Hi, yesteday I had a conversation with a friend about which scale I should use for my layout. He was always giving me advantages about HO and said that N scale has less details and not very popular …
Which scale should I use in my little 11’9" by 10’8" room?
Thanks for your help!
This is totally up to you! Don’t rely on what your friend tells you, N scale is very popular and should not be overlooked! I have been into HO since the late 1950s, so it is natural that this is where my interest lay. However, if I were just starting out, the fact that for a given space, N scale can pack more railroad; or, conversely, less railroad in a more realistic manner, should not be dismissed! Take your time, look at the pros and cons of both scales and make up your own mind by what you’ve determined on your own and don’t be influenced other people’s biases!
Well, although I’m an HO guy, I’d have to disagree with your friend that N-scale is “not very popular”. While it’s not as popular as HO, there a number of modelers - even here on the forum - who choose to model and enjoy modeling in that scale.
I would agree that HO (87.1:1) locomotives generally have nicer detailing than N (160:1). Course, that can be said as you move up the scale - i.e. it’s easier to manufacture better detailing as things get larger. Look at the prototype! [:D]
N-scale has it’s pluses in that you can get more layout for your buck in a given space. If you like to operate long trains and sweeping vistas, N-scale can definitely afford you that. And, as you get larger in scale, generally you are forced to use more and more scenery “compression” to make a scene “believable”. With N-scale, you can have long stretches between towns or operate passenger trains on broader curves
The one downside of N-scale is locomotive availability. If you like steam, you’re somewhat limited in N-scale. (HO offers much more steam.) For diesel, there’s definitely more available to the modeler.
For the space that you’ve noted (~12 x 11), either N or HO would work. It entirely depends on what you are interested in modeling and what you want to accomplish with your layout.
So…what are you wanting to model on your layout?- i.e. era, road name(s), freight and/or passenger, industries, etc?
Tom
I ,also,have been in HO for many years, when N gauge was an oddity. If you look at a Walthers catalog you will find that N gauge structures and rolling stock are nearly as plentiful as those of HO gauge. An 18 inch radius curve in HO is tight, whereas, and 18 inch radius curve in N scale is realistic.Go for N scale! If you need any help with layout design or scenery, there are always good ideas on this Trains.com Forum, or in many model railroad books. Make a diagram of the room, entrances, windows, closets, etc. Do you know how to Post photos on this forum? Even with a 24’x24’ around the room layout with three peninsulas, in some ways, my HO scale layout is too compressed. With the area that you have, you should be able to make a very realistic layout. When it comes time to make deciduous trees, I suggest Scenic Express Super Trees. In N scale, a $25 package will produce about 120 trees. I happen to have an inside stairway to my layout, in the loft of my garage. Be careful in planning “swing gate” access, especially in N scale. Perhaps,an E shaped layout is best for you. With your 10’x12’ area, you might consider an “Island” layout, with a divider down the middle. It allows you to double the background scenes, and makes the 28" maximum reach, that much easier. The divider hides the opposite side of the layout, so that you have to walk around the layout, to see it all. Bob Hahn
When Tom says you can get more layout for your space, he means you get almost 4 times the layout in the same space.
When talking about the detail, there are two major types of details–the ones the manufacturer provides and the ones you provide. As you get older, and your eyesight and steadiness decrease, N-scale gets harder. Putting a decoder into an N-scale engine is a lot harder–let alone the spring in a coupler. Even putting the cars on the track can be a challenge for some people.
But that said, there is pretty much nothing you can do with HO you can’t with N if you model diesel.
Both scales have a lot for them - HO the detail and N scale the size.
The choice finally depends on what you want to achieve with your layout. If you like watching a long train snaking thru some spectacular scenery, N scale will be your choice. If you want to observe the motion of the rods on your steam loco, a see-thru frame and plenty of other detail, while switching the moning local, HO is a better choice.
N scale is certainly not without detail, actually the level of detail is better than most HO stock showed in the 1970´s. Most of the detail is so fine, you need magnifying glasses to see it. Out of a normal viewing distance, is is hardly apparent, but so is most of the detail on HO locos.
This is by no means a recommendation you should choose N-scale, but I made the switch from HO 12 years ago due to a space that was not quite large enough for me to build what I wanted in HO. Back when I made the choice, I pretty much had to abandon the steam era and move my railroad timeframe from 1944 to 1958. Today, I might be able to keep the 1944 era.
Let me echo what the others have said. I have another odd space to deal with, but it supports 18-inch curves easily enough. That would not be my cup of tea in HO, but they look and operate well so far in N. The difference also allows me to increase the “scenery to track ratio” of the railroad, which helps make it believable.
The downside is if you are into high detail level, N-scale has gotten better, but it will never reach HO levels just because of the smaller size. Some things don’t scale well, particularly those things that break easily. The result is some things are bigger than they should be. Performance wise, I think the two scales are on a par, depending on what you choose.
I will echo what Chip said about eyesight and dexterity. I am 51 years old, and my Optivisor gets a lot of use when I am tinkering. My eyesight is not bad (the DMV and eye doctor claim I am still 20/20 as of last year), but with each passing year the small parts get smaller!
As far as things like working on innards of locomotives, it is delicate, but doable. But, one reason is the decoder technology has gotten better (thanks to TCS and the CN line for Atlas Classic diesels). I recently remotored and installed a CN decoder in an old RSD4/5, and it even worked when I was done! Now, understand I have not gotten into sound and probably will not, at least imbedded in the rolling stock.
I’m happy with N, but the deciding factor in any new space is whether I can achieve what I want. If we win the lottery and I could afford to put up a dedicated building to any size, shape, specification I wanted, I might well switch back to
Order the September 2012 edition of MR magazine, and look closely at the article on 2’ x 4’ N scale layouts. Realizing how much can be done in so little space is what brought me into the hobby. If you’d like a larger layout you can do even more–about four times as much in the same space as HO, as spacemouse pointed out above. See the Appalachian 4x8 layout that’s been featured at least twice in MR. I’ve bought three locomotives (so far) and have been happy with the scale detail. I like detail, but I don’t count rivets.
THAT choice is up to you.
I have done both.
It depends: are you older and eyes not so good? how about manual dexterity? how about mobility period? If so, maybe HO is for you. OR will it be happening sooner than you think?
Of none of that applies…maybe N scale, but .HO is a great place to start. and 12x11 will give you quite a good sized layout in HO.
HO:
~most popular, easy access to many different scale model thing/kits/locos/RR cars/structures/people/autos.
~ cheaper than N as the popularity means more profit at lower prices.
~many magazine articles are geared towards HO
~ All hobby shops will carry lots of HO stuff
~ larger than N and easier to work with/on
Higher detailing easier to do
N scale:
~ smaller than HO, gets more into the same space
~ is about 1/2 the size of HO so almost all plans for building structures/cars can be reduced
~ will make a VERY NICE {large} layout in 12 x 11.
~are still many major road names available in N scale…
~ some items about he same cost as in HO
~ less detail, BUT still good details available…
BOTH:
Have option of DCC operations {controls the loco, NOT track current to control a loco’s movements adn actions}
Have many major liveries to choose from
Have popular track plans listed to use
Both are considered great scales
So- now with some advice, the choice is up to you.
I suggest you do some research FIRST, then decide. DO research to find out what livery{ies} you want to model, what is available in those liveries in each scale, study various scale track plans to see what you like, decide what kind of layout you want {operations, large yard, mountainous, countryside, city, etc}, then decide how that will fit in your space, your abilities to see. operate, get the things on the track, keep ehtm on the track, and THEN decide which scale you want.
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The opinions and positions stated in the responses in this thread show this forum at it’s best. I hope the OP will share with us the decisions he has made as to the direction his layout takes, and what era and locale he models.
Wilton.
I’m an N scaler, started last year and will probably never look back regretting the choice to go N. N scale affords one more railroad in a smaller space, as well as depending upon layout size the ability to run realistic looking freights or long passenger trains. HO scale also gives a modeler these options but the space required is much larger. HO also has lot’s of details as well as a lot of steam locomotive choices. Though I’m only in N I hope to add Z to my repitoire soon. Here’s an N scale freight train with a custom painted loco leading. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfOTa20NArk
As for DCC in N you may not be able to get sound out of most locos, while you can in HO. hence why I’m still doing DC, that and I’m a terrible electrician.
Personally, I would do On30. O narrow gauge running on HO track - models about the size of S standard gauge.
But really, what do you like to do in the hobby. That’s what should drive your decision.
Good luck
Paul
Hi Hell warrior,
You might have asked what is better Coke or Pepsi. Only you know what will work for you.
I would suggest visiting a large train show where there will be layouts in N scale and HO scale. Study both sizes and see what you like. For the record, I’m in HO mostly because I have a bit of the shakes and N is too hard for me to deal with. BUT having said that with all due respect your friend is wrong about N scale and detail. Check out this thread from our favorite MC, M.C. Fujiwara. He works in N but many times the detail is so good you would think it was HO. Heck, I have jokingly teased that he was substituting 1:1 for scale models.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/212393.aspx
Good luck as well, Derek
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I’m relatively new to this but I love n scale, I started out building a simple 4x8 but I joined an n scale club who brings a bunch of modules to train shows and forms a large rectangle After that experience of the train making a nice large loop I upgraded my design to be a 12x12 setup with a duck under section One thing nobody mentioned is that I’m generally finding n scale stuff to be less expensive than HO gear of the same type Your best bet is to goto a railroad show and/or find a local club and check out setups and see what grabs your attention
HO has higher level detail and sound and will always feel like that perfect compromise between detail/size/space required.
My son prefers N scale, I choose HO.
In a given space, you can build a vast scene in N, or you can build an intimate scene in HO. Opinions only
Advance warning - this is somewhat [:-^].
You can have your cake and eat it too - if you model Japanese prototype in HOe (aka HOn762) which is 1:87 scale on 9mm (N-gauge) track.
Typical 2.5 foot gauge rolling stock is miniature, so those HOn762 cars are actually shorter than standard N scale cars. My favorite logger ran almost everything on disconnect log bunks the size of warehouse flatbeds, some of them cobbled into box cars, tank cars and even passenger stock. The bigger cars used disconnects as trucks - a prototype example of truck-mounted couplers.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with two 762mm gauge feeders)
… adding to that, you could even go British 009 gauge, which is 1/76 scale on 9mm track. There are lots of kits available in the British market for that.
Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
Before I attack your question, note that your 11x10 layout space is something a lot of MRs would love to have - and you can do a lot with it.
The question of “which scale” has been asked numerous times, and most of us wrestled with it at one time or another. I’ve been in O, HO, and N (and had a friend with S) during the last 55 years and have hands on experience. But, what works for me may not work for you - the decision is up to the individual.
Between HO and N, there are obvious differences. HO is much more popular and therefore has significantly more “stuff” available. Being larger offers more detail and easier handling. N scale has vastly improved over the last 30 years, and will allow you to get twice the layout in the same space.
I did have an N scale layout, but I didn’t enjoy it as I wanted to. The track/locos/wiring/structures were just too small for me to do them justice. I loved the long trains in relatively small spaces, but I just could not work with them as well as I can with HO stuff.
Were I you, I would spend time at the hobby shops or MR clubs and get a feel for the differences. And I would not contain myself to just looking at HO or N. There are narrow gauge scales (HOn3, On3) that are very attractive and may fulfill your needs even more.
Take your time, and buy only when you are fully decided.
ENJOY!
N scale in any space allows more operations per square foot, if operation is what you want. Steam is best handled in HO as for similar money you get better detail and more realism. If I were a diesel guy running modern era stuff, I would choose N as the motive power and such is quite good now, but don’t think you will save a lot of money in the smaller scale if you want the best motive power and cars available. The difference is often slim.
As others note, N is extremely popular don’t let anyone tell you it is not and it is certainly the second most modeled scale.
However, don’t let space keep you out of HO, especially if high scale steam trains are you passion.
If rather young, (under 40), and starting out, you will wind up with a lot of scale structures, buildings, cars, and people figures as time goes by in your chosen scale. The investment in these is significant if you go high-scale. Changing scales after a number of years will make your original investment in this critical area a loss in addition to the rolling stock and motive power.
Choose wisely at first in your scale and as time goes by, you can change era’s or rebuild your entire layout 10 times and, as long as you stay in the same scale, much of your investment remains viable.
Warning, a lot of initial model railroaders build a layout as a lark or for their kids sake, but many, after that first layout is long gone, come back and are hooked becoming true “model rails” for the rest of their lives even if there are long periods of inactivity.
Richard