Jim Zim's Model Trains - Behind The Scenes

This is a little different than my typical model train video. In this one, I take you "behind the scenes" and show you what my house and my train room look like when I don't have a big model train layout set up throughout the house.
I show you my stockpile of G-scale track and switches, and talk about the high cost of purchasing these items. This is far from an inexpensive hobby! I keep all the boxes from my model train equipment... especially in light of the fact that we'll be moving to our dream house four months from now. You'll see where I store the boxes, and I'll show you the boxes from some LGB, MTH, and Piko brand model trains that you have probably seen in my videos.
Of course, I use the oversized Electrovoice RE20 microphone that has become something of a trademark in my videos. I learned to love these microphones in the days when I used to work in radio. I had to give up on radio in 1990, since it didn't pay very well and I had a family to support. Getting a "real job" was one of the best things that ever happened to me, but that big mic is a fond salute to my old days in radio.
I enjoy reading all the comments that people post in reaction to my videos... so you are definitely encouraged to leave comments. And if you're a big fan, join my Facebook group for even more interaction with me and the inside story on what I'm up to. / 831976203803181
You don't need to tell me how badly I screwed up the metric measurements about two minutes in to the video. I said the standard 1-foot-long piece of straight track is 150mm. Nope! It's 300mm. And every metric length I quoted after that was 50% of the real number. Numerous people set me straight the first day this video appeared on KZbin. Leave it to an American to bungle a bunch of metric measurements like that!
If you're interested in actually spending some time with me in person, you're invited to join me on a group cruise in 2021. I'll actually be leading two group cruises... one to the Caribbean in February of 2021, and one to Alaska in July of 2021. Details are at www.jimzim.net/UpcomingCruises...

[@christopheredwards788]

Pretty cool Jim especially the Clean Machine.

[@merinaete9068]

Hey Jim ur da best guy ever & i like ur model trains! 😄

[@leokimvideo]

You can never have enough track. As for G scale being for older people who are loaded. Well NO Thats wrong to say. There are model railways and engineering clubs who have G scale layouts where you can run your trains in a club format. This way your not needing the massive cash layout or space required. There are also quite a few budget G scale trains available now. If your going to be overboard with G scale yes you need a bottomless pit of money. But many people are happy with a simple layout that comes out at Christmas as decoration. Never make out G scale is for those who can afford it. In the way model railway is dying around the world you need to encourage any scale of the hobby.

[@areydas5112]

Wow Jim, Quite the impressive collection. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@teamgitusome]

beautiful man!!

[@WingitMichael]

Totally Awesome my friend.

[@Audamus]

This was super cool! One of my favs!

[@007diego2]

Mr. Zim keep the videos coming, my 4 year old loves your videos. I think he knows your collection as well as you do now!

[@JimZim]

Please say hello to him for me, and let him know that right now I am working on creating my next model train video... which will debut on my channel next Friday. I think it will be a fun one for people to see! I'm having fun with it!

[@brln4]

I love watching your videos!

[@Stanf954]

Jim , you made me cry when you showed the WP& Y equipment. Our Alaska cruise in HAL Noordsm in 2 weeks was cancelled and the White Pass was on my bucket list. Oh well maybe next year. For now I'll have to lock myself in the train room for 10 days. I model HO & N. Thanks for all the Train and Cruise vids.

[@jeffbaker2897]

Thanks for sharing Jim, I will be starting a 58’x30’ double track over head G scale in my train room soon, I am also in to O&S scale est.18’x20’ & the rest to be HO scale, retired now hopefully I got time to have fun building all of it, take care Jim. 😎👍👍👍🛤🚂

[@marktrvls1218]

Very interesting hobby

[@Yyyyyy5]

You have a radio voice. Like I’m expecting you to give the news, weather and sports. I like your videos.

[@JimZim]

I was a radio announcer in the 1970s and 1980s. I couldn't make any money at it, so I had to get a "real job" to support my family. But in my heart, I'm still a radio guy. My voice is actually better now that I'm an old fart than it was when I was a young guy. I like that KZbin gives me a way to put my voice to good use. The big mic is an homage to my old days in radio. It's an Electrovoice RE-20, which is the gold standard for radio stations.

[@Yyyyyy5]

@@JimZim I like it. I kind of talk like that when I call into radio shows after college football games when they have post game call in shows.

[@Tatyana_2373]

Nice

[@jeffross5424]

love your passion for model railroading, mine is a bit smaller, Z scale...mostly marklin

[@ducham01]

Thanks Jim! I love how you make your videos, they are fun to watch and quite helpful regarding cruise ships reviews. I especially loved the tour of your dream house 👍 Cheers from 🇨🇦

[@JimZim]

Was that cheers from California, or cheers from Canada? Same thing happens with LA. If you live in California, LA is Los Angeles. But if you live along the Mississippi River, LA is Louisiana!

[@ducham01]

From Canada Jim. I live in southern Quebec.

[@rupertband4544]

Dedication. Wow. Salutation.

[@Brianrockrailfan]

great video liked 🚂🚄👍

[@omarrodriguez-pm1uz]

Wow that's a lot of train track's my favorite is the Amtrak in one of your videos appears

[@PortsladeBySea]

Your wife must be an amazing women coping with this hubby hobby! 🚂

[@Railfan225]

I have been getting to o and ho good vid!

[@nicholasjohnson6133]

Great video. I save some money on track as I use aluminum. It's conductivity isn't as good as the brass but that's not a problem as I run Airwire battery systems in my locomotives.

[@timothykeinard8085]

I LIKE

[@Brian-rj1un]

You need to have stainless steel track outside, which they make. Have a permanent layout, and actually instead of using those power boosters, I just soldered the wire to the track

[@TheOfficalTF2Soldier]

I love Santa Fe trains

[@lauracabe]

Omg youre adorable, always like it when my kid watches your videos.

[@toffeesamaddar1315]

How are you,you really enjoy in model trains.

[@ronernenwein1791]

Like it

[@glennchampion1001]

I wish I could see your first responders train, Santa fe, and amtrak in person but i don't know where I can see ya

[@curtisrs]

Small note - the 'normal' LGB straights are 300mm (not 150). The long ones are 1200mm (1.2m). Thanks for all the videos!

[@JimZim]

Yeah, I don't know how I managed to mess that up. The pressure of trying to make a presentation on camera, I guess! Within hours of posting the video, people brought that to my attention... and all I can do is shake my head and laugh at myself for being an idiot!

[@Pixiesantics]

That was very interesting. And you were showing the yellow train that cleans the tracks. Well they actually have cars that do clean the track and remove trees that might be growing over the tracks. I really enjoyed this video. But will you have to buy more tracks when you move to Washington? Thanks for sharing your knowledge of the trains with us. Take care.

[@JimZim]

That's interesting! I was actually wondering just yesterday about how railroads deal with all the stuff that grows up in between the rails. I was watching a video of the real White Pass Railway in Alaska and noticed that there was all sorts of stuff growing between the rails. I was wondering how they kept that from interfering with the trains. Yes, after our move I'm sure I will have to buy some more track. A feature of our new back yard will be a four-foot-wide cement pathway that will loop all the way around our back yard. And it's a big back yard since we have a 1/2 acre lot. One of the uses I have in mind for that cement pathway is it will be a heck of a great place to run train tracks for a long trip around the entire yard. That's going to take a lot of track! I guesstimate about 320 feet of track just for that one loop around the yard... and that certainly would be only a part of some bigger layout I would do.

[@elvisslo]

Hey Jim! I just discovered your videos! I didn't know you were a model train guy! I am too! I've been collecting and operating Marx O-gauge trains for 20-years. We should talk trains soon!

[@JimZim]

I had no idea you were in to model trains, Ken. That's very cool. When you start working from the office again, come on over and see me and we'll have a nice train chat. I would think we're probably 2-4 weeks away from getting things back to normal at work. I've enjoyed working from home, though!

[@elvisslo]

@@JimZim Okay Jim, I'll see you when we get back to work!

[@pscaught]

Hi Jim, thanks for taking the time to show us some of the behind the scenes stuff. If you continue to do videos like this, I'd be interested in seeing how service the locomotives and clean off the wheels. Also, did you do any analog -> DCC conversions, or were your trains already purchased DCC ready?

[@JimZim]

No, I've never converted any of my analog locomotives over to DCC. All of my DCC locomotives came that way right out of the box. I don't really have the patience to tinker around with installing decoders and speakers and stuff like that! In a perfect world, there would be a train shop close to my house where I could hand over my Coca Cola locomotive and a couple of hundred bucks and they would give it back to me a few months later with full DCC capabilities installed.

[@spdaylight1]

the standard LGB straight track is 300mm and doubles are 600mm and the quads are 1200mm. I do enjoy seeing how much track it takes to make your videos, I run G scale around a coach in the basement.

[@JimZim]

Oh NO! I screwed up my own video with incorrect metric lengths! Damn. Unfortunately, on KZbin it is impossible to replace a video with a "corrected" version of the video... so my choices are to either delete this one and upload a corrected version, or just leave this as is and laugh at what an idiot I have become in my old age!

[@spdaylight1]

Were all human, no worries.

[@TRAINSPLANESEVERYDAY]

I love the g scale stuff can you show it in your next video

[@toffeesamaddar1315]

Wow

[@markfryer9880]

Interesting video, Jim. Never mind about getting the dimensions mixed up, it happens, particularly when doing conversions and trying to narrate a video only adds a layer of complexity. As far as the costs of items goes, in Australia, with the value of our dollar to the US, things end up costing 2.5 to 3 times as much.

[@PlowBenderStudios]

Personally I have found that eBay is my best friend when it comes to obtaining track. I use Bachmann's brass track which normally cost $14 a foot, but I managed to pick up 2 boxes (12 pieces per box) of new 3' track for under $300. Also bought some of those LGB switches and managed to get 4 used ones for around $50. Same can be said with locomotives and rolling stock. I've got a few models in my collection that are well over $1,000, but I've paid nowhere near that price. I've talked to fellow G scale modelers and a lot of them say that the second hand market is better value for money and more well stocked. Prices on model railroading in general have gone completely out of control, but it's more so from the manufacture doing shorter runs, thus not being able to spread out the cost of toolings across as many models. I'm just glad I got some of the models I have when I did.

[@PaulSmith-pl7fo]

Hi Jim. Great video. Answers a lot of questions - but begs several more! How long does it take you (on average) to set up/take down your layout? How do you protect your trains, etc., from damp in the garage? Lastly, when do you hope to move house?

[@JimZim]

Depending on the complexity of the layout, it might take me as little as a few hours to set it up... or for the most complicated layout perhaps a half of a day. It comes down really fast... usually in about an hour. Our garage isn't damp... so the trains are fine out there. Our move to the new house will be at the end of August.

[@asbmp]

What's the minimum radius can a g scale diesel locomotive negotiate? I plan on buying a gp 38 diesel locomotive but I'm not sure if it would negotiate around the R1 curves

[@gardenrailroading]

Love the video, do you plan to have a fixed layout in your new"Dream Home"? And how long till you get your "Dream home"? Be safe, Stay Healthy and thanks for the video.

[@JimZim]

We'll be moving at the end of August. The house is currently under construction.

[@gardenrailroading]

@@JimZim Always nice to get into a new home, we built our last home 31 years age, how time fly's. Look forward to your next video.

[@smcamt6464]

I have o-scale trains.

[@annamalaipalaniappan5473]

mr Jim I am impressed your train collections but I just inspired by the G scale cleaner for tracks it's just awesome but how much it's cost because i am having a set of Santa Fe chief and flying scotsman and up challenger with alco 51 . my tracks are getting rusted and dust have been stayed please tell me😄😊

[@JimZim]

The Piko Clean Machine sells for $240 at www.trainworld.com Take a look at this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJ6Wl5eOZbV9jrM It only very lightly scrubs the tracks, though. If you actually have rust, you'd be better off to use some light sandpaper on your rails. Just for normal oxidation of the rails, it tends to take many passes over the rail for the Piko Clean Machine to do any good. If your rails are in real bad shape, sand paper will be much more effective.

[@CheeseOnEverything]

This is why I play N scale. That way I can have it setup in a room and leave it lol

[@ecoRfan]

You really go big with the “red box” (LGB) trains and track. They might cost the most but they are also the best.

[@TheOfficalTF2Soldier]

Can you do only a Santa Fe Layout

[@asbmp]

HI Jim, i saw some stack of vinyl records in your living room. I would like to what kind of music do you have in your vinyl record collection? I tried breaking into the tv screen to see if i can get my hands on one of your model trains, but apparently it didn't work. I basically got a whole bunch of sparks flying out and huge but spankin for that.

[@JimZim]

The records were ones I collected in the 1970s and 80s when I worked in radio. There are all either albums that are not available on CD, or albums that have amazing art work that is hugely better than what you would get in the CD. I actually haven't touched the records in over 10 years... maybe even 15. I'm not planning on moving them to our new house this Fall. If anyone within driving distance in California would like them, they are up for grabs! Otherwise, I'll see if Goodwill wants records.

[@asbmp]

@@JimZim Do you have any old southern gospel music? that I can possibly have?

[@JimZim]

I'm afraid not.

[@Gardis72]

Hi Jim. Question about cruising. Have you taken a hiatus from your cruising? I'm dying to book the Anthem of the Seas from Port Liberty NJ - do you recommend, or should we wait? Are the cruise ships still sailing even? I'd love to get your input, thanks so much. GD in CT

[@JimZim]

I will be on a cruise hiatus for the remainder of the year. No cruise ships carrying more than 100 passengers are currently operating, and it will likely be at least a few months before they do. Even if the ships start operating again sometime this summer, I won't be sailing on one this year because my wife and I will be very busy this summer preparing to move after 20 years in our current house. Our move will happen around the end of August, and I bet we'll be busy with projects at the new house for months after that. The first cruise we have scheduled is February 2021. Anthem of the Seas is a fantastic ship and one I highly recommend. I've done several videos about it. If you do a search on KZbin for Jim Zim Anthem Of The Seas you will find all my videos about it.

[@Gardis72]

@@JimZim Jim that you for the response. I take it that your hiatus is due to the move, not because of health concerns with cruising? I bet some of those initial start up cruises are going to have great pricing! I watched your previous video on the new home, best of luck with it!

[@ilcisanchez2082]

can you make a G scale polar express?

[@PlayGameSteve]

Where did you get your shelves from that's in your train room?

[@JimZim]

I built them.

[@cameronflores4209]

you need to get a PIKO BR 50 Locomotive its a lovely G scale

[@JimZim]

I was not familiar with that one until you mentioned it. I looked it up on KZbin and it looks and sounds very impressive! Yeah, I could see that being in my collection someday. For right now, though... I'm trying not to obtain any more trains until after our move in to a much larger house this Fall.

[@cameronflores4209]

@@JimZim No problem. The BR50 is the most beautiful locomotive there is in there line up

[@cameronflores4209]

@@JimZim that is a wonderful idea. glad i mentioned that engine to you

[@arvindpandey4245]

Sir, please tell me about my last question

[@ixnay759]

My 4yr old son absolutely loves your videos and your trains. He’s constantly wanting to buy one and do it himself lol. Is it possible you could do another thomas the tank engine video and mention his name?

[@JimZim]

I imagine there probably will be more Thomas & Friends videos in my future. I don't want to start doing shout-outs to specific kids in them, though, because I would get inundated with requests. Just in the last 24 hours, two people have requested that. If I actually did one, I bet I'd get hundreds of requests after that. I would never be able to do it for everyone that wanted me to!

[@blakecollins9548]

The Amtrak

[@strasburgrailfan90]

It’s sad that your next door Neighbor won’t be able to come and play with the trains anymore

[@s2kologist]

Can you do a video on audio? I'm struggling to get my one of my channels to sound good. Thanks

[@JimZim]

I go to a lot of extra trouble to get good audio... way more trouble than most KZbinrs would be willing to go to. That microphone I use in this video is a $400 microphone. It is connected to a $200 preamp and audio processor. The audio is not recorded on to the camera's audio track, it is recorded on to a $50 digital audio recorder. During the video editing process, I have to manually synchronize the digital audio recordings with the video. This makes editing much more difficult. But these are all the kinds of things that would be done in a professional video production, and I think the results are worth the expense and the extra effort.

[@s2kologist]

@@JimZim that is what I'm doing now for my voice overs but with lesser equipment. I have a zoom h1n and a rode videomicro. Then sync the audio in post. I'm trying to make it sound better with the eq in DaVinci resolve but I don't have the ear or experience for it. I'm not sure if upgrading my equipment would be beneficial since I don't really know how to work the eq in post. Thanks for your videos and reply.

[@ChimChimIsDead]

How are the trains powered? What advances have been made from 20 years ago?

[@JimZim]

The power still goes through the two rails of the track, but... In the old days, to make the train go faster you would just send more voltage out to the rails. You would control the speed of the train by raising or lowering the amount of voltage flowing through the rails. If you put two trains on the same track and raise the voltage, it affects them both equally. These days it's done differently. It's all digital now. A constant voltage is sent through the rails. Each locomotive has a unique "address". A controller can send commands to each locomotive individually by just send the command to that locomotive's address. So, I can toot the whistle on one, or stop another, or reverse a different one... all by sending different commands to different addresses. It's pretty easy to do from a tablet or a cell phone, if you have the right equipment.

[@ChimChimIsDead]

@@JimZim No rechargeable batteries yet? The trains are big enough to hold batteries and that would eliminate the power in the rails. I'd think that would make it weather proof for outside use.

[@JimZim]

Oh, there are definitely battery powered G scale trains. Those have benefits for people with a permanent outdoor layout where the track tends to get oxidized sitting out in the weather all year long. For my setup, which is mostly indoors, track power is more practical.

[@ChimChimIsDead]

@@JimZim thank you for responding. I'd be interested in out door trains that are battery powered.

[@jayhay6497]

Please tell me that your job is a voice over artist!

[@JimZim]

I don't think I'm quite that good at it! But I did have a career in radio back in the 1970s and 1980s. I never could make enough money at it to support a family, so I took a "real job" 28 years ago and I'm excited to be within a few months of retiring.

[@jayhay6497]

Jim Zim well you have the perfect voice!

[@AmauryJacquot]

a foot is about 300mm

[@JimZim]

Yes, I totally screwed that up! Leave it to an American to bungle the metric system! Unfortunately, KZbin does not allow someone to replace a video with a corrected or updated version of the same video. Otherwise, I would have corrected that as soon as I realized my mistake.

[@echomediatek1136]

0:13 tHE OBSERV. CAR LOST A BIT OF CONTACT THERE. sorry for caps

[@bennickss]

$85 for a set of points? My god, I could get a full OO scale locomotive for that! Plus, for £300, I could get a double track layout, 2 DCC fitted locomotives, 3 coaches, 4 freight wagons, and a Hornby RailMaster eLink block which makes the track controllable from a PC. What could you get in G scale for $/£300?

[@kjp8251]

who built those shelves in that room?

[@JimZim]

That would be me... and as you can tell, I was going for functional and cheap, not beautiful.

[@kjp8251]

@@JimZim I'm looking to build some similar shelves in my garage. I may steal your design.

[@pilotrorosworld7087]

I’m trying to figure out how i can make my mom by some

[@trainboi]

Can u put the trains outside like they where made for? .-.

[@JimZim]

Explore my channel. There are LOTS of videos with the trains running outside.

[@trainboi]

Jim Zim I did but I don’t get why u put them inside I get it when it’s raining but not when it’s sunny

[@ltguns97]

hi Jim I have a ho scale train

[@stefanharrison5337]

jim zim can you do parade of g scale full movie please from stefan harrison

[@JimZim]

I've been thinking about what to do in my next video, and I'm thinking of setting up one set of tracks that runs through my house and then doing time trials for each of my locomotives to compare each of them at their top speeds. Running 19 different locomotives one at a time over the same layout might take me a while to do... but that might be interesting.

[@echomediatek1136]

can u couple cars to the Clean Machine?

[@JimZim]

Definitely. It has standard G-scale hook & loop couplers on both front and back. You can buy the new R/C version at www.trainworld.com/piko-38506-track-cleaning-diesel-switcher-clean-machine-r-c-battery-powered-piko-38506.html

[@echomediatek1136]

@@JimZim Why thank you Jim! Love your videos! How do you control the Clean Machine?

[@echomediatek1136]

@@JimZim That is great! Maybe you should make a service cleaning train, with an lubricating car in tow, and a car with brushes!

[@JimZim]

@@echomediatek1136 The one I own... you turn on the power switch and it just runs until either you turn it off, or it runs out of battery. However, the link I gave you is to a new model which apparently has some kind of remote control that my older one does not have.

[@echomediatek1136]

@@JimZim That's nice! Would be useful!

[@monkeyb1820]

can you dub over the error? or is that hard to do with youtube videos? Not that it bothers me, but then people won't mention it.

[@JimZim]

I'm just going to live with it and poke myself for being an idiot every time someone comments about it. After all, this is unlikely to be one of those videos that gets a lot of views... so I probably won't have to worry about getting many comments once it is no longer my newest video.

[@martijn4550]

You are a little wrong on the lengths of track. when you say it is 150mm long it is actually the 300mm piece. 300mm=600mm, and 600mm=1200mm.

[@JimZim]

You are absolutely right. That's really embarrassing. I totally messed up the metric measurements. Damn!

[@AbrahamVG]

Wonderful. Why don't you start manufacturing some models at a low rate to make it affordable to everyone to maintain this hobby?

[@JimZim]

I don't for the exact same reason that you dont.

[@AbrahamVG]

@@JimZim well, I don't have the knowledge to manufacture, leave alone the price. However, since you are so much into stocking these models, I presume you are way ahead to work on getting more people to afford to maintain this hobby.

[@JimZim]

I tend to think that to be successful in manufacturing model trains, it would be more important to have vast experience in manufacturing... more so than vast experience in model trains. To have some knowledge and experience in model trains, but no knowledge or experience in manufacturing, only qualifies me to be a KZbinr, not a train manufacturer!

[@AbrahamVG]

@@JimZim when I said manufacturing, I didn't mean you could be the direct manufacturer. With your experience of various model trains, you could work with the manufacturers of your models and work towards creating more models which can be affordable to a larger section of people.

[@JimZim]

I see. Well, at this point in my life, a few months from retirement, I am looking to simplify my life not take on any big new challenges! So, I will definitely not be starting my own line of model trains!

[@JMLoll]

Your advice that G scale is for someone older in life with large amounts of money is total bullshit. I'm a young G scaler and after I joined a model railroad club, I got track, and even some trains that were donated to me. (for free). You don't HAVE to spend a fortune on the hobby. As a rule of thumb, I've never payed more than $200 for a locomotive. It's really up to you how much money you're able to spend. Model railroading can be for everyone, not just those with large sums of money.

[@tomtomtom731]

Totally agree.

[@pscaught]

This is especially true if you're fine with buying used and doing some of the restoration work yourself. I have some 30 year old LGB track that has been left outdoors for years, some of it was embedded in concrete then chiseled out, etc. I've just been using a small wire wheel on a Dremel to clean the connectors off and it works as good as new. Most people would have thrown it out.

[@northtexasrailroadproduction1]

That’s nothing I got a garage full

[@hornguardtn]

Jim, I hate to be that guy, but the 1’ is 300 mm, 2’ is 600 mm, 4’ is 1,200 mm

[@JimZim]

I figured that out this morning when numerous people started mentioning that! I can't believe what an idiot I am at times. We actually have an acronym for it in my family. They have to say it so often that they no longer say "Jim, you idiot"... they just say JYI.

[@markfryer9880]

@@JimZim LOL. Ah well at least you have a sense of humor about it Jim.

[@stickstock2523]

Hey Jim, are you a millionaire? those tracks are expensive!

[@JimZim]

My KZbin videos have 288 million views... so that has generated quite a nice supplemental income as far as advertising revenue from the ads that run with the videos. If not for all the ad dollars, I would not be involved in such an expensive hobby!

[@vishalbamb]

Nice