Question about S gauge.....

[drums1427]

Hey all. My wife & I might be buying a new house & I might finally have a place for a real layout. Right now I'm just running my Lionel's on the living room floor (just like a little kid). However, in the new house to maximize all available space I might have to leave O. I recently went to a train show & for the first time saw S gauge. This size might be my best option as far as space is concerned. Does anyone know where to get some good info on S gauge? Is there a lot of selection for this scale & is it as easy to find as O? I really don't want to go back to HO, but I do want to get the most I can out of space available.

Lee

[IRONROOSTER]

Here's the page you want http://www.trainweb.org/crocon/sscale.html It has info and links on just about everything in S. Depending on where you live you may have to mail order or go to train shows to find the stuff. I find most of my S at train shows and some mail order. A couple of hobby shops carry a little from time to time but not much.

BTW welcome to S, the perfect size - I find it big enough to handle and yet small enough for a layout.

Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

http://www.heimburgerhouse.com/magazines_misc/s_gaugian.htm

[phillyreading]

Hello Lee;
S gauge is nice but the concern about space is going to be about the same size as O gauge because curved track is not that tight in S gauge from what I have seen, I have 42 radius curves by GarGraves Track, there may be smaller radius but I am not aware of any. Try these two sites: www.showcaseline.com & www.americanmodels.com
Hope this helps you!
Lee F. in West Palm Beach FL

[siberianmo]

[2c] on the subject:

I got "into" S gauge less than a year ago after over 60 years of 'wishing' I could. So I did, and haven't regretted it one bit.

Now to clarify, I'm an HO hobbyist and love it. But S is really the "right size" and I constructed a small layout just to handle three complete trainsets - powered by one of those MRC dual packs - and man oh man is it great!

I'd recommend you go to these sites for info about products and perhaps ordering: (sorry if some of this is repeating previous info .... but these are the people I dealt with and am totally satisfied with products, etc.)

Quality manufacturer of S scale/gauge:
www.showcaseline.com/

Quality manufacturer of S scale/gauge:
http://www.americanmodels.com/

On-line hobby shop:
http://www.portlines.com/

To take a peek at what I constructed, check out:
http://photobucket.com/albums/b222/siberianmo/S-Capades/

Good luck![tup]

Tom

[Birds]

Tom,

That is one great looking layout!

I like that you took pictures of each step of the process including the framing and the tunnel building.

Birds

[Anonymous]

I'm currently building a small "S" layout, in addition to my small "O" and "N" ones. I'm using S-Helper track, and I agree that it really does not save THAT much space. There are plenty of engines and rolling stock to choose from, but since I'm mainly a "scenics" guy, have been dissapointed in the available buildings, diecast cars, and people figures. Joe

[siberianmo]

Glad you liked the Pix, Birds!

Couldn't agree more with Joe about the availabililty situation with "S." But one has to know that going in - it ain't HO insofar as zillions of manufacturers, vendors, and the like. WIth HO the sky is really the limit, not so with "S."

Now I happen to really like the track from S-Helper - in fact they were very, very helpful to me in the design of my track plan. Even furnished me with a computer print out of what I had outlined for them in an Email. Outstanding service and very pleased. My layout accommodates three trainsets in a 7x8 ft space - can't do much better than that, in my opinion.

Enjoy![tup]

Tom

[Anonymous]

The same can be said about HO. No space advantage over O.

[CSXect]

[8D][8D][8D]


Welcome to S Scale.

check out http://www.s-trains.com

for links to every thing S

for real fun have a loop of O with your S gauge empire

[8D][8D][8D]

[IRONROOSTER]

The space issue is not one solely of track radius. In a given space you can fit about twice as many buildings, trains, trees, etc. in S over O. One of the things I think that Tom's layout shows is that you can have a higher scenery to track ratio in S scale. Whether that's what you want, is a matter of taste. Personally, it is one of the things I like about S over O.
Enjoy
Paul

[mitchelr]

QUOTE: Originally posted by siberianmo

[2c] on the subject:

To take a peek at what I constructed, check out:
http://photobucket.com/albums/b222/siberianmo/S-Capades/

Good luck![tup]

Tom

Wow. I viewed the pics. Great work. I love the lift system... Did you design it yourself or is it from a plan or a book?

Mitch[8D]

[Poppa_Zit]

Here's a great and informative S group on Yahoo!:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Trains/messages

[Anonymous]

I switched from O to S many years ago and boy have things gone gangbusters the last 10 years. There are more structures and kits available that you ever need and not hard to build. Nice layout Tom.
Ed

[AntonioFP45]

Tom, that is beautiful work!

I like your track plan, which allows for heavy mainline railroading action.

A+ on the scenery! What did you use to make your road? The color is right on the mark and resembles the typcial two lane roads here in my neck of the woods.

[drums1427]

I didn't mean to start a debate between O & S, but I do thank all of you with your input. When I saw the layout at the show, the one thing that did peak my interest was the fact there was a lot of scenery. If we move & I have the space the one thing I want to have is a good amount of scenery. I want to be able to run long trains (15-20 cars), have a nice sized yard for stagging, but also a good amount of scenery. I'm not interested in having a lot of turn outs, multiple trains running, or a big city scene. I like long trains (coal or grain), a yard, and mountains. It just seems that S will be able to that better than O in a limitted space.

Lee

[siberianmo]

Mornin' Gents!

Appreciate the kind remarks and sorry about the delay in getting back to ya -

Mitch the 4-point hoist system is available from Harken at this URL: http://www.harkenstore.com/uniface.urd/sccyspw1.eShowPage?409Z56LC7FV66&409Z56LC7E77U

Wish I could say I "designed it!!"[swg] Nope, got all the help in finding such a device right here on the Kalmbach Forums ... great place for info and insight, eh[?]

All the rest is "my" creation, however - aside from the rolling stock, loco's, track, structures, figures, vehicles, trees, etc., etc.[swg]<grin>

Antonio The road is nothing more than Woodland Scenics fine buff ballast sprinkled over an underlay of white glue directly on top of the 2" insulated foam board (as shown in the Pix). Then I just "dabbed" some drops of dilluted black pigment for effect. I'm hardly a scenery-kinda-guy and do most of everything following the "seat of the pants" format! Thanx for the comments.

For those who "know me," you've seen the Can-Am HO railroad - that's my "pride & joy" and something I wanted to do for decades 'n decades. Finally got a "roundtuit!" The S-gauge is strictly for fun - plain 'n simple. Just runnin' trains and sounding the horns and watching 'em go, etc.[swg] Love it!

Later!

Tom