I have always wanted to begin model RR. I have two questions that I hope someone with experience can please answer. If I were to start, should I go HO or N scale? Advantages, problems, etc.? I have plenty of room and LOTS of time.
Second, I have a Lionel .027 set circa 1957. How can I find out its value? I would like to convert it to some current equipment.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Experience says buy a quality HO set and N scale starter set along with a couple structure kits in both scales to see which you like best. Athearn HO starter sets are pretty reasonably priced and of good quality. Same goes for Life Like Yard Master and Freight King N scale sets. For years, N scale was a novel finicky scale but has seen drastic improvements in recent years. Atlas and Kato in particular. Kato is practically bullet proof.
This site may be of help with your 027 set.
doing searches on ebay and seeing what your stuff goes for is another way to estimate values.
I have to agree with John Long in telling you to go HO or N. I have had all three, HO, N and Lionel. The deal with Lionel is that you need a lot of room to do much with todays scale hi-rail locomotives and rolling stock and you also need some very deep pockets. There also seems to be some serious quality control problems with both Lionel and MTH. N scale is a wonder if you like to run very long trains in very realistic scenery. The top lines in N scale can get expensive. Also, I gave it up because my poor old eyes don’t see as well as they used to.
HO would be my recomendation because of the vast amount of stuff available and it has very smooth running characteristics and is very dependable. While not cheap it is, IMHO, a little cheaper than the other two. Again, it all depends on what you like. Try HO and N and see which fits your goals the best.
It seems that most model railroads will take up some space, H.O. starts out with 30 inch(15 inch radius)curves in most starter sets and factory size track. Lionel 027 has 27inch curves and the trains have a greater overhang on curves then H.O. Also H.O. has more consistant sized buildings and figuires, Lionel does not always have size or scale in mind when doing a truck for their frieght cars. New Fastrac by Lionel uses 36 inch curves.
Mainly it is a matter of what you like.
Lee F.