Child-friendly: N-Scale?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

All,

Great advise all around on this site.

Here is my situation:

Although not new to model railroading, I have been out of the hobby for over ten years (life and family and work; you know the routine). Well, I have a 7-yr old boy who has loved trains (of any shape, size, and type) since 3! He’s been content with the Fischer-Price GeoTrax stuff until recently, when we found out I had stored away dozens of HO scale engines and rolling-stock, and yards of track, along with a decades old Lionel set. Now, the HO scale Thomas The Tank Engine running around the tree at Christmas isn’t enough for him.

I’m glad he picked up the model railroading gene, but I am concerned that his interest in real model railroading may be a passing thing…he will spend hours with the GeoTrax, setting up complex layouts and running the engines and cars all about it; then, it will be two or three weeks before he touches it again. He is more interested in the operation and layout than detailing and scenary.

Anyway…I was considering, for space reasons as it typically seems, getting him into N Scale to start. Then, if he shows a more than passing interest, consider allocating real bedroom space (we have a spare room that is not used) to the hobby, again. Due to the above, I would definitely start with a set, then expand as his interest grows. I have, although older, HO power supplies, scenary materials (if still viable), etc., to support the N Scale.

Here is my highest priority question: Would you consider N Scale to be a suitable starting scale for an elementary school age child?

Some things I am considering in this due to his age and hand size: durability of equipment, ease of placing rolling stock on track, ease of coupling/uncoupling manually, ease of the anticipated repairs, availability of rolling stock and rail, and, of course, expansion/growth potential in a small space (10 x 11 ft).

I

2
I would start with HO. I started with it. N is to hard. Hard to find too. Maybe when he is old maybe 10 or 11.
3

I second the HO…If I had it to do again, I’d be with a scale larger for little hands and older eyes…[:D]

4

Seven is at the edge, but he could do it. And chances are, he’ll get older quickly!

5

I had an “HO” layout when I was 3-4, it was a loop with a passing siding on a 4x4 piece of 1/2 plywood with a 1x3 fascia. I loved it when I was little.

I “built” (with help [:-^]) my first “N” layout when I was around 8 or 9. If you have a patient son that will respect the trains, N scale really won’t be an issue and it’ll give you much more room to expand. Make sure you have a few “rerailers” around the layout, maybe one or two of the “ramps” that sit on the track and you roll the car down and it alights them near perfectly to go onto the track.

With the N scale you could build him a 2’ x 4’ loop with a passing siding, maybe a couple industries, and put a pair of stations at the opposite ends. If the “N” is too small, then you can put it away till later, or maybe have a small table-top piece that comes out during the holidays scenic’d with snow, santa’s sleigh, etc.

It really depends on the attitude and patience of the child.

6

i was 8 or 9 i think when i got my postage stamp train set and had no problems, but i really liked, and still do, model trains. im also now almost 47 and understanding that ho would be eaiser to work with.

7

I would also recommend HO for his age. “N” scale has come light years in its performance and detail over the past years, but the small size may prove to be a problem for someone that young.

8

I was playing with O gauge at 5 HO at 7.

N gauge is too small for someone that young.

Even today N gauge is STILL too small for me. Why, I cant even hear the sound engines.

9

Either scale is perfectly fine for that age. I can’t say that I see why HO’s size would really present any advantage. Sure, it’s more size for a child to see and hold. The flip side is that all the detail parts that dot all but the most basic of today’s HO locos and cars make them more vulnerable than ever to damage from inexperienced hands.

My own kids love both scales, but my younger son’s preferred N since he was 8 and has never had any problem with that scale.

Juan

10

I started into model railroading at the age of four with a battery powered 027 set then graduated to a Marklin O scale set at five. After that I moved up to the Lionel Santa Fe double diesel set then moved on to HO at Christmas of '66. I stayed with HO for several years then tried several other scales, including G, Z and N. I always came back to HO and that’s what I use now. I found N scale to be to be fragile, especially the coupler pockets, which seem to break easily. At his age HO would be fine.

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You could be very lucky for a 7yr old to begin in Nscale. At first, he will need a LOT of help. You could go with a Kato starter trainset with Unitrak. The Unitrak is nearly bulletproof, and you can help snap it together for the first layout.

For locomotives, chack out a Walthers/LL trainset. they make some nice FM cab units, some Alco FA1 & FA2 cabs, that will pull a ton. The Rapido couplers for him will be easiest to deal with. You can wait to start the conversion to MTL’s. Atlas makes some nice TrainMan freight cars. They haven’t released any TrainMan locos in Nscale yet. You could also consider some Bachmann cars. Those 3 brands would provide some inexpensive rolling stock to start with. a little paint for weathering can make them look better in the future.

I’ve seen some 7yr olds be able to put the cars on a track & assemble the train. give a signal to the engineer to do the brake test & start the train moving. Having the Unitrack allows you to change the layout anytime.

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Get enough Unitrack to make a small layout, maybe 2’x4’ and get a Walthers/Lifelike FA and some inexpensive Model Power freight cars. Nothing there that’s too fragile or difficult. Unitrack also offers a variety of bridges and accessories, which will make it easy for you to make the layout interesting to watch.

Don’t listen to those HO guys. They don’t like N because it’s too… N. I bought a bunch of HO stuff for my son when he was about that age, but he always wanted to play with my N scale.

Lee

13

I think it all depends on your son. Some kids have really advanced motor skills. I got my son an HO Thomas set when he was 5 yrs. old. I had to help him put the track together, but he put the cars and engine on by himself. He played alot with that set and still does.

I have an old styrofoam base Life-Like N gauge layout. I’ve added buildings and trees and stuff and customized it quite a bit. My son, 8 yrs old now, loves playing with it. He can even stand up the little cows, people, and horses, these things are tiny.

I think as long as you are involved and assist him the N gauge would be fine. We still break out the Lionels and play with those but I think my son really likes the N gauge better. I think there is also something about seeing the whole layout at a glance that he enjoys also. Kind of like a confined play area thats all his own.

My older son was always more of a hands on kid. Liked working the Lionel crane car, pushing the little cars and trucks around, and touching everything. Thats OK too. But for a child like that larger more durable trans like the Lionels are probably better.

Both my boys play some with trains but the video games are the rage and just plain addictive. But they still get a kick out of the trains once in a while. When we set up a big layout on the floor or when we set up the Christmas layout they get very involved.

Good-luck!

14

I like N myself, but seeing as you have a HO thomas the tank and teh Bachmann EZ Track for that, there are several expansion kits offered in HO (and not in N :() that could expand that if you wanted to, and maintain the ‘snap together’ easiness.

Otherwise, I think the Kato Unitrack would be a great idea for a budding N. You could easily get him a start er set though they are a bit price for the Amtrak or Superchief sets that have train + cars + basic oval/DC power pack.

Then with all the different quick and easy expansion packs you could get more than a round-a-round pretty easy.

15

All,

I appreciate the great input. It’s really helped.

I believe we’re going to try the N-scale and see how that goes, with a simple starter set. I only let him use the HO equipment “under power” when an adult is present so that we don’t have any electricution/fire and frustration issues…this seems to have worked well so far.

He’s enjoyed pulling the engineless rolling stock train around when no adult is available. And, he’s gotten very good at putting these HO cars on the track with the rerailer. He’s been interested in N-scale ever since he was allowed to shortly operate an N-scale layout at a local club show, along with other kids, last year.

For an eventual layout design, I’ve found a nice compact one that was made for O27 as an under-bed starter…sort of a double-oval with crossover. But, the crossover is outside the inner oval. I’d post the web site address, if I could remember it…just jotted down the track path.

Thanks all!

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All,

I found the link to that interesting layout: http://www.thortrains.net/trackplan/scottrack.html

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Kids that age (myself especially when I was 7) are very rough on their toys So I’d say something like HO and up would be good for your kid. Plus with HO and S he can use it with his hotwheels cars and it won’t look too far off scale.

18

Hi Me,

I was just at my local hobby shop and saw this set. I am thinking of giving it to my 8 yr. old son for Christmas. Its been a rough year financially so I’m really pondering this purchase. The hobby shop has it for $175.00, which is a good deal for Kato. And its complete with transformer and track. Quality stuff. He is very adept at placing N gauge trains on track and running them. We have a tiny N gauge layout now that he enjoys, but think he might really like having his own setup. I’ll have to supervise for a while but I’m hoping to get his interest going and maybe start a little layout that we can build together. If he looses interest I’m pretty sure I could sell it on ebay in the future and recoup some of my money. With your help I’m sure your son will love his N gauge trains.

19

I don’t buy the N-scale is too small for children theory. When I was young I found I could handle the cars much easier. N-scale fit my hands much better. I had to use two hands to put Lionel stuff onto the track. I still have to use two hands for G-gauge.

Likewise I never had nearly the trouble coupling and uncoupling the N-scale (with the stock hooks) as I did the HO.

As a prior posted stated the issue might be how hard the kid is on the toy. I never had that problem and still have bunches of the trains (and other toys) I started getting when I was 6.