A long time ago I owned a nice little collection of Kato and Atlas N scale locomotives. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I had to sell my collection off. I now live in a small apartment and haven’t lost that railroading bug in me. My collection of books and magazines is enormous and I just recently picked up the Jan 07 issue of MR. Of course, you’ll never guess what happened? Yep, I can visualize that layout again.
Here is my question. I’m kicking myself all over for the fact that I had a small empire in new Diesels with my N collection, and it’s downright hard to find these loco’s. I enjoy the modeling aspect of the hobby and have tossed around the idea of going HO scale and either having a very small layout and displaying my models (And joining a club) or going back to N scale and waiting forever for second runs (or a hope for a second run) on many of the Diesels I used to have.
I’m aware that many I could buy from the internet…but they’re spendy, and some they just don’t make. (My new love is the EMD f-Units…any in the Black and Yellow of NP? in N scale?)
I’m stuck between HO and the modeling aspect, and relying on computer sims for my operating rush…or going N and maybe having to wait a while for the models that I want…which to me feels like eternity…
Whoever invented limited runs sure isn’t very nice. Any input from anyone?
I am on a very limited budget and find that I can pick up engines on E Bay that have problems and marry them to others with other problems getting at least one good unit for minimal expense. I enjoy being a scrounger and fixing things. It also gives me knowledge for when others break down that is very helpful. You will never have a big layout in an apartment so N scale does offer them most operating possibilities. HO will be the least expensive. you will have to decide which is the most important aspect and go from there. Once you have decided don’t second guess yourself. You made a decision based on the facts you had at your disposal and would probably make the same one again based on the same facts.
If you do decide to go with HO, remember that many of the fantastic railroads that are featured in MR aren’t huge, but they do pack a lot of operation in a small space. For instance, there was an english guy whose american book shelf layout was featured in MR, i cant recall the name of it. But, I guess it comes down to what kind of operations you like.
How long do you plan on being an apartment dweller? At some point (hopefully) you plan on moving on up to bigger and better things (places) and will have room for HO scale should you choose that option. Also, how long will your eyes be able to see N scale? I’m only 35 (with 20-20 vision at last check) and I consider N scale to be too small (as a personal opinion). HO scale is also more forgiving if your hands/fingers aren’t very steady. Also, it seems to me, HO scale models come out before the N scale ones do (most of the time), and, for some strange cosmic reason, often cost less.