Hello I’m trying to find some help with how to start building a model railway for my son.
Little background my son is 13 and autistic loves trains started with Thomas trains (over 300) went to Bachman trains and Hornby while he was in hospital so have been buying 00 gauge trains but I have no idea on where to start ,ideally size of railway table would be 6ftx3ft 
Can you actually buy the railway layout and controllers as a set or does everything have to be purchased in sections 
Thanks 

Hi Stobbsie and  

Your question is a bit like 'how long is a piece of string'.

You can buy train sets which include a controller, locomotive, rolling stock and track, or buy it all individually, it really doesn't matter.

If you've been buying 00 gauge stuff already your a bit committed, but a 6ft x 3ft baseboard for that scale is not very big.

However, we'd all love to have loads of space whatever scale we model in and whatever we do have it's never big  enough  

People do sell ready built layouts on ebay and the like, but a lot of the enjoyment from model railways is the actual construction, weather that includes building a baseboard or buying a ready built one and just laying the track, etc.

I found a Hornby beginners guide which you might find useful and it does mention the smallest size for 00 is 6ft x 4ft.

How to start your model railway layout - a beginner’s guide :: Hornby Hobbies

There are probably loads of other sites offering advice and Peco have a range of 'Shows You How' booklets whch can be useful.

RM Shows You How – PECO

Hope this helps but feel free to ask anyhing


 

Thankyou for your reply,Popped out purchased a Hornby  flying  Scotsman set came with track train and controller only £200 another train and a few trailers ,based on your advice and the advice of the staff at the shop it will be 6x4ft ,spent a while there getting as much info from the Hornby team there. 
I am sure this forum will become a regular visit from myself to pick the brains of everyone here thank you.

Welcome aboard Stobbsie

We hope your purchase becomes the start of a fulfilling and greater hobby for all concerned.  We all start somewhere.  When you see those large and often magnificent exhibition layouts remember everyone who had a hand in them started as a beginner.  Often with an oval of track on a table-top.  

We're always happy to answer questions here.  Pop in and show us how you are getting on.  

I would echo what Ed and Rick have said. I am a little late coming in here as the 9 hour time difference throws coordination out a bit.

I was going to suggest a 6' x 4' layout size as a starting point but the shop staff's advice has beaten me to that. There's a lot of newer OO motive power that won't be happy on 1st radius curves (a shade under 15" radius in the old measure), so having the extra width allows you to have slightly larger 2nd radius curves (a little under 18" radius). The radius of all curves is taken from the centre line of the track, so you do need to allow extra width on either side when measuring out. 18" radii curves will need 36" (centre line) width plus a few extra inches for clearance and to make sure everything is actually on the boards. Having the 4' width allows you to fit even 3rd radius curves. Between 2nd and 3rd radii, most proprietary stock should run without problems.

If buying train sets, I would be wary of the cheap and nasty controllers sometimes included in those, but otherwise they are a good way of getting trains and track more economically than buying the separate components.

Depending on the level of autism and your son's abilities, you may find constructing scenery and placing buildings and roads to be a good way of sharing some fun and challenges.

Enjoy the hobby. There's plenty of free advice available on the forums, and many different ways to achieve the same ends. Make a few mistakes along the way, because that's how you learn, too. We've all had our successes and failures while trying new things.  

Some good advice there Stobbsie and from some pretty experienced modellers.

Just something else to bear in mind - recently produced models are built to much finer tolerences than in the good old days.  The wheel flanges for example,  are much heftier so they won't run on Code 75 track - the 'Code' being the depth of the rail to the sleeper tops.  Older stock requires slightly deeper Code 100 track to prevent the wheels 'bouncing' along the sleepers.  Set-track will, I'm sure, be Code 100 so no problem.  Additionally, later manufactured rolling stock requires more accuracy in track laying to avoid derails on points and curves etc.  Just some things to bear in mind when you're buying stock ……….

Good luck with the project and I'm sure both you and your son will get plenty of enjoyment from it for many years to come. 

Thanks for the reply ,first time connecting track was a bit fiddly tbh and just for now I laid down the 6x4 poster track layout that came with the flying Scotsman set which came with the outside track so need to go back to store and hopefully they know what the inner tracks are that I need so looking forward to building the scenery and learning how to add gravel paths and grass, It may not be pretty but myself and My son had  a great time.
One more question of many more to come I’m sure but how do I control other trains on the inner tracks separate from the outer track 

Hi Stobbsie,

A warm welcome to you and your son. Let me start with a warning. Model railways as a hobby is very dangerous. The hobby will take more and more of your time, money and room!

If you and your son are more into running trains instead of 'counting rivets' (meaning the models have to be correct down to the most minute detail), you can pick up to very good bargains at model railway shows and exhibitions. Apart from getting inspiration you will often find stalls selling second-hand rolling stock and perhaps track (You will always be in need of points).

Have a look at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A2Amt_BU4Q&t=1103s

It is amazing what you can get for £25.

Stobbsie said

One more question of many more to come I’m sure but how do I control other trains on the inner tracks separate from the outer track 

From “Post #293,424”, 11th April 2026, 4:50 pm

Assuming the Flying Scotsman set you've bought is what's called analogue, you will need two controllers, one for each track, and insulation joints between the inner and outer tracks.

Brian Lambert's site has a wealth of information and explains this rather well.

Electrical Page 1

The thing to bear in mind is that if the set comes with second radius curves you need an outer loop, not an inner one ton avoid the problems Jeff (SRMan) mentioned.



 

HORNBY R1255M RAILROAD FLYING SCOTSMAN TRAIN SET
R1255M
Hornby
The set came with the outside track and I used the poster layout to work out the layout and it shows a inner track and an extra loop above inner track so I am planning another visit to pick that track up also.

Claus Ellef said

Hi Stobbsie,

A warm welcome to you and your son. Let me start with a warning. Model railways as a hobby is very dangerous. The hobby will take more and more of your time, money and room!

If you and your son are more into running trains instead of 'counting rivets' (meaning the models have to be correct down to the most minute detail), you can pick up to very good bargains at model railway shows and exhibitions. Apart from getting inspiration you will often find stalls selling second-hand rolling stock and perhaps track (You will always be in need of points).

Have a look at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A2Amt_BU4Q&t=1103s

It is amazing what you can get for £25.

From “Post #293,426”, 12th April 2026, 4:36 am

Apparently missed a train fare not long ago in Doncaster so will definitely keep an eye out for these popping up there is one BP Fairs Train Fair: Sunday, May 10, 2026, at Doncaster Racecourse, featuring extensive model trains and collectibles.

Looks like the set comes with third radius curves, so an inner loop will be second radius which is fine 

Hi and welcome to the forum. as mentioned by others please feel free to ask away, you will always get an answer from someone on here.
Next time you are at the shop and asking about track for the inner circle, ask if one of there 'Freight train/ good train' sets has what you need in it ?  the bonus would be another SMALL engine plus a couple of wagons that you can run on the inner circle. you can then watch out for more wagons of different colours with different writing on them.  Take pictures of each wagon against a white background, print the pictures off on photo card (postcard size) and your son can then put the pictures into a particular order and then assemble a train in that order and run it on the layout. It will add a lot of interest for him rather than just running the same train round and round (although THAT can be very satifying as well !)

Good luck and welcome 'down that rabbit hole' with the rest of us 

Cheers

Matt C  (AKA Barchester)

Barchester said

Hi and welcome to the forum. as mentioned by others please feel free to ask away, you will always get an answer from someone on here.
Next time you are at the shop and asking about track for the inner circle, ask if one of there 'Freight train/ good train' sets has what you need in it ?  the bonus would be another SMALL engine plus a couple of wagons that you can run on the inner circle. you can then watch out for more wagons of different colours with different writing on them.  Take pictures of each wagon against a white background, print the pictures off on photo card (postcard size) and your son can then put the pictures into a particular order and then assemble a train in that order and run it on the layout. It will add a lot of interest for him rather than just running the same train round and round (although THAT can be very satifying as well !)

Good luck and welcome 'down that rabbit hole' with the rest of us 

Cheers

Matt C  (AKA Barchester)

From “Post #293,457”, 14th April 2026, 7:25 pm

Hi thanks I went today and bought b c and d track with an extra controller to run trains separately he has more trains than he can actually use at the same time on the track also he has picked up some more wagons will be putting the track together in morning ,I will post a pic once track together and some trains on (don’t laugh) .

Welcome to the forum, 
Looking forward to seeing how it comes along!