My N scale layout measures about 10 ft. by 6 inches. It is just a simple layout, with two terminals and a passing station in the middle, allowing two EMU´s to shuttle back and forth. As N scale is starting to get a strain on my eyes, I am considering a change in scale, all the way up to O scale (not the hi-rail stuff). That N scale layout I have would be a whopping 36 ft. long and 22 inches wide in O scale, turning the little layout into a big one.
The other day I had the chance to operate a little O Scale shelf switcher, which was the same length as my N scale layout, just a little wider, of course. I had the impression of operating a much bigger layout, although the train movements were really short.
I’m guessing size does matter to an extent. I’ve seen that even with layouts that are at eye level as opposed to mine, which is still at 48" off the floor…
It is not your mind playing tricks on you. It is your eyes performing their normal function.
It is the combined effect of depth perception and peripheral vision at work.
Depth perception is the visual ability to perceive surroundings in three dimensions. Closer objects tend to block the view of objects further away, whereas objects further away do not tend to block the view of objects closer up. As objects in motion move away, they appear smaller, but the larger the object, the longer it takes to appear smaller as it moves away.
Peripheral vision is the ability to see objects outside the center field of view. The larger the object in your center field of view, the more difficult it is to see objects outside your center field of view, creating the effect of greater distance. If objects in your center field of view are smaller, peripheral vision permits you to more clearly see the objects outside your center field of view, creating the illusion of lesser distance.
I have my N scale layout at near eye level and so was that switching layout. Now if I were to build the same switching layout in N scale, it would be a mere 2ft. 8 inches by 7 inches - truly a micro layout. A layout of that size, even glued to my nose ([swg]) would most likely not give me that railroad feeling I had when operating the O scale one. The sheer size and heft of the loco, the dark deep grumble of the Diesel, the real momentum feel when I started to move the train were so much different, a lot closer to the real thing.It took me from the position as an observer right into the engineer´s seat!
Are there lessons to be learned?
For me, yes!
If you have only little room for a layout - go big (sounds contradictory, doesn´t it?)
It´s all about perception and imagination, and not so much about size and measurements.
I think about it in the opposite direction. As opposed to a small space, think about it in terms of a large space. Say you have a space measuring 40’ x 60’, a huge layout space, I would argue. Build an HO scale layout and you can’t help but wonder what an N scale layout would do for that space. But, turn that same space into an O scale layout and you feel cheated.
Now, if you consider a small space, say 4’ x 6’, the HO scale or N scale layout is just that, small. But, fill the space with O scale track and put down a loco and a few cars, and it appears huge.
true, a smaller scale allows you to put a lot more railroad into a given space when selecting a smaller scale. But does that “more” also give you more? I´d say it really depends on in what role you see yourself when operating a layout. The smaller the scale is, the more your role will be that of an observer, the bigger the scale is, the more you will turn into an operator, resp. engineer. Just my humble opinion. N scale is an observer´s scale, the guy standing at the tracks, watching the trains go by. To be an observer, O scale requires a heck of a room to be able to run the trains, but requires a lot less to be an operator. HO scale is somewhere in between - it lets you choose your role more readily than the other scales (I am not forgetting S scale here).
I know this is heavy stuff, and maybe a bit too philosophical (John Whitten, where art thou?), but quite often I have a feeling that the influence of imagination and perception is neglected when designing a layout.
I agree with your assessment and I will add one should carefully think ahead and ask this simple question: When finish will it fill my expectations? If you can’t honesty answer that question then its time to rethink the plan and the layout goals.
True a 1 x 10’ layout in N takes up just as much space as a 1 x10’ in HO and both will have a 10’ straight run.
However…
The layout will look larger in N because of the size and won’t look that big in HO because of the mass.
Now,sitting down the HO 1X10 footer looks longer and it would take a HO brakeman several minutes to walk that distance.
I’m using a 1 x10 foot ISL because of my experiences with that size in both scales.
Now if I may…
A 50’ N Scale boxcar on the end of a 10’ ISL looks like its about 1/2 mile away to the eye and the same boxcar in HO would look about 1/4 of a mile away to the eye when compared to a prototype 50’ boxcar at a 1/2 and 1/4 mile.Of course its a illusion of distance due to the size of the model.
Larry - this is exactly what I am questioning. Our eyes see just those 10 ft. Regardsless of the scale we are in, that loco travels 10ft. Our brain tells us, that the N scale loco travels about 1.8 times more than the HO scale loco, because it is 1.8 times smaller (just like everything else) It may appear strange, but those 10 ft. remain just those 10ft. for me, regardless of the scale. Now may be if I were able to change my vision, like scaling it down by that factor, the N csale layout would appear to be longer. Now let´s turn that argument around. Say, you have a 4 by 8 layout, which you like very much. Now you build an N scale version of it, scaling it down to a little over 2 by 4 ft. In terms of scale miles, the locos on both layouts travel the same distance, but I bet you´d think the distance is longer on the HO scale layout.
I think that one of the trade-offs is visual appearance versus operating potential. We each have our own preferred balance – in the same space one person might choose N scale for more operating interest and challenge while another might go with HO, O scale (or On30) for more visual “heft” at the cost of some operating potential.
There is a perception situation here, which can be explained better with a 1:1 scale example.
Not far from my humble abode is an industrial area that might have been created for reproduction as a shelf switching layout. The length, from the points of the first turnout to the stub end of the switchback lead at the end is about 1km. There are spurs in several places along its length, serving industries of various kinds. A street crosses just ahead of the first set of points, at about a 120 degree angle.
From half a kilometer up that road, cars appear about N scale size, and you can see most of the length of the complex. The part you can’t see is behind buildings, and would be visible if they weren’t in the way.
From 200 meters up that road the cars have grown to HO size, and only the nearer half of the complex is in sight. The aggregate plant and warehouse at the far end are outside of a normal field of vision.
When stopped at the crossbuck to allow a switcher to bring in a couple of wheeled weenies, just about all you can see is the train and the propane dealership which will shortly have its empty replaced with loads. When looking at the locomotive, the field of view only extends a few hundred meters up the track.
Conclusion? The size of the models is irrelevant as long as the scene is just a bit too long to fit within a normal scope of vision. The determining factor then becomes: Can the owner operate in a manner that HE/SHE finds satisfying? If the answer is yes, you can even run a G gauge Birney car around one city block on a kitchen table.
The “normal” viewing distance is, say, 2 ft. That equates to 320 ft. in N scale, 174 ft. in HO scale and 90 ft. in (German) O scale. To get the same view as onto the N scale layout, I´d have to move back by a little over 5 ft to increase the viewing distance to a notch over 7 ft. Would I do that, the 10 ft. O scale layout would look as small as the 2 ft. 8 inches N scale layout and thus smaller in my perception. Since I am not doing this, the “small” O scale layouts is perceived bigger.
I know this is one of our standard assumptions, but it may not be true. The layout may operate larger because the relative size/distance between buildings, switches, etc. But will it look larger? Or does it just look further away? It may well be that HO, and even more O, looks larger because it really is larger in 3 dimensions. The N scale effect might make us think of it in larger terms because we can git in more track, more industries, but mass wise that O scale loco sitting there 16 real inches from our nose is bigger than an N scale loco at the same distance.
Been from HO to N in an attempt to get more. Am now back in HO, and keep considering going to O for the very reason discussed here. It just feels more massive and more like the railroader on the ground to me. Others mileage may vary.
The older you get the better O gets. Track issues aside , the foreground detailing combined with forcing the perspective with other scales can certainly help one create great scenes in small spaces with O.
Absolutely! I seen a 2 rail O Scale ISL at a train show several years ago that was mid chest level and I walked away feeling like I was standing trackside watching a crew go about their work.
If I had room for a O Scale ISL I would drop HO faster then I did my N Scale-that was a long agonizing decision.
Of course On2 1/2 has caught my attention as well.
I am seriously considering changing to O scale. I don´t have much room, just 10 by 2, plus a drop-down extension of a little over 3 feet. That´s just enough to build a Timesaver like contraption, albeit a highly detailed one.
The layout will be set in northern Germany during the 1960´s. It depicts a typical end-of-the-line branch line station with little traffic. Just a daily freight, consisting of the short cars, pulled by a 0-6-0 Diesel switcher. Passenger service is done by a rail car, which was dubbed “red buzzer” due to its distinct sound.
This is the switcher:
… and this the rail car:
There “home” will look like this:
All of the buildings will have to be scratchbuilt, but there are plenty of accessories in the market to support that. Now O scale locos and rolling stock are no bargains, but a) you need less stock and b) compared to a premium HO scale model, the difference is not that much.
