At 07:41 PM 9/21/2012, Jeff Palmer wrote:
>Hi everyone - received one of those groupon-type ads for a Canadian
>Pacific Railway Lionel train set.  Always thought about getting into
>trains (used to have a couple as a kid) but haven't had time to
>research what type.  And now I have 12 hours to take advantage of a
>50% off sale!!!  Act now!!!
>
>Anybody care to throw in their two cents about trains?  Thanks as always!

Hmmm....HO gauge would be too small to carry "Matchbox" Vanagons on
the flat cars - I *think.*  O gauge is the one with cars about a foot
long by maybe three+ inches square.  N gauge are sometimes called
"electric cockroaches."  You can have a fair-sized layout under a
glass-topped coffee table.

Lots of electronics now for acceleration and braking control, sounds
and so forth.  Vast amounts of trackside stuff available at least in
HO and N scales, particularly HO I imagine.  HO you could have a
fair-size layout on a ping pong table.  Modern finishing
materials/techniques will let you have amazingly lifelike layouts if
you want to put in the work and money.  Look at
http://www.micromark.com/scenery.html and
http://www.micromark.com/painting-decaling-weathering.html .

You could spend infinite time and money on this...you might even
forget you have a Vanagon.  Or you might discover that you want to
build them yourself, big enough to ride behind, and become a model
engineer.  Trains like that go from something like 2 1/2" gauge up to
7" or larger.  The bigger ones you'll need a special trailer and
hoist to deal with conveniently.  More infinite time and money plus
getting your hands dirty with machine tools (and coal, if you want
to), plus a second career in using your machine tools to make tools
so you can make tools so you can make tools so you can build
trains.  And a Vanagon would work very nicely for the smaller gauges.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwyk8kMbneQ&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWgUbSkmGJA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgA2lrGG_v4&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyRWcDVl7QU
ad infinitum.

That about two cents worth?

Yours,
David