I have a feeling that this post is going to get alot of feedback.
My son (8 years old) wants to get into trains. I had an old HO layout when I was a kid and he loves to play with it. We recently went and watched an operating session. He really liked the N scale size.
The question is, is he too young for N scale, even with me around all the time and what kind of equipment is out there. N scale just seems so small, can the manufacturers get dcc into those little loco’s? Or should I just go back to HO?
Any thoughts and / or recomendations would be appreciated.
That’s kind of a tough question. A lot rests on you son’s level of responsibility. I would say that if you believe he can get the locos and cars onto the track then I see no reason why not. N scale has come along way in the past few years and DCC is available for many on the locos. I know others will chime in on this as well, but buying quality locos and cars, in my opinion, is vital to nuturing the hobby. Nothing can be more frustrating than locos and cars that don’t stay on the track or don’t run well.
While I operate HO, N scale can give alot of railraod in a small space and can expand out as space or interest grows. Final point from me is about how fragile model trains are. Most of the new stuff offer in HO is a fragile as anything offered in N scale. None of it likes the 4 foot plunge to Concrete Bottom Canyon. So if that is one of your worries, it really shouldn’t matter.
Good Luck and I hope he enjoys no matter what the decsion.
As long as your son is not destructive and has the tactile ability to handle the smaller size, there’s no reason not to go with N. You can get just about anything in N that you can in HO, and almost all new N locomotives are DCC ready.
With you there to help I think any scale can work well. N, HO, S, O, and G all can work with DCC (I am not sure about Z). For sound, smaller scales require smaller speakers and some folks don’t think they sound very good. Some smaller locos have problems fitting in even a small speaker - more an issue with N scale.
I would suggest you also look at the scales larger than HO - S, O, and G. If there is a train show in your area I would suggest you and your son go look at that. They usually have multiple scale layouts set up and running.
Enjoy
Paul
If he is a serious, restrained, non-impulsive personality, and tends to stay with one thing for a while, he should be just fine. If he tends to be rough on toys, N is not a good idea, nor HO. Jump right up to Hi-Rail or G.
There are of course lots of considerations, regardless of your son’s age. He’s only going to get older, so since he’s already eight, I’d say you are almost out of the range of serious concern there. So it (to me) becomes more a matter of what your objectives are. You can get more in less space in N, or even better, get the same in the same space and make it look a lot better (open spaces of the southwest I think can look great in N because you can actually have opern spaces). Also, you can generally run longer trains in N, which can better capture that “look”, if that is what you are after. Expense is pretty similar, although since you can run longer and more trains in the same space in N, you might actually be tempted to buy said trains, which can run your expense up.
Anyway, my main point was that I think that while a eight year old might be a little young, by nine or ten you are fine, so I wouldn’t make that a big consideration.
My six year old daughter is well into N scale! To make it even worse, she likes the tiny English and German tanks loco’s, 4 wheel passenger coaches and 4 wheel freight wagons. She can see them, I have the stereo microscope onthe desk so I can work on rolling stock!
If it is what he likes then play to it. If you try and change what he likes then he may change his like for trains.
As for DCC yes, it is not a problem. I have bought Atlas with DCC fitted, they can be pretty inexpensive from outfits like BLW or Kleins. I have also fitted DCC to an English Dapol 14xx 0-6-2T tank loco and an older Arnold 2242 yard switcher, in both cases I used the Lenz-Gold-Mini (or is it micro?) decoder. The only one which has defeated me so far is an old Minitrix 0-6-0 AT&SF tender loco (slope style tender) which I dont really like anyway so I think I might sell it and get her something else to replace it.
As you might guess, my daughters layout has DCC, she uses a standard NCE Pro-Cab and hasn’t had a train smash yet! Her layout is about 80cm x 150cm, it is a split-level design which runs loop-to-loop on the two levels and has a spur line which goes up a mountain using apartially hidden helix to get to the castle on top where the princess lives and the dragon has his cave.
Go for it, keep him interested!
By the way, I have a layout of my own, so I dont have to run the “Princess Brenda Railroad”
Jeff, how much space do you have??? If you have a lot you can go with any scale but i personally like N scale. i think they have just as good detail as ho. but be sure your son can work with N first[:D] Tim
Although my “main” layout is “O”, I got my 7 yr old grandson started in “N”. He is careful and appreciates detail, so it’s perfect for the desktop in his bedroom. Make sure you get a good quality loco, or interest will die quickly. Also, his layout is Kato track.
I would definatly look into a Kato starter set, you can get one with track and a F7 diesel locomotive, then just get a MRC powerpack or the Kato pack. The Kato locomotives are the way to go, thier Unitrack is the eighth wonder of the world. I have a small portable layout that I am building for train shows based on Via Rail/ CN/ CP rail around Toronto Canada. Check out the website on T-track modular layouts, its really cool and that is what I am using. Cheers and let us all know what santa brings your son for christmas. Mike and Michele T
