# Oh Great, Another Newbie!



## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

Hey everybody,
    I guess I'll  add myself  to the list of new people here.  My name is Kris from central Pennsylvania. I am new to the whole large scale train thing. I got interested (obsessed!?)  back in November. I have started with buying an LGB starter set and some Bachman stuff,  but unfortunately it didn't het here in time to be put under  the Christmas tree! I have been running (playing!) trains in the living room since then. 

   I had an HO set as a kid, but I've never had room inside for a layout. Plus the scenery would have to be made to look "real" even though it wasn't. I had to be outside where scenery was real and alive. Originally, I wanted to do a 12" or 15" gauge railway, but the sheer amount of work involved with fabricating everything from scratch  was just too much for one person to handle. Not to mention the amount of land it requires, things would have been awefully cramped around here! Thats when I decided to get involved with large scale. It still combined all of my hobbies of woodworking, metal working, being outside in the yard, and of course, trains!  The electrical  will be the hard part for me, I'm "electrically challenged"!

   I'm to the point now where I  have a lot of questions, but  only one or two people in my area have any large scale trains, but no outdoor layouts to visit. I bought a few years of back issues of Garden Railways magazine (very nice) and a few videos with layout tours which have been helpful. But I still have so many questions that it isn't even funny. 
   
   I am used to trying to figure things out for myself, but  I am realizing it is more of a benifit  to listen to others' advice. So here I am, the new guy  with all the same old questions. Even though I may sound silly, I guess I have to start somewhere.  Feel free to tell me when to stop asking dumb questions!

   I look forward to meeting everyone and learning something in a new hobby. Thanks for your time. Have a good day!
Kris


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Glad to meet you Kris. Welcome

First off, there are no dumb questions that I know of. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif
Second, you'll find that getting answers won't be a problem, regardless of how many times they've been asked before, all you've got to do is ask.

Now that you've introduced yourself, you might want to use the Beginner's Forum to put forward your questions, then as you become more comfortable feel free to branch out and place your questions in any of the forums that seem to apply..


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Kris,

Welcome to MLS!! Why bother reinventing the wheel?  If you have a question, ask.  There's a lot of good people here, and you likely get many different opinions on subjects. 

There are a couple of us on this board that are in Central PA.  I'm in Lancaster, and have an outdoor layout.  There are actually a fair number of large scalers in this area, but I don't really know many of them.  I was part of the Susquehanna Valley GRS, but that club wasn't for me.  I was part of a 7 garden railroad tour in October.  They were all based in Lancaster County, but I have no idea where those folks are located.   

Are you aware that there is a huge show in York for large scale only?  It is called the East Coast Large Scale train show (www.eclsts.com)  and it is being held at the York fairgrounds March 28-29.  If you want to see, hear, touch, and otherwise experience large scale, that's the place to do it.  If you do go, keep your eyes open for nametags, and don't be shy!

Mark


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## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

Steve, 
  Thanks for the intro.
Kris


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Welcome aboard!  Newbies are always welcome.  How would any of us learn anything if it wasn't for the Newbies asking the questions we all have but are afraid to ask because we aren't a Newbie anymore?

May I, suggest, since you claim to be "electrically challenged", that you simply forget this newfangled "electricity" stuff (its just a passing fad, anyway) and go Live Steam.  Sooooo much simpler... no fuss, no muss, no worry about voltage drop (ever drop a volt on yer foot... owwie!) no getting yer shorts in a knot about shorts, no extra expense of having to put conductive wire along side the conductive rail... (what's with that, anyway!) no worry about polarity whether you are bipolar or not... just so much simpler... harkens back to that simpler time when things worked on steam and we liked it.

Just put some crick water in the teapot and some 'shine squeezin's, or flammable rocks in the farbox and away ye go. (If you really want convenience, you can use butane, but that is just a bit too yuppie fer me.)

Please, don't think your questions are "dumb"... I need the answers to the same questions and since you are new, you can get away with asking them and we all will get the warm fuzzies for answering them for you.


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Welcome Kris! Based on info I've found here I've saved myself a bunch of mistakes, things that could have even fried some electronics. That's not to say that if someone else failed at something in particular, you would too, but at least folks here can give you some perspective based on experience. I've found it extremely valuable, but most of all FUN


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Welcome Kris, 
Always good to see new people join up. It's a fun hobby. Read all the pages in the forums and you'll pick up a lot of info. Don't be afraid to ask, lots of good help here-I've often found. I'd try to join a local club and meet fellow large scalers, most are pretty fine folks. Jerry


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Pleased to meet you! 

Just browse around here a while and see what others have done. Pick something you think you'd like to do, ask lots of silly questions, and jump in. 

First nice spring weekend, take your LBG (not Bachmann) track out to the flower bed, or around the shrubs and get some track on the ground. Watch what grows from there.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Kris! Actually, it _IS_ great to have another "newbie" as it means that our hobby is vibrant and growing! Another excellent resource is the "Archives" section where you can reference eight years of questions and answers! Even though we will gladly answer any of your questions, it remains one of your best resources for virtually _everything_ LS related!


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## nkelsey (Jan 4, 2008)

Same old questions.....much easier to answer than fix the same old mistakes  Welcome


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By deeredaze on 03/10/2008 11:11 AM
Hey everybody,
    I guess I'll  add myself  to the list of new people here.  My name is Kris from central Pennsylvania. I am new to the whole large scale train thing. I got interested (obsessed!?)  back in November. . .  I am realizing it is more of a benifit  to listen to others' advice. So here I am, the new guy  with all the same old questions. Even though I may sound silly, I guess I have to start somewhere.  Feel free to tell me when to stop asking dumb questions!
The operative word is "obsessed," yes indeed. You will definitely meet a like-minded group of obsessed large-scalers right here on MLS.  I suggest you read the threads in the beginners' forum first.  Welcome aboard.


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## multiplealarm (Jan 3, 2008)

Obsession: ob-ses-sion, a persistant disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling.
Are our friends at Webster calling us 'unreasonable'. OK, I can live with that. 
                                                   
Kris, 
Welcome aboard. You can be 'obsessed' with the rest of us. Great bunch of people and endless answers. You will always get the answer you want and several alternatives.  GOOD LUCK

Jeff
Tallapoosa and Southern


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## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

Hi,
   After I got home from work tonight, I checked  to see how many people responded to my introduction. Wow!  I am completly amazed at how many responded. I am also impressed at how friendly, humorous, and laid back everyone is. So a big "Thank You" goes out to everyone for their hospitality and willingness to make me feel welcome. I appreciate it greatly.
   
   I noticed the title by everyones name, like foreman, brakeman and such. I was wondering what that implies. Here again, it is probably something I have overlooked already.

   Well guys, it was nice to hear from everyone and thanks again for introducing yourselves. I think I'm really  going to like MLS. Have a good day!
   Kris


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Howdy Kris    WELCOME TO  MLS.

The names you see are related to the number of posts you make.   As you ask questions and  post  answers to other questions. ( you eventually will have input)
The site  counts the post and  advances you  till you become a  engineer.   When we went to the  new  software  everyone was  re set back to the begining.
Some of us who have been here a while  have  over  2,000 post or more on the old system.  Some way more.

PS  I don't care what anybody else tells you I am not accident prone.   Stan Cederleaf is.


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Kris

The terms that you speak of are tied to the number of postings that you have made, as are the stars located just above the respective terms. The more postings you make the higher the number of stars that turn green and the terms change.

I believe that the counts are...
  1 Star 0 = Hobo   2 Stars 1- 9 = Passenger   3 Stars 10- 99 = Brakeman   4 Stars 100-499 = Foreman   5 Stars 500-999 = Conductor   6 Stars 1000+ = Engineer 
To be truthful, some individuals place a high level of importance on this and others don't. Personally, it merely represents nothing more than exactly what it represents "The number of postings that you've made." You'll have to decide just what level of importance you attach.


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## chuckger (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Kris,

  Good to have you on board. Where are you in central PA,?? I'm in Fridensburg, 35 miles North of Reading.  My email is [email protected] 



  chuckger


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Woa! Ron has to be one of the first to get back to Engineer!


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## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

That's a neat way to dertermine how active someone is on MLS. Or maybe its just how much spare time someone has also!  Either way is OK.

    I definitly  want  to get into live steam someday, but I think that for me just starting out, it sounds like a lot of  time spent preparing the engine to run if I only want to "play" trains for 10 or 15 minutes.  I do like the idea of all the extra attention that a live steamer needs and also gets from onlookers.

  I liked the honesty about the "obsession" part of the hobby!  Probably more true than you realize, huh!

   Mark Oles, the train show in York you mentioned,  would that have been in January a few years ago? We went to the Cabin Fever Expo for model engineering ( excellent show!)  years ago and there was a sign at another building about a train show, but we didn't have time to check into it. Was that it? This year we were able to see three Accucraft cab forward (huge locos!) live steamers in action,along with a few K-27s, two Shays and some other small steamers. Nice stuff! Great show, but once a year is more than enough of the insane traffic just to get there. There is probably still finger marks in the steering wheel from the trip there! I don't know how people can live like that. There is already too much rage in America, we don't need any more! Thats another reason to like trains, they a calming! 

   Kris


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Kris,

No - the ECLSTS is always held in late March - early April.  In January, there is a Greenberg Train Show, maybe that was it.  

Since the marks are already in the steering wheel, you may as well go to this large scale trains- only show.   You can get a feel for the entireity of large scale trains in one show. It is overwhelming, but it is a lot of fun.  There can be good deals made at the show, too.  Mostly, it is electric trains, but the PLS will be there with their live steam tracks, and more trains running.  

10-15 minutes of live steaming: you want a Mallard OO Scale Electric Live steamer.  I have actually used mine every day for the past 2 weeks, run for 20-30 minutes at a time.  

Mark


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