Listed here are some of the ways and reasons why kids should get involved in model railroading.
One thing to consider is a shorter feedback cycle. I got my son an HO set with some of the Bachmann Easy Track a couple of years ago. Took him all of five minutes to learn how to put the track
together. LifeLike track might be a little better. The Kato track is the best and most reliable, but it's very expensive.
For the first few months, he would put the track together and push his cars around, ignoring the locos (can you imagine?). When he wanted a trestle, out would come the Legos.
Last year, I got him an Athern SW1500. That's the only loco he uses now, since it is SOOOO much better than the Bachmanns.
He's getting more sophisticated. His bridges are getting longer and more elaborate. He's taking an interest in the structures and scenery I'm building on the N scale layout. When he gets bored, he
can knock out a trestle in short order.
Kids need to be able to create something and not have to wait to see the result. Most adults are like that, too, unfortunately. The point is that they don't have to be modeling, as we think of it, to
have fun. At five, six, seven, and probably a couple of more years yet, the fun is knocking out a "layout" and running trains. If you get bored, you change it.
We need to make sure we don't discourage this kind of thing for the newbies, of any age.
"Newbie"...look at that...and here I started my layout last January...
Scott Whitmire
Yeah, the Easy Track tends to get sloppy in the connection after repeated make/break sessions. Then, if you aren't careful, you tend to get a lot of derailments.
Sounds familiar, but we never had enough Lego blocks to make a trestle. Lincoln Logs work.
I held off on the better locos. The young'un likes to keep all his stuff clustered around him on the floor, then he sits or leans on things, breaking them. A main motivation for a layout on legs.
This is where building kits come in - divide the layout into small portions, so you can build the necessary kit[s] with a kit or two per session, then do the needed scenery around the completed
buildings in another session or two.
There's stil the Sleasy Track to play with...
Carl "still a greenhorn" Gustafson
Train Game
In an effort to make the model train layout more interesting for kids, I've developed a game around running the trains. There are no winners or losers, just a challenging problem to solve. Here's how
the game works.
Players either roll the dice to determine the level of difficulty of play, or make the selection themselves. The level of difficulty determine how many "Scenarios" need to be played out.
They then draw scenario cards. If the level of difficulty in play is 3, they draw 3 scenario cards. Examples of scenarios:
Build a passenger train and run it three times around the loop, stopping at every station.
Build a cattle train in the yard. Load it in the main stock yard. Move the train to the Valley Meats plant to be unloaded.
Draw another scenario card. In the middle of the move, pretend the engine broke down, needs to be towed away, and replaced with another engine to continue play.
Build a freight train. Run the loop twice,
On each scenario card will be directions on how to build the designated train. For example, the player will be told to draw an engine card to determine which engine to use on the train. They will
also roll one or two die to determine how many cars and in what order they need to be added to the train. So you need one 3"x5" card for each engine, caboose, and car on the layout. It may be helpful
to color code the cards by type and keep different types separated.
The player then runs the train. It can either be dismantled after play, or left until a new round of scenario cards are drawn.