N Scale Model Railroad Table
The surface where you layout your toy train set up can make a huge difference as well. I know, you like those tiny N scale trains so it doesn’t seem like such a significant deal. Everything is so tiny in N scale that it just doesn’t appear like you need all that sturdy a surface for it. Take a sec. Let me try to set out my point. The type of surface you have your N gauge locomotives on can really be very significant. Here are some reasons why:
A unbalanced surface won’t do:
Straight off, you don’t want to choose a table that is weak and that will lean or that can be easily pushed down. When you show your new setup to your tinier family members you don’t want the little tykes to be able to accidentally derail your trains with just an accidental touch. One bad moment and your locomotives could be in pieces scattered about the floor. What a nightmare! Don’t leave yourself open to that. If you’re practiced with your hardware you might fashion this yourself.
Cool Tip: Here’s a cool suggestion. If you happen to have an good ping-pong table you don’t use any more, then stop thinking of it as your ping pong table and start thinking of it as your new locomotive table. Ping pong tables are nice and big so they free lots of options for your layout. If you have HO or smaller, you will never need any added room than this. Even if you have a Lionel O or one of those new S gauge locomotives, you’ll find that you can really do a great deal with a table this large.
If you like to go places with your trains, you need a well designed hobby table:
If you plan on taking your N size model train layout around and showing it for strangers, you may want to invest in a travel ready train table made especially for arts and crafts. There are a few different internet sites that devote themselves to designing these kinds of train tables that are sturdy but light weight and easily portable.
Cool tip #2: Here’s a room saver: Lower your table from the ceiling. Want your garage back for your cars? You can use pulleys to lift and drop your locomotive whenever you would like.
Domino tables:
Domino tables are you best bet. These tables can be united in any shape or setup. What these great domino tables allow you to do most however is to develop your locomotive layout in any way that you would like. Unlike other types of tables that demand you modify your scheme to fit their designs, these tables allow you to control the limits of your track work. The light weight design is ideal for model train lovers. So light, its easy to take your whole setup from room to room. Its even no problem to fit in your car trunk. In fact, you might find yourself altering your track design on the daily.
A good toy train track is only as solid as the foundation it is constructed on.
Here is more information on N Scale Model Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.
An Introduction to N Gauge Model trains
There are a lot of different model train scales which hobbyists have to choose from. If you’re interested in model trains but don’t have a lot of space to devote to this pursuit, then N gauge trains are a size you may want to have a closer look at. N Gauge Trains are significantly smaller than the O and HO scale trains which usually come to mind when you think about model trains; this scale is designed for hobbyists who don’t have a lot of room to spare and because of their smaller size, elaborate layouts can be built in a very small space. A fairly extensive N scale layout can be made on a work bench which is 8 feet by four feet and even smaller. The N in N scale stands for nine, which is the number of millimeters between the rails on the tracks these trains run on. Constructed in a ratio of 1:160 to the real trains they
represent, N scale trains are about half the size of the popular HO scale (1:87).
N gauge trains are perhaps one of two of the most popular scales of trains around. You can find this size just about anywhere you would find larger scales, and the availability of parts and accessories is just as great. Some of the trains and scenery for this size are quite a bit more detailed that some other sizes, which just adds to the realistic look of your layout. Even if you don’t necessarily have a smaller space to work with, you can build even better and more elaborate layout designs with this size than you would with larger scales.
Those who enjoy running trains with a lot of cars may want to go with N scale trains for this reason. Since they’re small and lightweight, you can run a much longer train without losing power than you could when using O or HO scale model trains. They’re also very portable and there are even work benches made for this scale which allow you to easily transport your N scale layouts.
There are many different manufacturers of N gauge trains, with Bachmann and Lionel being the top selling brands. You can find many good starter sets and many that won’t break your bank. One of them is the Prairie Flyer Set UP N, from Bachmann. This set comes complete with an American 4-4-0 steam locomotive with tender, an old time combine and coach cars. It also comes with enough nickel silver E-Z track to make a 34″x24″ oval, including 11 curve tracks, 4 straight tracks and a curved terminal derailer. This set has a limited lifetime warranty, and while it lists for 7, you can pick it up for under a hundred
dollars in many locations.
You can also find plenty of scenery packages for N gauge trains, including buildings, plants, people and more. There are many online retailers who carry N scale accessories and of course, your local hobby shops more than likely carry plenty to choose from as well. If you’re wondering what sort of layouts you can put together for your N scale trains, you can look at many different layouts online and in books to give you some inspiration.