannot handle constructive criticism. The Bachmann site is not too bad, they will admit a problem, if you do not rub their nose in it. I don't think you can realistically ask for more in their case. The Aristo-Craft site is not only very controlled, but there's many times an Aristo-Craft employee or the president says "we've never had that problem" when that particular problem has been demonstrated conclusively over and over, even on their forum.

There is a USA Trains Yahoo forum. I need to check it out, but there are a lot of pictures there and it has been started by a person who has amassed a ton of data on USAT production. I've had some email dealings with him, seems like a real nice guy, will have to report back.

There is also the "original" LGB group on Yahoo, which used to be very active, but still people there. Used to be very controlled, you could not say anything negative, but some real experts there, so a good place to ask tricky questions. I will check this one out and post more particulars.

Warning:

Many hobbyists are very passionate about their hobby. There are a ton of "right" ways to do things. Don't take the first advice to be gospel, keep talking and asking questions. Good advice will make sense.

I've tried to stay impartial in the following sections, but I'm only human. My personal goals for my railroad may not be the same as you, so my garden railway may not be the right set of decisions for you.

The best advice is ask questions, listen to the answers and the reasons, and make your own decision. If someone cannot explain, in layman's terms their reasons for an opinion, go talk to someone else. If their only way to support their opinion is to tear down others, again, go talk to someone else.

Advice on posting:

If you want to post on a forum, think about it first. Re-read it. Don't post when you are upset or inebriated!.

Socrates had a famous "test of three":

1. Is it the truth

2. Is it saying something good? (this can be kind of a stretch, because you often are asking for help on a problem)

3. Is it useful?

Here's a youtube that is also funny, but true:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9q2jNjOPdk

Regards, Greg