Building model railroad layouts and model trains is a fascination for both young and old. Some say that the hobby of model railroading stays the same from when you were just a boy to when you become an adult, implying that you never grow up, but if you take a look at some of the layouts you can find online you will see that the design and detail that goes into a model railroad layout can be very detailed and elaborate.

Model railroading is a hobby you can enjoy occasionally with family and friends or it can be something that you create and build over a life time of fun and excitement for yourself and others to enjoy with you.

Starting out building your first layout you should choose a room that you can build a layout. Using a corner or one end of the room determining the size of layout you can build. If space is limited I have even seen railroad layouts built in closets of rooms. Getting an idea of the size of layout you can build is your first step.

Your second step would be selecting the scale of train you will use in your layout. Depending on the size of space you have to work with and how simple or detailed you want to build will determined the scale you can work with. Model trains sizes is called scale and come in O scale (1:48) being the largest down to Z scale (1:220) being the smallest. The scale ranges from O down to S down to Ho down to N and Z scale. HO scale has become the most popular scale in the US which is know in the UK as OO.

Once you have the layout size you are going to use and the scale of model train you want to use you are ready to start your design and track layout. At this stage you need to decide if you are going to have a city design where your trains are running through different cities or you can have a country setting with farms and live stock or mountains with your trains running through and around them. This is where you can be as creative as you want, you can keep it simple or get as detailed as you want. There are many magazine and books on building model railroads that you can look through to get ideas or you can come up with your own.

Now that you have decided on your layout and how you want it to run it’s time to lay out your track. You want to lay out your track the way you want it with all the curves and grades you will have when it is finished. This way you can test it with your trains to make sure the curves are not to tight that the trains derail or if you have grades that they are not too steep that you train stops and cant make the grade. Once you have tested everything its time to secure you track down and start to work on you scenery.

So to avoid costly mistakes decide where you are going to build your model train layout, the size and room you have to use. The scale of the model train that will work best for your space, the design and settings your trains will run through. Planning ahead and having an idea of what you want the finished layout to look like will save time and money.