Curious who all is considering moving to a larger scale from say HO or N scale due to failing eyesite as one ages? While I love HO scale, its fast becoming less enjoyable than it was 10 years ago for me. To enjoy close up as it passes by, I have to take my glasses off, same for close up repair work. Then to enjoy on the far side of the layout, its glasses back on. Bifocals only partialy help this and I know its not going to get better(getting old sucks). I picked up a couple old All Nation diecast metal locomotive kits, I really enjoyed building the NW2 and I am in the middle of building my F3 diesel. Its nice not to have to keep taking my glasses off to build, detail and enjoy them. I have zero desire to go back to 3 rail, even if they are scale. But 2 rail(not proto 48) O scale really stokes my modeling fires. Even if I can only manage barely a circle with small 4 axle diesels and 40’ cars due to a very small layout room. I am seriously considering selling off my whole HO collection and reinvesting it in more 2 rail O scale. Mike the Aspie
Mike,
No plans to change from HO anytime in the foreseeable future…
Tom
I have been thinking the same things Mike, partly due to eyesight issues, but also finger dexterity issues (and those eyesight and finger dexterity issues also play a role in mental concentration and patience). Thanks to Atlas and others it is possible to consider moving to O without having to totally rely on stuff you see now and then at estate sales and swap meets.
But at the end of the day I doubt if I’ll make the changeover. Too much time and too many resources (and I’d add, knowledge and experience) are tied up in the HO. And while I think I could easily make do with the rolling stock and locomotive choices in O, I also like structures and bridges and such and there things don’t seem quite so easy or available. I wouldn’t want to change scales in order to do MORE scratchbuilding and other drains on eyesight and finger dexterity, after all. And I’m not sure a new and possibly steep learning curve is something I am prepared to deal with.
I know how to open boxes and I know how to pay credit card bills. I am reaching the point where those two skills might have to suffice in my HO “modeling” such as it is.
Dave Nelson
I am at that crossroads, the HO layout is nothing more than a basic track laid out on the benchwork. I also do not have a vast HO collection that some might have amassed. When ones hobby pushes one into an autistic meltdown cause I cant see things, its a problem. I am still feeling the effects of having that last night, ie I am still tired despite sleeping well all night. I stripped the bad attempt at Monon passenger colors off my F unit and the NW2 will get its basic black stripped before the week is out. My thought is simplified CGW red, with a loop around the room and a small grain elevator shipping via box cars still to keep cars at 40’. The older stuff is way more findable if one can make one of the big O scale meets. Both Chicago in March and Indy in September are very close by(I live in Kokomo, just north of Indy). The Indy meet is where I got these two diesel kits. With only a 9’ by 9’ room, its tiny for O scale, but I am told its doable since I mostly like to just sit and watch a train run, sometimes stopping to switch cars at a couple industires. I can handle the simple paint scheme and flatland modeling much easier. Decisions decisions! I have been on the fence for several years now Mike the Aspie
I went in for cataract surgery last February and that took care of my eye problems but as Dave points out finger dexterity issues are getting worse for me. At 82 it would be a waste to attempt changing now.
I started out with 027 and changed to HO in 1951 and I was hooked really good. I guess I’ll just put up the problems of old age.
I might not last much longer anyway, when I drop something because of loss of feeling in my fingers, I really let go with the expletives and my wife is getting close to beaning on the head with a club.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
I think it’s a shame that S scale doesn’t get promoted and brought out front the way that it really should be. When I was modeling in Sn3, I found the larger scale a lot easier to work with, especially when it came to detailing.
I would imagine, just like other scales, product availabillty is going to be a limiting factor and manufacturers aren’t going to produce more variety due to lack of customers.
IMO, HO offers pretty darn good detail and without an aircraft hanger and a large bank acount, 2-rail O is out of the question. As it is HO really can eat a lot of space that I haven’t had most of my life.
If I was 25 years younger, and 25 times more money, I would be tempted to do S scale, and maybe even go into it as a manufacturer.
Short of that impossibility, no, I’m happy right where I am in HO.
Sheldon
S scale has come along ways in the grand scheme of things, but even 2 rail O has a better selection, especially now that many MTH models can be gotten in 2 rail, same for AtlasO. Combined with Atlas offering their excellent track in 2 rail. Yes it takes a huge basement or garage to do in O scale what one can do in HO or N, that is one aspect nobody can change. But a the time same, does one really need an empire to enjoy a larger/more easilly seen scale? That directly ties into the cost of modeling. Now my plans is for older/vintage items found at the O scale meets and ebay/train shows. This keeps prices down. I can detail a diecast older diesel model to rival brass if I see fit, I have done that in HO with Athearn blue box diesels before I could afford brass and my eye sight/hand steadyness was better. Now I can spend time doing the same in 2 rail O as I can see it again and enjoy building a car kit while watching football ect on TV. Now if I could only get the two rail club in Indy to dust off its modular layout and set it up again! I keep trying as the keeper of that layout is up there in his years. Mike the Aspie
Next time you get your eyes checked, go to your glasses place with the new prescription and tell them you want a pair of “computer glasses”. Then you can stay in the scale you’re in, because you’ll be able to see everything just fine. Unlike normal glasses or bifocals, computer glasses have a big area in the middle so you can focus on things a few feet away (like a computer monitor).
I use the “20-foot” ones when working / operating my HO layout. They make a HUGE difference. I can see everything in front of me fine, and can look thru the top part to see something across the basement, or look thru the bottom to see up close…but half or more of the glasses are midrange - about arm’s length away.
Affordable track and turnouts are all that is keeping me from 2 rail O scale. I’m not much into paying close to a hundred bucks for one turnout.
I am staying in HO…
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But… if I ever do change, my next stop is G scale, with an around the walls switching layout.
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-Kevin
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Same here.
I have too much invested in HO to switch. So far, it’s still big enough to work on even with my eye issues. I just got new glasses since everything else has finally settled down. I was going to go with seperate readers for close up by my doctor convinced me to use a stronger bifocal instead, because the ones I had were only like a + .5. Now I have a +2. Still getting used to it, but at near distances I now can see really clearly, at least from the one eye I can see clearly from.
S would be an ideal size, not too big that I would have to seriously compromise my layout given the space I have, and parts are big enough to work on easily. But it would also mean a whole lot of scratchbuilding to get what I need, so it just isn’t practical.
–Randy
At 71 and living in retirement home I would need to think long and hard… As of now I would probably quit the hobby and become a virtual railfan. I would keep up with the hobby though and place my favorite locomotives in display cases…
Guys,after a life time in the hobby the very thought of not being active in the hobby saddens me.
Guess it depends what size turnouts you need, big long ones like #8’s are a bit salty if buying new. But then, I look at freight car prices in HO for brand new and nearly have a heart attack. Building a unit grain train, autorack train or stacker is not for the shallow wallet crowd if buying new. But then I am not buying brand new 2 rail other than flex track. turnouts are older vintage ones and normaly used. Both of my locomotives were less than current HO versions. The NW2 could pass for a door stop its so heavy. In O scale, less can be more, it allows for greater detailing. Comes down to what each of us want in the hobby. Less of a selection at a show helps keep my wallet and my wife happy. Till the fall Indy meet and March Chicago meet, then I get put in the dog house for what I usually spend. But those two meets are the absolulte best place to stock up on 2 rail modeling needs, from high doller brass engines to vintage stuff I hunt for. For me, the enjoyment of HO is waning due to my eyesight and less that steady hands. I have enjoyed it for many years, I got into G scale outdoors to help with the eyesight issue. But I have that layout done now, and its time to refocus my modeling on something more fine scale indoors. And, I think its time for me to shift over to O scale.
The space requirement of O scale is often grossly underestimated. While the track is only just about double in width, buildings require 4 times as much real estate. An HO scale 4 ft. by 8 ft. layout thus becomes a spare room filling affair of 8 ft. by 16 ft.
Talking of detail - the larger the scale is the more apparent the lack of detail becomes. What you consider highly detailed in N scale, may be still acceptable in HO scale, but in O scale and larger, it will just look crude.
I think, that failing eyesight and shaky hands are quite often used as an excuse to venture into something different, i.e. bigger and more expensive. I am 63, have pretty bad eyes and, following a series of mini strokes, a tremor in my hands. I can still handle N scale, although something require resting my hand on something to keep it steady. I make sure I have proper lighting available. In N scale, I think it is a must to bring the layout up as close as possible to eye level. The bird´s eye view is not very well suited to give that railroading feeling I want from a layout.
Butbthat´s just me- and I dabble around in various scales, as long as I am still able, somehow!
I think that’s something people fail to realize when considering a switch to O narrow-gauge, particularly On30. Yes On30 modellers can use HO gauge track and the equipment can take sharp curves, so the trackplan may not take up that much more space than HO scale, but the buildings, bridges, scenery, people, vehicles etc. are still 1:48 scale.
I did look into importing Bachmann’s OO9 stuff from Britain briefly, which would be a move up from 1:87 scale to 1:76 scale… but that’s motivated out of curiousity for the prototype and interest in the models. I’m 25, this is probably the best my eyesight ever is going to be! [:P] My lack of budget killed the OO9 idea, but I might dust it off sometime in the future if its possible to afford it.
Not a chance! In fact, if I were to change scales, my first choice would be Proto 87, with N scale being a distant second.
However, considering my current involvement in HO, neither are likely to happen.
Wayne