I switched to N a few years back, largely a space thing. Anymore, I don’t really see a cost difference between N and HO. However, if you want to model steam, I’d suggest sticking with HO. Otherwise, name your poison. Since N is about 54% of HO’s size, you can build something with wider, more sweeping curves and also have more room for scenery in the same space.
My current train area is 40 x 14, and I settled on 27" eased curves, which in N look great and operate well.
I guess if I ever win the lottery, I’ll have to put up a building large enough to house my N-scale transition-era railroad and my HO early 40s era Pennsylvania RR.
I’ll be modeling the B&O’s Buffalo Division from Dubois, PA to Bradford, PA as it was in the 1980-1985 era. I don’t have a layout in HO right now because of the space. I have about 15 locos weathered and road ready and about 75 cars. I would like to continue on with my plans of the B&O but like I said I haven’t gotten the room. Yes, I’ve thought about making the division smaller but I don’t think I’d be happy with the results. And if I’m not happy with it, then whats the point?
Switched to N from HO in 1972. Put a 60 car train together on the bedroom floor and I was hooked - no more HO for me. Built a “huge” N scale double-decker walk around control, in the basement 16 X 19. Had no computers back then, just electric motors with high gear ratio driving rotary switches to route power. Found 60 ft of a 400 pair telephone cable left over from a job in my neighbors backyard and used about 5 miles of the wire to drive power to blocks, signals etc from a dispatch panel in the furnace room. Full dispatcher control panel CTC and crews used plug in telephones to talk with dispatcher, otherwise signal indication was used. The signals were fiber optic signals (very new idea back then) -I used Christmas lights under track in little boxes green/red and both turned on for yellow. Banks of old telephone relays controlled signal aspects.
The layout was a point to loop type. The mainline (single track with sidings) started in a yard at about 30 inches above the floor and climbed to over 7 ft at the summit with a loop to return trains. Mainline went about 8 scale miles - a full run was 16 scale miles.
What was great was to have 5 guys over and operate under signal indication. We could pull 150 car trains downhill from the summit – looked great with 3 U-boats pulling. Only about 45 cars could be pulled uphill at the ruling grade. But operation was great. Nothing like coming downhill, rounding a curve, walking with your train, with a walk around control that responds slowly, just like a real train brake and seeing an approach signal to take the siding. Then trying to stop just short of the signal inside the siding. It was fun.
That is why N is great. You could put a club size layout into a large room of a typical house. (Aside from the fact my old eyes aren’t what they used to be). What is not great is super detailing and getting the feel of a real train. I remember touring an O layout for the first time and being amazed. The cars SOUNDED like a real train. The w
You have received many good thoughts and ideas. I belive the most important is your feeling about that small a scale. The suggestion made by one about testing the feel of both scales is a great idea. The satisfaction of the hobby is the real reason to be in the hobby. The scale that makes you feel good about what you have done is the correct scale for you. Your satisfaction in the work you have done will show in the final results. Don’t get too wound up about the comparative size of N to HO. Either one can be made to look excellent. Again, the primary fact is how you feel about the results of your efforts.
As a background, I have been modeling HO for about thirty years. I modeled S scale before that. I really prefer S scale, but back in the sixties and seventies S scale appeared to be disappearing. Hence my shift to HO. Now S seems to be making a come back, but I have too much HO stuff to consider changing. So, get some N scale pieces, work with them, see how it makes you feel when you have the finished product.
Best of luck!! Ted
I totally agree with this “gut feel” concept. Whatever scale you see and makes your heart go pitter-pat is the correct scale.
A year and a half or so ago when I started thinking about MRR’ing for the first time in 15 years, I really thought I was going to get into N scale this time around (did some N and HO as a kid) because I was living in a condo and didn’t have much space. I seriously thought I was converted. Then I saw this HO boxcar and dummy engine sitting on a short piece of track I handlaid years ago. BAM, I knew I couldn’t switch. HO is where my “model railroading heart” is, I guess.
I would imagine many people would feel as strongly about N as I do HO. I am totally fascinated with N scale, no doubt about it.
It’s a good thing my “heart” doesn’t belong to O! Then again, maybe it actually does. Yikes!
Just a couple days ago I was driving through a neighborhood and this guy had his garage door open - sure enough, I saw some trains in there. I pulled up and introduced myself. He had some O scale passenger cars. Those are monstrous! Now That would be cool to have! But the space it takes up is insane. He just had a demonstration loop set up essentially, but does his real running at a couple clubs he’s involved with.
For me, HO is big enough to have some heft, but small enough to have a shelf layout in the garage that doesn’t require devoting half of my life to it to get it built. (then again, maybe it does, because I still haven’t started yet!!!)
My first trainset was in HO it was the old TYCO trainsets. After a few years away from the trains (the chaseins girls years) I wised up got married and came back to MRXRing with “N” scale in mind, after some reseach I decicded to ake my move to “N” and I have not looked back since!!
TrainsRMe
I started out in HO, and like some others have observed, I have a great romance with it. That isn’t to say that I haven’t considered N from almost the moment I became aware of it, because HO took up sooooooo much space (and that was with 18" and 22" radii, “standard” and #6 turnouts).
Besides the fact that 30 years ago, N steam was mostly wishful thinking, the things that killed N for me were pretty much as follows:
The “good” rails looked like they had been chromed – something I’ve yet to see in a prototype,
The rails looked like they were a scale 2 feet tall. Sure, there was Code 80 and Code 55, but everything I read said Code 55 was unreliable for people that wanted to play with their trains – and Code 80 looked freakish.
The flanges on the wheels were absolutely HUGE on anything that ran halfway decently – which, of course, made the wheels look like cheap toys. “Cheap toy” wheels made the trainset look like a cheap toy: it ruined the whole illusion/fantasy.
The fit of the trucks underneath engines and other rolling stock was ridiculously bad. Imagine a set of Yugo tires on a 1-ton pickup, and you’ll start to get the idea. Real trains don’t look like that. Again: ruined the whole illusion/fantasy.
Fidelity to scale wasn’t as good as in HO.
RTR detail was fair-to-good in N; it was fair-to-very good in HO. Most of the N stuff was fair; most of the HO stuff was good.
Back then, the cost of N was significantly greater.
The relative frailty of N components, vs the relative robustness of HO components.
Having said all that, I always wished there was a way to shrink HO. Heck, if I had N, I’d still think it was too big: a scale coast-to-coast layout would take up roughly 20 miles, and that doesn’t even include AK or HI! But enough rambling …
I saw an N scale DCC setup with a radio controller (looked like a 1970s military walkie-talk
Having used HO for many years and now N, I came to the conclusion that the “ideal” scale for detail vs. space was probably in between. Maybe if TT had taken off…[%-)]
Consider what era you want to model and make sure you can find what you want if you seriously decide to switch. The move to N for me cause a shift from late steam to transition diesel.
All that aside, be they N, HO, S, O, G or 1:1, trains all look good to me.
Adelie: All that aside, be they N, HO, S, O, G or 1:1, trains all look good to me.
Well my girlfriend tells me, If I get to play with 1:1 scale at work what makes me want to come home and mess with N or HO scale? She supports my hobby, jsut dosen’t understand it mos tof the time. This decision is getting easier every time I read the responses here. Thanks guys.
My preferred scale is HO, but I built an N scale layout for my son, and then built a Lionel layout for him. After having done this, I still prefer HO. I have very limited space, so my layout is only 7’ x 8’. But it’s fun to run, and I work on scenery, sound, and operation to keep things going. I have no shortage of projects to work on. Rather, I don’t have enough time! I’ve also make it in portable sections so I can take it to shows.
Not to knock N, but I found track laying a bit more difficult, and DCC installations were easier in HO. Also, we had more difficulty keeping things on the track. I also really like sound in the locomotives, and this is easier in HO. I’ve seen some GREAT layouts in N, and it seems more and more popular, but after having tried it, I’m inclined to stick with HO.
When I retired I began modeling in On30. However because of degenerative disc and sciatic nerve problems I could no longer work with the layout. I then changed to N scale. I constucted a 2 foot wide by 11 foot long N scale layout that fit in our living room. It fits just below the front window where we used to have the coffee table. Since I am unable to stand for extented periods of time, the top of the layout is only a little over 26 inchs from the floor. In this way I can sit in my rocking chair and the layout is just at the right height. I would be glad to share pictures of it with you.
I started with HO, moved to O and then to S. I have found S to be a good compromise - big enough to work with and small enough for a layout in a moderate space. You really have to evaluate what you want to do and how much space you have to do it in. I found working in HO frustrating because the parts are too small. I liked O but didn’t have enough room for as much of a layout as I wanted in 11x18 feet.
Enjoy
Paul
This last weekeknd I went to the Grensburg Trains Show in Pittsburgh and saw a couple modular N scale layouts. I couldn’t help thinking how toy-like they looked. In retrospect, It might have been the way the scenery was done. Certainly the trackage was well thought out. But still, the long trains looked like toys to me.
That didn’t stop me from buying 10 Atlas and Micro Trains cars and 15 sticks of track. I’m going ahead with a swtiching layout and am thinking of puting an around the room shelf layout in my future office.
I’m pretty set on HO generally, but N has a place in my life.
I have been modeling N for about 10 years and enjoy the scale very much. However, before you switch be sure you consider the value of HO scale for automated and detail control. N scale offers little in real detailing if you want automation, like lighting, signals, and sound, unless you are an expert at micro-surgery. Even if you can do the work you will probably be disappointed in the value received. The example of on-board sound in N scale I’ve heard is quite poor. If your space is really limited then N is a good choice, but it is easy to bite off too large a project in N and get bogged down. You might want to consider sticking with HO and putting more into the details to make a showcase, unless you’ve already exhausted that option or don’t care for that part of the hobby.
I was in HO many moons ago when I was in high school. I just retired and have started a 12’ x 8’ N scale layout. I’m very happy with N Scale, but my tired old eyes have great problems installing MT couplers, etc. I have aquired an assortment of magnifying glasses , etc. to avoid from destroying the nice detail available on the N Scale stuff these days.
I had a “mid-life crisis,” some years ago–switching from H.O. to N. It was a matter of having more space in which to model. I bought good stuff, mainly MT cars and Atlas diesels (and one brass diesel–a real dog!). L liked the uncrowded look and the scenery but since my main interest is switching layouts, N lacked much in regard to operation and “eye appeal.” I sold my N scale stuff and returned to H.O. If I had more room (and more money) I’d really prefer S Scale, which, IMO, is a perfect size for indoor layouts. In any case, the repeated statement about following your “gut feeling” is good as is the advice about buying quality stuff. Sadly, the brass N diesel I bought shows that quality and price are not always the same!
Started in HO in the early 60’s, the first time I saw an N guage set in the late 60’s I immediately gave away all my HO toys and went directly to N and haven’t ever looked back, even tho the quality wasn’t that good in the beginning (it’s great now). Now that I’m an RV’er, N is the ONLY way to go (Z’s too expensive). I have one layout in a plastic shotgun case which folds up and stores nicely. I have all my 50 locos in an auto battery sized dry box, stores nicely. Also have a 28" x 32" layout on a sandwich of 1/8" hardboard base, 1" foam core, topped by 1/8" cork. The foam is covered on both sides and the whole thing is extremely light but strong. I make tunnels in the foam by drilling from the sides for wiring and groundthrow turnout control wires inside of brass tubes. As we travel, we love to stop in small towns at little old hardware, antique and hobby stores. Once in a while I’ll find old, rare piece of N rolling stock which is a thrill. I just bypass the dusty HO stuff that usually clutters up the shelves. So, its the thrill of the hunt, the size of the layout and the ease of storage that keeps me in N. When my grandson wants toy trains to play with, I buy him an HO loco or two, but they only divert him from my N guage trains for a little while. As “drcourliss” says, you can sit in your rocker or recliner and work on your layout and not have to lean across a 4x8 sheet of plywood just to rerail a car. After the age of 50, comfort is the name of the game. When we’re camping, I even take my little layout out to our picnic table and work on it. I meet a lot of nice people that way 'cause most others in the campground want to see what I’m having so much fun doing. Most of 'em are tranfixed by the size, detail, operation and realistic accuracy of the rolling stock. I’d recommend switching to N immediately even tho you won’t get much for your HO stuff. N has a higher resale value since there is not as much of it and it’s harder to find. Whenever I buy locos I always try to buy two of the same ki
Been collecting and operating 3 rail Lionel for 30 years. I have recently moved to N scale and love it. Moved for two reasons. Retirement meant smaller quarters at our new adult 55 age restricted community and I was growing a little tired of spending 6-8 thousand a year on collections. I will no doubt collect some N scale too but not engines that cost $1500 and cars that cost $60.
I started modeling in HO over fifty years ago.
Around 1982 I switched to N Gauge ( Rapido and Mini Trix ) ,was very happy with N until
It became very hard to work because my eyes were becoming weaker with age.
I switched back to HO around 1995, HO gauge is just better for me now.
N gauge is great and getting better every day.
If you’re up in age Remember your eyes might not agree with N gauge one day.
Anyway good luck modeling N gauge.