This is my house.
And it looks from the outside like a pretty normal house.
But when i take you inside the house...
you're going to see that there's something very unusual.
At least, there is today! (Jim chuckles)
(sounds of a steam train chugging)
You see, this is a REALLY small house and I've got it full of some really BIG model trains!
(sounds of a steam train chugging and a steam whistle blowing)
(sounds of diesel locomotives going by)
Now it's not like this every day at our house, only now and then, but
when we do have the trains out,
(Jim chuckles) it sure is a lot of fun!
(sounds of a steam train going by, with whistle blowing)
Things get kind of crazy here in the hallway because I've got four tracks
crammed in here side by side
I don't think I can fit any more than four in here! (Jim chuckles)
It's really fun when all four happen to be in the hall at the same time!
Then you just have to wait for them to pass if you want to walk by.
Down at this end of the hallway the two sets of tracks split up
one goes this way, into the spare bedroom
and the other goes this way briefly into the master bedroom
But our bed sits too low for the train to go under the bed!
So, there's not a lot of room in there! It has to do a quick loop
and come right back out.
Here in the dining room the trains do a little loop
past the dog crate and around the dining room table.
This train that's just about to come through... the long one with the green locomotive...
You've gotta watch out for that one!
It's got a VERY loud horn. That'll scare you if you're not expecting it!
(Loud horn blows)
(Jim laughs)
See what I mean?!?!
(Horn blows again)
The real fun is right here in the living room where I've got
the trains doing three laps around the living room
just to maximize all the space I've got here
I know that's not a very realistic layout. You never see a real train do that...
but it's just for fun.
And then the whole thing is controlled by this remote control.
If i want to toot the horn on the steam train
(sound of steam train horn blowing)
I can individually control each of the trains on the layout independently.
Now let's do a little Q&A session...
Because I read the comments that people post to my YouTube train videos
and it seems like people ask the same kind of questions
over and over again... at least certain ones.
One of which would be...
"Why don't you just take the trains outside and set 'em up in the garden?"
You know, a garden railway, that's what the G in G-scale stands for!
Well, my problem with that is that one of the most fun parts of model trains for me
is picking new layouts and getting new ideas about how to make it better
And so, I just like to change the layout each and every time I set them up.
I don't want to get locked into one static layout out in my garden.
But I do understand that there is more room outside than there is inside...
and so, sometimes,
I do set the trains up outside
and sometimes I set 'em up inside.
Another question that I get asked over and over again is...
since i have such a small house...
why didn't I just get HO-scale trains instead of the big G-scale trains?
I could set up a real nice HO layout just in the spare bedroom,
or in the garage.
Well, it's a pretty easy question to answer, actually.
(Jim chuckles)
Here's a HO caboose...
Here's a G-scale caboose!
(Jim chuckles) OK?
This is cute, but it does not interest me!
This is massive and impressive!
This I like a lot! (Jim laughs)
Another question that I get a lot is... "How much did all this stuff cost?!?!" (Jim laughs)
Well, the joke answer is "If you have to ask that, then you can't afford it!" But...
the real answer is... it costs a lot!
This is not something that you want to get into in your
twenties or thirties or probably even your forties
this is something that 50, 60, and 70 year old guys get into
because you want to have the kids through college
and all that financial stuff taken care of BEFORE you start wasting your money on trains...
...because it can add up really fast!
Especially G scale. That's the most expensive kind of model trains.
So, if the money is a problem...
definitely look at HO instead of G.
And don't even think about it until your kids are through college!
Really. Seriously!
Final question: People have asked...
"What does our DOG think about the trains?"
(Jim laughs)
Well, let me just say that she has learned the hard way
to look both ways before coming out into the hallway!
(cartoonish train whistle sound)