This probably isn't the place to start. I practice the hobby on a different level then the one touted on The World's Greatest Hobby website.
While I enjoy many of the new innovations, models and technologies that are available, I prefer to keep it simple. Life is hard enough without pondering whether the Santa Fe owned that particular model freight car, whether it has the proper doors and ends or whether the wheelsets are the right diameter and in the right type of truck. I am not really itching to fork over $42.95 for a freight car either---out of 55+ locomotives in my stable, only 2 have cost me more than that.
With that in mind, I offer up these suggested readings, all out of print but fairly easy to find on Ebay. I bought three of them at a swap meet for $1 each, two came to me through Paperback Swap.com. They will take you thoroughly through the basics of track, locomotives, cars, benchwork, wiring and scenery, and will do it without suggesting a second mortgage or doctorate in history.
The first is "The Model Railroading handbook" volumes I, II, and III. Written in the mid 70s by Robert Schleicher and published by Chilton (yup, the car repair guys), you will find no more complete work on the hobby.
The other two, "HO Primer" and "N Scale Primer", will depend on your scale of choice and were offered by Kalmbach Publishing back in the late 60s/early 70s. They are more abbreviated but no less valuable to a newcomer to the hobby.
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