Don't stop him!

Gnotalex of Dodgeblogium says "Stop me before I build again". He's asking the wrong person. He goes on to categorise the fans of "The Worlds Greatest Hobby".

There are three categories of model railroaders (though the interests do crossover):

1. The detail freaks. The ones who buy $500 brass locomotives from Japan and Korea, accurate down to the rivet.

2. The control freaks. They try to duplicate the actual workings of railways, with loading, unloading, massive switchyards and timetables.

3. The dollhouse crowd. That would be me. I like looking at and working with miniatures.

1 is definitely me. I've bought �300 locomotives from modelmakers like Chris Marchant, accurate to the last rivet; I've even got an EWS class 67 on order, which I ordered sight unseen as soon as he announced it, based on the standard of his earlier 60, 66 and 56, superb models all.

2 is me as well. I had worked out a complete working timetable for my never completed Par and St Blazey layout, and spent a lot of time on research on things like correct train formations and locomotive allocations. I'm just the same with my current Swiss layout, based on the imaginary station of Wöminsee on the north ramp of the Lötchberg main line, tracking down obscure discontinued models on eBay and other places so as to make up accurate copies of real life train formations.

Gnotalex was disappointed in the standards he managed to achieve:

What's in the mind's eye, though, doesn't always translate exactly to paper or stage, and didn't in either case look like anything in the magazines.

My layouts have never been up to the standard of the models in magazines or the superb examples you see on the exhibition circuit in Britain either.

I think the trouble with magazines like Model Railroader is that most the layouts the feature are the work of guys in the 50s and 60s who have been modelling for 30 to 40 years. The first efforts of any beginner is never going to match their modelling standards. Also, their highly-detailed basement empires often represent twenty or more years' work.

My advice to a beginner would be:

• Start small. If you've got a whole basement or loft to play with, don't start a massive project that will take years to complete. With something simpler, you'll have a chance of getting something to a presentable state (track, electrics and some basic landscape) before the first flush of enthusiasm fades. But don't make it too simple or there won't be enough to sustain interest.
• Join a club. There's no better way of exchanging modelling ideas and learning from the experiences of others.
• Consider using preballasted track, such as Kato Unitrack or Fleischmann Profi-track; while this is never going to be as realistic as carefully ballasted Peco code 55, it looks a lot better than unballasted track.