In this post on Brass HO Trains we talk about books. Model railroading now is a very popular hobby. There are various celebrities, millionaires and many others, who have been into the hobby of collecting Brass HO trains and other model trains. The interest in collecting the model trains might have arisen out of interest, childhood passion or simply after buying their kid a new set of toy train. We recommend this one to get you going HO Railroad from Start to Finish (Model Railroad Handbook, No 36). Now that the interest has come in, there will be search for information in various libraries and the internet. Although internet is an ocean of information in the topic, specific ideas and techniques have not been shared everywhere. Various books and ebooks have come into the market and people are encashing on passing the information.

There are many books for the beginners, having step-by-step photographic approach, with easy to follow methods to install a sturdy and durable trackwork, laying of the roadbed, sectional or flexible track and finishing the track with lineside details. There are information about turnouts, cleaning and maintaining trackwork. Some books have specific scenery themes like North American mining, refining and agricultural operations that the railroads serve, with the techniques to display the realistic layout of the same. Instructions about the principles and techniques of constructing scenery including structure, scenery and detailing techniques for both urban and rural settings.

Construction of freight yards for Brass HO trains and N scale models are illustrated with photographs along with the operations like receiving, classifying, cleaning, etc. are mentioned in some books that target the HO brass model trains. There are informative books on history, practice, terminology and also advantages of having operative models that perform realistically. Basic information about designing, building, modelling and finishing backgrounds using mountains, hills, trees, bushes, water and even dirt to make the whole thing look realistic.

With such information and great collection of books, one can get a good start for their hobby of collecting Brass HO trains and other model trains. We recommend this one to get you started HO Railroad from Start to Finish (Model Railroad Handbook, No 36).

Brass HO Trains

This post on Brass HO Trains is about the Bachman model train company in Europe. Henry G.Bachmann Immigrated from German to America and took over a company that manufactured products made from horn, ivory and tortoise shell. They obtained Model trains from The Kader Company, the exporters of models and toys. The initial product range was the Branchline series that consisted moulds used to produce the Mainline range.

In 1992, Bachmann Industries (Europe) purchased a continental manufacturer named Liliput and established an office to handle product development, marketing and sales for the Liliput. The Kader Group is now one of the largest known manufacturers of the model trains. Ever since, Bachmann Branchline is strived to bring in the finest OO scale British locomotives and rolling stock.

Bachmann Europe also distributes many other of the essential items that is required by the collector to display his model railway collection. They are the agents for Bachmann American outline products in various scales such as N, O, HO and G and the Bachmann China HO scale. The outdoor railway systems like track, locos and control equipment are obtained from Aristrocrat Garden Railways and the Scenics and DPM buildings are from Woodland Scenics and Scenecraft. Brassworks supply O and 1 Gauge, and the Color corrected Hobby lighting is supplied by OTT-LITE technology. The company is an authorized agent of Liliput HO and HOe scale European models. Under the brandname The Intertrans, the company imports its own range of vehicles.

Bachmann has its own digital command control system for the locomotives and railway models, with a toggle style joystick and 10 function buttons. The controls can be activated for selection of locomotive, operation of sounds and lighting, decoders for points and accessories, etc. Three additional wireless controllers can be attached to the digital command control, and the unit complies to the NMRA standards.

The latest range of intricately detailed models, called Bachmann Blue Riband Range, was introduced in the year 1998, when The Kader Company celebrated its 50 years of existence. The company has come up with latest versions of the Branchline series, too. The Twin Double Deck Car has a close coupling system, highly detailed underside equipment, etched hinged bridging plates and articulated axle boxes. The top deck can be raised or lowered as required. A new 2-car unit model comes with full underfloor equipment and illuminated train headcode panel with internal lighting.

The steel High sided wagons have door securing chains, elaborate chassis and can be used with the steam and diesel train models. The Class 105 DMU has the same old windows from one of the earlier models, but the bodywork detail and the elaborate underframe detail matches the prototypes. They also have separate etched tablet cathcer pads, 8 pin DCC sockets with directional and interior lighting fitted as standard. The Winsdor Castle, the locomotive named by The Queen, has individual numbers, full colour Bachmann certificate.

The Graham Farish series has an addition to its collection, namely the Class 3MT Tank, in the N scale. There are 3 variants of this series and have finely detailed external components and come with accessories like head code discs, brake-rods and others.

All the models, whether past or present can be pre-ordered or purchased from the local stockist in the United Kingdom. The website has railway clubs listed and one can join any or list their own. Various details about getting started with the hobby of collecting rail models are available and news and events are also published.

Brass HO Trains

The collectors of brass HO trains are always on the look out for the trains and where to buy them. The companies that involve themselves in supplying these collectibles can be classified as manufacturers, importers and distributors.

Most of the companies that manufacture HO model trains sell them online or in their own retail showrooms. Some of them import from China and Korea and sell them directly or are the distributors of the HO brass model trains. Many companies not only sell the trains, but also tracks, bridges, HO scale passenger equipment kits and locomotive HO. They also have model trains of other scales like O, HOn3, On3, G, N, etc.

Some of the manufacturers have come out with fine detail models in white metal and etched brass. Handcrafted brass model HO trains, Brass O scale steam locomotives, freight cars and girder bridges, etc are manufactured by some companies. Some manufacturers cater to the British railway modelers in 4mm or 7 mm gauges which have prototypes of early 19th century carriages. Manufacturing is also done in some European countries like France, Germany and United Kingdom. Some manufacturers attend to the special needs of the collectors and create custom-made versions of trains exclusively for them.

2-rail and 3-rail models are the models that are the classification system used according to the tracks and most of them are 2-rail models. The prototypes that can be found in the market are Sweden, Italian locomotives, North American or European railways. HO scale passenger equipments available in the market are made of brass, wood, plastic or nickel silver.

Importers take pains to find the right kind of manufacturing companies overseas and get them make available in their own countries. Most of them also import accessories like detail parts, scratchbuilding supplies, rolling stock, scenery flats, buildings, etc in the various scales apart from the model trains. These would be suitable for both collectors or operators.

The distribution system is usually a network across several states and countries, bringing up several kinds of model trains. The retailers obtain all kinds of models from these distributors and are the mediators to get them to the collector. The Lionel HO trains, Bachmann HO trains, Atheran HO trains, Marklin HO trains, etc are all well-known versions of the various model HO trains.

Online suppliers add up their stock with newer versions of trains and also new models of steam, passenger and freight trains. Most of them also buy the model trains if the collector or others wish to trade or dispose them for some reason. Internet is an ocean of information for the collectors for the latest items and display methods and models. Various kinds of electrical, electronic and digital layout planning and equipments are available for displaying running models of the precious Brass HO trains.

Brass HO Trains

Where can I sell my HO Train set?
This is a question that pops up quite a bit at Brass HO Trains.  As you move onto new eras or give want money for new locomotives.  In this post we look at some of the options for selling model trains.  And not just HO Model trains but also other scales (i.e. N Scale, O Scale etc.)

Here’s our list in order of what we think is easiest to the hardest:

1) Sell your model trains to a Local Hobby Shop

A local hobby shop is probably your easiest option. This way you are able to show the physical items to the buyer and discuss their values etc. HO electric trains, HO brass model trains and more can be traded in a local shop.

Pros:

• It’s close.
• You get the cash immediately.
• You could do a trade in.
• Your buyer can see and feel what you’re selling.

Cons:

• None that I can see.

2) Put a posting up on a Train Forum and ask for buyers for your Model Trains

This is easier however the issue you might have here is that the buyers are not near you. So you’ll run into issues about the buyers want to see the quality of the trains etc. However alot of forums allow posting of images straight into the forum so you can put pictures up that will answer alot of questions.

You will have to register but it’s free to do so.

Here are some forums.

• http://www.modeltrainforum.com
• http://www.trains.com (look for forum)
• http://groups.google.com (search for model trains)
• http://groups.yahoo.com (search for model trains)

Pros:

• Wider audience.

Cons:

• It might be tricky to find someone in your area.
• You might have to ship it.

3) Sell your Model Train on eBay

You could sell your mama on eBay!

eBay is huge has lots of traffic and is well trusted.  You can’t go wrong here and at Brass HO Trains this is the route we’d go. Why it’s good for an online option is that people have a history of their sales and buys so you can see if someone is dodgy before you make the sale.  And it’s a tried and trusted system.  However it is still an online option and you are also faced with creating an account and putting pictures up.  Have a look you can get Athearn HO Trains, Bachman HO Trains, Brass O Scale Trains, Marklin HO Trains and many more.

Pros:

• Huge audience.
• Tried and trusted system.

Cons:

• Have to ship it.
• Have to register and put a post up.

4) Find a Local Model Railroad Association

Another option we suggest at Brass HO Trains is to find a local model railroad association (i.e. a club) in your area and contact them. This might involve a bit of legwork as you’ll need to call them then go to one of their meetings and see if someone is interested. Or, depending on the association’s website,  you could post something on their site.  The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) has a list of associations broken down into areas that can be found here:

• http://www.nmra.com/regions/

Pros:

• You can meet the buyers face to face.
• No shipping issues.

Cons:

• You have to track down a buyer.  There might not be buyers looking for stuff.

5) Put a posting on the NMRA’s Website

The NMRA are a big hub in the Modle Trains world. They band associations together and put out publications.  So there’s a strong community here.  Putting something on of their classifieds will get you noticed. Both members an non-members are allowed to post however non-members have to pay.  Members can post free adverts up to 50 words.  There’s more on it here: http://www.nmra.com/membership/publications/srclassified.html

Pros:

• Big audience.

Cons:

• It’s not as easy as creating an account online and doing it all yourself.
• It’s not free.

Hope this helps!

http://www.brasshotrains.com

Welcome to Brass HO Trains,

HO Scale is a type of model train.  It is a reference to the size of the model in comparison to the actual object that’s being modelled.  This ratio is 1:87.  So for any item found on the real train the model train’s item will be 87 times smaller. So if your train is 87 feet long then the model is 1 foot in length. The HO scale is the most popular and thus the easiest to find parts. As an example here’s a list of the more popular items and brands in this range: Athearn HO trains,  Bachmann HO trains,  Locomotives HO,  Broadway Limited HO trains, Marklin HO trains, Lionel HO trains and electric trains.

Join us on this site to explore all the toys in this space