NOOB ALERT*** On Trainery...

Lots of questions.  Lots of answers.  Welcome.  I'm sure you will enjoy your experience here. 

First of all I would recommend that you start out small.  It's great to have a basement at your disposal but many have gotten frustrated to the point of trashing the whole thing never to return.  Start out small with the ability to expand and I think you will be just fine.

As far as DCC goes I think most would recommend it.  There are a lot of things you can do with DCC and as long as you are starting out new might as well go DCC as well.

Around here you will get many different answers as far as what it the best quality.  Many will go with what they are looking for and not worry to much about manufacture.  For engines Kato and Atlas seem to be the ones of choice.  For rolling stock, Micro Trains and Intermountain seem to be what most are happy with. 

As far as rail height goes all I can say to you is good luck.  I am using Atlas code 55 but there is code 80 as well as others available.  Those seem to be the more popular.  I would use the search here and find a recommendation that way as apposed to asking here.  Every time it is asked for some reason or other a frenzy occurs as to which one is best.  Bottom line is they both have pluses and minuses and you just need to determine for yourself what is important.

Good luck in Afghanistan and stay safe.  If you can get a periodical like Model Railroader or NScale magazine it would be worth your while.

Eric

Deer Lodge, MT

Wow, thanks a lot gents. I didn't know there was an nscale magazine, that will be great.  Quick question on DCC:  since I have locos from different manufacturers, can I use one controller to run them all or are there some proprietary issues? (ie minitrix and kato) I know that all my locos are setup for supposedly easy DCC conversion, but it would seem to me that Maerklin(minitrix) probably wouldn't have the same circuitry as a kato loco.  I'll go on a sniffy for the low-profile rails, I didn't realize that you'd have to lower the flanges, too, but that makes sense.  sounds like a job, especially for the locos.  I don't know if I would trust myself to take it apart that far, or if I could find replacements wheels.  Looks like I need to do some more delving into the archives here.  :)

So Kato and Atlas are generally considered best, eh?  Does this apply to both Steam and Diesels? I admit that while I like steam engines, I'm more interested in modelling more modern railroads, from the 1950s to present.  

And as a scale modeller in RC aircraft, I can appreciate the attention to detail and the satisfaction that comes from taking your time and doing a job right, but as far as quality trackwork goes, beyond general sloppiness, what are the most common pitfalls new railfans find themselves guilty of?  Also, best track manufacturers, anyone?

 Thank you again for the quick replies, everyone.  I appreciate your time and enthusiasm.

Austin 

Austin,

First, I want to thank you for your service to our country. I wish for your speedy and safe return back home. Second , Welcome to the N Scale site.

You will be pleased with the new and great things that you will find for your N Scale world.

DCC is great stuff just take it slow and you will be fine. 

...so you return safely to take up the hobby.

Since you've spent time on Kato's website, I would add the suggestion that you take a look at Kato's track.  More expensive, but it's already laid on roadbed and snaps together so there are few opportunities to have "bad" places in your track that continually need modification

Selecting a track plan was a tough one for me.  Widespread advice starts with, what industries will your railroad serve? what era will you be modeling? will you have passenger ops? if so, where do the passengers get on and off (town, city, village, rural)? After reading all of the questions I was as clueless as when I started. I WOULDN'T BE READING ALL OF THIS "ADVICE" IF I KNEW THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS! So I ended up using a plan from Kato's website and certainly followed the advice in this thread: start small so you get satisfaction from running something early on.

As others have recommended, DCC makes great sense. Lots of flexibility for future ops on your RR. Brand loyalty rules. I like mine (Digitrax Zephyr) and others like theirs. Simple suggestion: go to the DCC forum on this website and read all of the threads for which you have time. You'll get a good flavor from the questions and answers in the forum on who is struggling with their system and who is having the most fun.

And, I say again, keep your head down.