Mark

Joe, Here is a link to some Garden Railroading How to books. Any of these should give you a good start. https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/catalog/garden-railroading If your looking for video's, try YouTube. Do a search for "Garden Railroading How Too". Here is the first one that came up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTpaHKF3-VQ As far as equipment goes. I've been using Aristo Craft and USA trains for the past 12 years. Both are very reliable. I've never owned LGB or MTH, but I suspect those are equally good, but on the expensive side. I've owned several Bachmann's and if you can afford any of the others, you probably would want to stear clear of the low end side of the Bachmann line. I'm sure the answer will change, depending on who you talk to though. As far as track goes. I've never used Stainless steel. I normally use Brass or Aluminum. Brass will need to be periodically cleaned, but it's no big deal. If you plan on going to battery power, then aluminum is the way to go as it's the cheapest. I switched to battery after about 5 years of using track power and I recommend doing that. If you can find a club in your area, that's an excellent way of getting information and visiting a few layouts to actually see what it's all about before making your decision. Anyway, good luck and have fun. You can go to my web site which has links to several how to video links and documentation if that would help. http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com/ Mark http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com/