The Wonderful World of Model Trains: A Beginner's Guide to Building Your Own Model Railways and Creating Stunning Sceneries & Layouts

Many people nowadays don't understand or appreciate why someone would want to invest time and money into a model train hobby. But as explained in this book there is so much more to the hobby than just a way to pass the time. The book is right in stating that model trains can be a bonding activity between the young and old and is a great mental stimulation for everyone. Not only is the history interesting but in some cases it can be good for your health! This book is great in that it explains the terminology associated with the hobby, including a glossary in the back. There is also step by step instructions for how to go about building your own model train set-up as well as the various ways you can customize it. In addition the book provides a guide on what trains to get and the differences in the materials an quality. All in all this book really gets at the lifestyle and joy that Model Train building can offer.

After having visited a railroad museum where I live and seeing the elaborate model trains running at the museum, this book intrigued me. I have no experience building model trains and this book was perfect for me because it is written for beginners (if you’re a seasoned model train builder, this book won’t be much use to you…). I like the fact that the book discussed the different options for scale, trains, scenery and had a glossary at the end in case I needed to reference it. It also gave me an idea of how much things would cost and how to plan a layout for maximum workability and track space. If you’re new to model trains or considering taking up the hobby, this is a great book to get you started!

Wish I could return it but it's too late. When it arrived, I was shocked and disturbed that this book about model trains was just words - when the main audience would be 1,000 times more interested if there were pictures. I ordered another book that was way better (twice the cost). I wanted to return this one but I temporarily misplaced it. Just came across it again and hopped on here just to find out it was too late. So I have no choice but to warn others - do not waste your money.

I've been thinking of getting into model trains as something I could do with my 11 year old son. I like to build models and I think trains are interesting so it seems like a perfect fit. I've been poking around the internet and looked at a couple of print books on the subject. I'm all for instant gratification so I started with this Kindle book because I could read it immediately. For the person with no knowledge of the hobby that is looking for an introduction I think this a great place to start. As I mentioned, I had been poking around the internet and so I had some information already. I'd say the book was about 25% useful to me, but that isn't the fault of the book, that's because I'd already read a fair amount about the hobby online. There is a great glossary at the end that helps with all the acronyms and terminology that are a mystery to the beginner. I'm taking off 1 star because there are no illustrations at all. I think they'd be particularly useful in the section that covers layout options. Other than the lack of illustrations I think this is a great place to start for the absolute beginner. If you already have some knowledge this book may be too basic for you.

I really wanted to LIKE this book. You can't beat the price. But, note, when it says "beginner" it means it! I feel like too much of the book covers information that can be easily retrieved with a quick internet search. I was hoping for a little more "tricks of the trade"

The Wonderful World of Model Trains was a good guide for me and my grandson to have some fun together without spending tons of money on a video game that will eventually sit on the shelf. The book has a good glossary in the back including the many different landscapes that can be used and the different sizes or scales of models that can use to have hours of fun. It is an awesome conversation piece for neighbors and friends when they come over to visit! A great hobby for me and my grandson but also a great way to relieve some stress without spending a bunch of money!

I know that this book is geared more for the beginner ( which I am) but the content is much too simplistic. Give us credit for knowing some of this information already. The major flaw here was not including any photos or illustrations. My $10 would have been better spent putting it towards something for my layout.

So excited to find this for my grandsons! While I appreciate all the technological advancements that have been made over the last few decades, there are still some pleasures from the past that need to be enjoyed and carried on by the younger generations today. In fact, this generation is so centered on computer technology that old-fashioned fun is even more valuable for them. I like how the information is laid out in this book and how it will be easily understood by my pre-teen grandsons, but without being too simple to where it wouldn't seem like something challenging and thus fun to learn.

Very good some day I will get. Round to do it

Detailed, practical and lucidly presented. Recommend it to any one planning to start on this wonderful hobby. I read it with pleasure and gained much from it.

Correspond au attentes

Purchased this book for my 12 year old grandson who is just starting on his model railway journey I thought this book would give him some ideas I was wrong Not a single illustration in the whole book! Hoe can this be? Very disappointed

As the title states this book is for beginners and is written in a very basic level. The book would be greatly improved by the inclusion of photos and illustrations, I was surprised that there were none! A photo or illustration would have saved many words and done a better job of explanation in many cases. There is also an error in the explanation of grades, the book states that a 5 inch rise at 4% requires 500 inches whereas the actual number is 125. Given the superficial level of treatment and the lack of illustrations I think the book is overpriced, fortunately I only bought the kindle edition. So its okay for the rank beginner but there are better books out there.