The Ultimate Guide to Model Trains

Did your children grow up with Thomas the Tank?  Did you ever read them the story of the "Little Engine that could"?Railroad-themed stories and toys are part of the fabric of the American experience.  While today, the only passenger trains running are owned by Amtrak, railroads were once the fastest way to cross this huge country. There's a nostalgia associated with model railroading -- even if it's unspoken.
 Railroads take us back to an earlier era.  A more basic time. When spending a week or more on a train was seen as a luxury -- an event in itself -- not at as merely a mode of transportation. Perhaps you've spent the best times of your life in that era?  Or maybe you didn't, but would love to recapture the joy you imagine would be associated with it.  Then model railroading is the hobby for you. You've probably already scouted some model railroad shows.
 You've no doubt recognized the camaraderie and the passion these folks have.  And yes, you're interested in becoming a part of that. This book will help you do just that!  It's as comprehensive a guide to model railroading as you'll find anywhere, starting with some basic "train knowledge" and continuing on to the more detailed aspects of the hobby. And yes, this hobby can indeed get quite detailed.
 And that tends to be intimidating to some people.  The beauty of this hobby is that you can get involved at just the level you care too.  Don't want to build entire villages by hand?  You can populate your layout simply by going to the hobby store and buying proportional figures, houses, cars and other objects for your scenery. If you'd rather hand-build an entire company town -- house for house, general store and other structures -- you can.
 The great secret of this hobby that is both the person who buys his village and the person who builds it from scratch are enjoying themselves to the fullest. As an individual who stumbled onto the hobby in a way many have -- with one single electric train set as a Christmas present in my childhood -- I'm thrilled to have progressed in my passion to be able to share it with you now.