Tony P says:

Hi Kathy. Great to see another lady getting into this. I have no ties to Robert except on this blog, that being said, the best suggestion I can give you is to INVEST in his book and read all the old blogs on this site, and I thank you Robert for this site. Notice I said INVEST, because that is what this is, an investment. You can also get a model RR magazine and they also have a lot of hints and ideas. Your first decision is how much room do you have? 2’X 2′ or 10’X 20′ space an empty basement. Next what scale do you want. You can decide that by the space you have available and the money you have. Z scale is very small, N scale is small (I have this), HO I would say is the most popular, and the next scales up are bigger and obviously take up more space and are more costly to buy. I personally use N for its size and I can do more in a smaller space and most of the time time the prices are less expensive than the other scales. I Like to start with at least a 4’X 8′, 3/8″ or 1/2″ thick sheet of plywood and you can build bigger from there and with N scale you possibilities are endless with that size. I started a new layout from an Atlas book and I added to it what I wanted. So what started out to be a 4’x8′ layout has now grown into a
4’x12′ layout. Get your self a Lay out book from Atlas or who ever and see what you like. I lay my track first with some idea of where I want to have buildings etc, later. But all of that is up to you. Always do a dry run before you glue or nail anything down. Remember where ever you start, even if it is only a 2’x4′ layout the possibilites are endless. We could go on and on but most of all dont get frustrated and have fun!!! Tony P