How to get started with lego trains

after browsing this forum and euro bricks have decided to dive into the world of Lego trains. i very much a steam train type person so thinking first set would be the emerald night train.

what other things do i need to get started? and what are the main pieces i need for power function and setting up the base wheels for future coaches and shunt trucks?

Hello Oddleaf

I'm somewhat new to lego trains myself, But my advise would be to purchase at least the Power Functions Cargo train set, plus a Power Functions XL motor.

The cargo train will give you some basic track, a battery box, a remote controller, and some more wagons.

This would allow you to motorize your Emerald Knight, and run it.

You might also be interested in grabbing the Toy Story 3 Train set and using components from that to make more wagons. Also the Power Functions train motor that came with the cargo train can be used to motorize the Toy Story 4-4-0 with very little modification, you will need to make a tender for it though.

Note the TS3 train comes with 6 large driver wheels, so you could modify the 4-4-0 into a 4-6-0 if desired.

Another nice set to grab would be the new Harry Potter Hogwarts Express.
Which would provide the tender missing from the TS3 train, another coach, and more parts with which to turn the TS3 4-4-0 into a 4-6-0

I would also recommend grabbing a track expansion pack and some more points, and if you have the budget, a couple of the Rechargable Power Functions Battery boxes, and a transformer to charge them with.

Word of warning about the rechargable battery, it cuts out automatically after 2 hours and needs to be reset. I used it in my Classic Space train I had running at the AMRA show. Ran for 3.5 hours at medium speed.

3.5 hours with the 2 hour reset?

Yeah, about 3.5 hours total run time, with only about 30 seconds off in the middle. Train was pulling four carriages. I've since bought a second battery (from the US with HopShopGo) so I can always have one charged, as it takes about an hour to charge.

thanks guys for the help.

Grab the cargo train set and just have a play
There are plenty of options to mod that set

If you do buy the Emerald Night and want to power it be aware that it can become unreliable. There are a couple of threads on Eurobricks with modifications to correct this so take a good look around there.

Steam trains can be pretty complex to get running right so they can take a long time to design. There are a few people who share designs (check out Ben on Brickshelf) and many more who will take photos of just the running gear (the Lego train Mocs group on flickr will lead you to a whole heap of examples) so you can get an idea of what works.

BTW Intrastella I think I've read somewhere that the cut-out in the rechargable battery only trips to avoid overheating, you might want to see if you can reduce the current draw and see if it runs longer. I'm sure I've read that someone had one run for 9 hours without stopping using a 9v motor shell as a pickup to recharge on the run.

The idea of using 9v motor to pick up and re-charge was in the latest rail bricks issue (http://www.railbricks.com/). A very good article about PF and trains. It is definitely a concept worth investigating.