Getting started in G scale trains

[@CapeCodTrainTodd]

G scale is Great! I have about 800' of track outdoors and all sorts of engines and rolling stock. It is affordable if you buy your track and trains preowned as I did and then build what you cannot buy. It is such a great hobby.

[@nathanbreaken3231]

Not certain about the points made but ,if anyone else wants to learn about how to build a model railway layout try Pycanta Model Railroaders Protocol (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some amazing things about it and my mate got cool results with it.

[@VestedUTuber]

@@nathanbreaken3231 Looked it up, the website is parked.

[@eshollen]

"Build what you cannot buy" is a real thing for garden railroaders. We are so limited in comparison to even O gauge, let alone HO

[@bluecomet9072]

0:18, “ G scale does not fit inside the house” Me: hold my beer

[@bloba4443]

BNbrett 1376 lol

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

i don't want it in the house if it goes in the house i wouldn't we are only buying G scale because it works in a garden

[@specs.weedle]

Man, that background music reminds me of my childhood.

[@accomplish_the_little_thin130]

automatically an amazing vid for having the Railroad Tycoon 3 music. keep on hauling!

[@theOlLineRebel]

My father died in 2019 and mother the other month, now I am doing estate. Dad wanted to build outdoor RR with his G tracks and trains he bought over 20 years, but never really came to be. Often he took them out of the boxes, definitely the tracks many of which are in the garage, but never truly used them. Mostly display. They’re in great shape!

[@CalebsRailFilms]

Great video lad! I got my first G scale (45mm) set when I was 7 and it was a American Mogul complete with tender, a tank car (Santa Fe), a box van (Santa Fe), a service railway open wagon and a Rio Grande caboose at the rear. I still have the train now and I’ve just turned 25 and on the road to eventually building my own garden railway like I’ve always wanted. I do like the wood burners that you have, especially the 1870s one you had in the middle at the start, that was very nice! Great info as well for other enthusiasts who maybe looking at larger scale trains. I must say, some are at very good prices here in Australia if you know where to look. Excellent video and thanks for sharing with us. Greetings from South Australia. Cheers Caleb

[@spdaylight1]

Thanks for watching and good luck on your garden railroad! The locomotive I think you're referring to is a Bachmann Spectrum 2-6-0 in D&RGW.

[@gamepad3173]

I've been getting into G scale since the 1990's and yes New Bright trains were all I knew. I was unaware of electric trains,for most of my life. the stupid thing was the weight was uneven. suffice to say I'm getting a proper G scale set from Bachmann: The Night Before Christmas set. Something that I've been looking forward too for a while and a set to haul 15 cars. and it will be part of an upcoming railroad known as The North Pole Railroad: a railroad based on the entire world, the North pole section will consist of 5 trains 3 electric's converted to dead rail and 2 modified New Bright trains converted to run on Rail pro and a single cam corder battery.

[@greyfox4577]

I love G scale, my opinion is that it is cheap if you want to have a small layout in your room with a simple track, maybe hanging from the ceiling. There are some sets that come with everything you need from LGB and Bachmann. The LGB one is better quality, a bit more expensive but well worth it. If however you want to get in to a fully detailed layout with small houses, etc. You probably need a large empty room or a fairly large garden. The Pros -Is that they can be modified easier than smaller scales, a lot fo the things you can do them yourself like adding extra lights, sounds, moving parts, etc. easier than working on smaller scales -They details on them look better for obvious reasons -They can run outside with no problems The Cons -They can be very expensive if you want an entire collection -Variety is much smaller (Some manufacturers either go out of business or don't make as much as smaller scales) -You need larger space for a detailed setup -If your track is outside it requires a lot of maintenance, unless your train runs on battery (some do, or you can convert them) I personally love all scales but wish G scale had a larger audience so manufacturers could bring down prices and keep making some of the locomotives they don't make anymore.

[@TheFrogfeeder]

I just bought a 20+ year old New Bright Rail King set. It’s more of a toy, but uses metal tracks and transformers, gotta start somewhere...I usually model in N and On3

[@CPsPCs]

Love your prices, wish Australian prices were like yours, but they are nothing like them. 600mm LGB straights at my local are $65 each new. 18150 Turnouts. I paid $490 for a pair, 1xleft and 1xright, non-powered. LGB R3 16000 curves. will set you back $35 each. Bachmann Big Hauler passenger carriages are cheap if you find them at $120 each. Aristocraft F1A are over $600 each secondhand. Heavyweights, I just bought 2 at $275 each secondhand.

[@richardnelson-ux1zz]

Fantastic video keep up the great videos very informative and interesting and helpful video thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@oldmanjimh3165]

When I started collecting G I lived in warmer climates and thought I'd make a nice outdoor layout when I retire. When I retired I moved to a harsh very winter climate where track would need extensive rework every fall due to frost heave. Oh well.

[@tedansley]

Nice video! I've bought 95% of my G scale stuff over the last 17 years on eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc. My costs have been a lot less then you'd expect and I've bought a lot of stuff! G scale brass track lasts forever. I've have a smaller test layout in my Garage at 12.5 x 7.5 feet and I have a modular layout that's 16 x 12 feet I take to the occasional train show and I can setup undercover next to my large barn shed. I HIGLY recommend G scale and I also have O, HO, N, and even some Z scale. However, G scale is where it's at!

[@raymondleggs5508]

The New Bright Rail King Sets While G gauge, Might Be 18volt AC intsead of DC, usually gauge 1 was 3 rail if it was AC but that was over 100 years ago!

[@eligarcia215]

Dude that trans am! I have a 1988 firebird Formula and also collect/run g scale trains. I have a Lionel polar express ( not true g scale) and two Bachmann sets. I also just ordered a newqida loco from Amazon.

[@spdaylight1]

Congrats on the new locomotive. Never thought I'd meet another firebird enthusiast!

[@thomastaylor6699]

I have an elevated oval of track in my backyard that's about 4.5 ft. Off the ground and measures 10'x60' . I run 2 live steam engines on it, and plan on expanding it in the future. It's G gage by the way.

[@leohorishny9561]

Thanks for explaining all this. You definitely make your point!

[@richardnelson-ux1zz]

Great video thank you for sharing this video with us

[@spdaylight1]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@VestedUTuber]

"G-scale is overpriced" Me: _Laughs in HO and N scale pricing_ Thing is, prices don't scale properly between scales, no pun intended. Between the increasing amount of electronics in locomotives and other equipment which level the playing field price-wise (everything outside of a starter set is digital these days) and the increasing obsession with limited runs, we're getting to the point where price is determined less by scale and more by how big of a layout relative to that scale you want to build. I could build an 11x14 shelf layout in either N or G scale, and the G scale layout would actually end up cheaper because I'm not putting nearly as much money into rolling stock or track. While I can get five N-scale 40-foot boxcars for the same price as a single G-scale 2-axle boxcar, I have to buy a larger number of those N-scale 5 packs to fill up the equipment roster. Similarly, while the track might be more expensive per foot, I'm not buying nearly as much track in terms of overall distance. After all, what is basically a short segment of a small narrow gauge line in G scale could easily be an entire standard gauge class III main line or even a good chunk of a class II in N.

[@davidsheriff8989]

all model railways are overpriced

[@VestedUTuber]

@@davidsheriff8989 True, but that's partially because they're a luxury hobby product - the price of luxury products of any kind is always going to be higher than their material value, because enough people are willing to buy at that price to cover production costs and make a satisfactory profit. Either way though, you're still going to save money by going big and by going second-hand market.

[@Brandon-h2z]

Then you buy z scale

[@VestedUTuber]

@@Brandon-h2z Z is actually where things go back to a degree of normalcy with pricing, at least with motive power since they don't quite have all the advanced electronics that you see in HO and N scale equipment. Plus, Z-scale tends to be more specialized towards fitting a lot in a smaller space since it's honestly kind of a waste to build a huge layout in that scale. Problem is, if you do try to go big with Z, you run into the same problem as N but worse.

[@peteyb5150]

Great video, thanks!

[@3373-g8z]

Used isn't really used in certain fields, musical instruments, and working models being main areas of example. And often, something old just can't be duplicated, and becomes collectable!

[@VestedUTuber]

I'd debate the idea that used working models aren't really used. There's more of a spectrum between "was a shelf queen/part of a boxed collection" and "heavily used". Just in what I have alone, I have pieces of rolling stock that range in condition from "I probably pissed someone off by opening this box" to "someone left this out in the rain on a regular basis". Even the two locomotives that I've purchased used are in different levels of condition - my LGB SEG Mallet has a slight bit of heat damage on the front running board but is otherwise in great condition, while my LGB-Aster live steam Frank S. is physically in great condition but badly needs to be serviced to get the gunk out of its pipes and cylinders.

[@greengolf1]

Another place to get g scale cheap is train shows

[@eisenbahnkasselundco]

I have an LGB 22801 Steam Locomotive wich I paid 250€ for

[@ewoodrailway]

Lots of fun to be getting on with, I've subbed

[@sirxavior1583]

I'm thinking of moving towards G scale, HO scale just doesn't seem all that interesting to me. To save on costs i'm thinking of getting a 3D Printer and printing all of my rolling stock. All of the rolling stock were I am is expensive and generic, looking for more unique cars. I will still have to buy the same standard locomotive, tracks and controllers through.

[@AleLGB]

"G scale is not as expensive as people think" Shipping costs when you make american G scale but you live in Europe: *_"HEY HEY!"_*

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

well there is so little selection to pick from now cause everybody built garden railroads and supply chains failed that the hobby collapsed

[@AleLGB]

@@IndustrialParrot2816 Depends on the zone honestly, in Europe garden railways is very unpopular (mostly due to costs and space)

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

@@AleLGB no i am in the US and USA trains is only offering half of what they used to they only make an S4, GP38-2, FEF-3, SD40-2, GP9 in only 2 road names, and a docksider

[@AleLGB]

@@IndustrialParrot2816 no any SD70 Mac? Jeez I want one of those so bad but the last one I saw on sale was sold before I could get enough money...

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

@@AleLGB they ain't SD70s anymore its quite sad but you can still find a few in local retailers i visited eastside trains in kirkland WA last month and they had SD70macs but only 4 of them a Santa Fe, Canadian Pacific, Alaska Railroad, and i think southern pacific not sure if they are still there tho

[@305KSL]

if I get 2 Piko #38104 Santa Fe Freight Train Set can I run both of them together like connect the two 0-6-0T Saddletank steam locomotive together and if I want can I put a train in the front and the cars at the back and a train a the back of the train.

[@spdaylight1]

Yes you can as that 0-6-0T has a front coupler.

[@jakemanboyss]

This is hard because for me finding them is not easy

[@Douglas-not-Dougie]

Walmart ez-tech Christmas trains $60

[@2mscaled828]

love it !😁

[@raymondleggs5508]

New Bright had a line of Electric G guage trains called the rail king, and a line of christmas trains, the Rail kings were either a modern, Pennsylvania, or chicago northwestern 2-6-2 Prarie loco or a "General" 4-4-0 in a couple of road names, the Pennsy set is a bit harder to find. They Were about as good as the Bachmann big haulers, in fact if they had caught on New bright could have been a decent competitor in the market

[@TheFrogfeeder]

I bought a set today, the blue general. Perfect condition. Love it so far. I have more expensive stuff in on3, I don’t want to get into g scale for layouts and modeling, I just wanted a big train, I got it, cheaply too! The set gotta be 20+ years old, perfect condition even the box.

[@TheFrogfeeder]

I almost bought the Bachmann Big Hauler from a person yesterday, it was a bit more money, I’m glad I got the rail king. It’s actually my first non bachmann train.

[@tammylovescats]

Awesome Trains!

[@buzzygaming7667]

also if you wanna get started and dont have as much money you should try some eztec trains since they are g scale and work pretty well but they are battery operated

[@VestedUTuber]

You could, but they don't really hold up over time. They're best used as a "try it out to see if you want to actually put money into it" purchase.

[@maggiano325is]

Thanks man!

[@MeanBeanKerosene]

I was into G back in the 90's and those 300 CAD F7 locos were cheap compared to now.

[@spdaylight1]

Such is the way of railroading, locomotive prices only rise.

[@RanchOfficial]

I am putting a G scale railroad in my front yard and ive been hearing something about battery locomotives and electric tracks, how do i know which one i am getting?

[@spdaylight1]

In general all G scale models come as electric powered trains(Bachmann, LGB, Piko, usa trains etc.). A few cheap sets(new bright mainly) come battery powered. You can always ask the seller as well if its battery powered/converted.

[@305KSL]

Can you carry a iPhone XR on the flat car.

[@VestedUTuber]

Easily.

[@WeedMIC]

When I was little, you could get steam engines & later battery. Are they always AC nowadays? A link to some good engine sellers would be nice.

[@spdaylight1]

after consulting others in the hobby. Most G gauge locomotives are track powered but are battery ready (easily be able to convert them).

[@WeedMIC]

@@spdaylight1 I wrote this a while back and have since convinced myself that I can snip the leads from the track and redirect them to a battery I hide somewhere. Now just looking for the right loco (at the right price). :)

[@rick-ry3kj]

I want to get a layout close to the one you have, and I bought a 5AMP LGB analog controller, I want to run a Stainz locomotive with a sound tender and about 6 cars, will that suffice, or the 5AMPS of power are a bit too much?

[@spdaylight1]

It is more than enough power. 5AMPs will allow you run multiple sound equipped engines. It won't hurt your stainz.

[@rick-ry3kj]

@@spdaylight1 Appreciate it sir, I will run two Stainz at the same time, one of them is a vintage one from 1985, I hope it will not hurt it.

[@pliashmuldba]

Well Bachmann "G" are no more, at least as far as i know, so spare parts ?? 1:20.3 as i have, not cheap however you look at it, and in EU ville / Denmark G scale are not seen much. Really G scale are most cool outside i think, but if you have the space inside, sure go right ahead.

[@VestedUTuber]

No, Bachmann still makes G-scale stuff. They just don't call it "G" scale anymore and just use the term "Large Scale". But their selection is almost non-existent - they only make a small handful of American steam locomotives, the "Lil' Big Haulers" line and some Thomas & Friends stuff.

[@AbbieOates]

Is that Railroad Tycoon music in the background? If so, very lovely.

[@spdaylight1]

It is, railroad tycoon 2 to be exact.

[@AbbieOates]

@@spdaylight1 Such a good soundtrack! 3 also had great music.

[@V-max97]

When it comes to G scale for me it’s LGB, Aristo, and Piko

[@mattberg916]

Be careful with the track on the carpet. I found out that electrical arcing caused a build up of carbon dust at the joints and makes black spot on the carpet.

[@juicyjuice2536]

Welp, I done it. I started my model train addiction

[@OldIronVideo]

WHATS THE MAKE OF THAT WHISTLEING ENGI E

[@spdaylight1]

It is an LGB GN 0-4-0 #22232

[@CTTrains193]

Is all G scale RC or battery?

[@spdaylight1]

No, Most G scale engines are track powered. RC/battery are rare options for either high end Brass models (like those from accucraft) or in real cheap Christmas sets that you find in target, kohls, walmart, etc.

[@raymondleggs5508]

Newquida RC G scale Locomotive

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

the hobby is twice as expensive now and there are so few manufactors left that everybody is making there own stuff

[@williewideback]

Is there any difference between G Scale and LGB?

[@spdaylight1]

Technically yes, LGB is a brand that makes G scale/45mm gauge trains.

[@williewideback]

@@spdaylight1 so i can assume as long as its G scale, it's compatible with any Garden or outdoor brand

[@spdaylight1]

@@williewideback Yes, with the exception of USA trains witch has a high coupler height but that can be fixed with certain Kadee couplers.

[@VestedUTuber]

One other thing to consider is that LGB has a very unique actual scale compared to other brands. Most G-scale brands either sell 1/20.3 scale models (Gn3/F scale, American narrow gauge) or 1/29 scale models (Proportionate Standard Gauge on 45mm track, much closer to 1 scale in size). LGB produces most of their models in 1/22.5 scale to depict meter-gauge European equipment. The difference is similar to the difference between OO and HO scale, with "American Narrow Gauge" style G-scale models being OO and "European Meter Gauge" G-scale models being HO. Both run on the same gauge of track and are mostly compatible, but OO and "American" G are slightly larger than HO and "European" G.

[@InflatableMan88]

I'm saving money to buy a G Scale model train.

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

buy piko they are great value for money i got one and i love it

[@Talon_Creek]

well I just hit a thumbs down. however that was not what I meant to do. Michale I try to build most of the stuff I have. and look at landscaping a garden railway like the real thing evolved start with a mine or even just a water stop. just keep adding as you can. face book market place has been a good place for me to shop. enjoy

[@raymondleggs5508]

Giant trains

[@WillieBeard]

Those prices will rarely be seen. Do your own research. The majority of items on eBay will be close to, or higher than, retail with shipping. Only the cheapest Bachmann Big Hauler stuff will be found anywhere near these prices. If you get lucky on Craigslist with some cheap stuff, congrats. It’s hit and miss and I’ve never even seen G gauge equipment advertised in my area. Face it, it’s bigger, it’s just gonna be more expensive.

[@thealexpshow782]

Just got one today for 100$!! Front wheel is broken but it runs great regardless. Also sounds dont work.

[@raymondleggs5508]

I like German locomotive

[@rhester02]

I don't know how I'm going to get in to g scale

[@Malo-8824]

You should maybe start with HO scale trains

[@Nrl612]

An LGB starter set is a good choice.

[@rhester02]

@@Malo-8824 I have a ho layout

[@tregreco4410]

Ho scale is easy and fun. I started with that and enjoyed it. Then sold it all to get my first G scale set. It’s worth it.

[@VestedUTuber]

LGB Starter Set, Station Track Pack and Siding Track Pack, plus a couple pieces of additional 2-axle rolling stock in the same size as the cars in the set. (If you get the American Passenger or Freight Train starter sets, try to get a matching tender as well - the "Americanized Stainz" that comes with those sets looks a bit off without one). After that you could start looking into expanding your layout, starting with additional track. Don't even consider any of the bigger locomotives until you've already got a decent sized layout. They're expensive and often don't do well on R1 curves.

[@richardnelson-ux1zz]

What about us trains

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

its cheaper if you DIY

[@VestedUTuber]

Only if you've already made the initial investment in tools. Which... is still cheaper in the long run but I'd still recommend getting your foot in the door with a basic starter set to see if you're going to stick with it. DIY garden railroading is quite the commitment.

[@itzmikeomg2755]

Not trying to sound like a butthead here, but claiming a train isn't expensive "because i bought it third or fourth hand" is like saying cars are not expensive if you go to the junk yard.

[@popples4973]

I know what you mean. I've been using eBay for a lot of my trains. I've ended up with some Junk at times but, also some real nice pieces . Used is a gamble , so is some of the new stuff.