How many times have you been searching for that particular train item and found it but you don't know what to think when you read the description?

Or have you come into a collection of trains, but you don't have the foggiest notion as to what some of the parts are called?

Do you know what 'scale' or 'gauge' means? Or, what kind of costs are involved for other items?

YOU NEED A LITTLE HELP! What you really need is a handy reference with the most common things encountered when buying and selling model trains!

Having been in the hobby for over 50 years, and at one time a member of the largest model railroad club in the country, and having spent several years hanging around the Santa Fe yards, roundhouse, and Union Station in Los Angeles, I have gained experience and knowledge that is invaluable when it comes to the hobby. I've rode steam engines and diesels alike, seen them in the shops for maintenance and repairs, and have rode the Super Chief and San Diegan.

After I have helped a few sellers in learning more about the hobby on a one-on-one basis, I have found that many sellers AND buyers need a little help to make their EBay experiences more enjoyable and FUN! After all, isn't the hobby supposed to be FUN?

I've seen ads listed where the description is nothing more than 'Santa FeTrain Car' with a single picture of it in a box, then a lengthy text of the seller's purchasing and shipping terms, but no mention of combined purchases. Then you find another, with a description that gives a little more, like the 'thingy' that hooks it to another car is missing, or it's a 'brass import', because it has brass wheels! If you're not really sure of what you have, or what the parts are called, ADD PICTURES! Lots of them! Remember that old saying, 'pictures are worth a thousand words'!

I have finally decided that we all need to get on the same page so have compiled a 53 page booklet with almost everything concerning the hobby, from scales and what they are, some relative cost comparisons for scales, track and layout types, power supplies, scenery, operation, maintenance, painting and decal application, detailing, a listing of many words and phrases encountered in the hobby, and much more! This will be listed on an on-going basis in auction listings as well as in my store.

Click on this link to go to Model Railroading Made Fun For Everyone and find out a little more about it, or to purchase it.