Hi all,
In this pandemic I have decided to take up model railroading again from my childhood. I have an old HO Fleischmann set from my granddad, which I have fond memories of. Perhaps any future grandkids will also have fond memories of this hobby. I am from Europe, but now live in Seattle, and I will incorporate both as themes.

I have decided to build a new layout using AnyRail, which I find very useful. My early experiments with DCC using Z21 from Roco/Fleischmann have impressed me. Running your trains on your iPhone or iPad is just what kids will expect these days.

Unfortunately, Fleischmann stopped making HO models in 2018 after their merger with Roco, so I have been buying stuff on ebay etc. I can use any brand with NEM 362 couplers (which does not seem to be adopted in USA or NMRA?) I will try to stick with Fleischmann Profi tracks and couplers, which I find very good.

One question for the forum: would you recommend TrainPlayer? Seems useful, but at ~double the price of AnyRail, I'm not sure it's worth it.

As a user of both AnyRail and TrainPlayer I heartedly recommend both. I create plans in AnyRail and use TrainPlayer to test run trains on the layout. Of course, being an arm chair model railroader I also use TP to operate my layouts.