Login
or
Register
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Home
»
Model Railroader
»
Forums
»
General Discussion (Model Railroader)
»
HO or N? ..... I'm torn!
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
When I switched to N, I had thousands of dollars in HO. It wasn't an easy decision for me. I can still remember the first N scale Atlas "set" I bought. I returned home and put it on the plywood and I thought - "how pathetic." So you can see my experiences with N had only one way to go and that was up. <br /> <br />Fortunately for me, my son is avidly into trains and MRR'ing. We did a lot of rail fanning in the Fraser/Thompson Canyon - the spectacular scenery that American tourists pay big buck so they can see - this great area - on the Rocky Mountaineer. In theory, if I followed the stats that MR has provided over the years, I should be modelling Jasper Alberta in 1956 or 57. I lived there while my father was in the first peace keeping unit in the Suez Canal. My grandfather was the engineer on the CN Super Continental (now Via) driving the train from Jasper to Edson and back. But you know, if you rail fan a lot today, its easy to like the modern equipment, and the modern equipment "fits" better in N scale layouts rather than HO. This is something that not many seemed to have twigged to yet, including MR staff. I guess so many only have eyes for the "transition" era, they haven't walked the "modern" walk yet. <br /> <br />I have a space in a small bedroom/study that is roughly 9 by 13 and I suspect I, like you, wanted an "empire" to run on. After fooling with a couple of graph paper layout plans, I realized that I had to go to N to get what I was after. <br /> <br />For a couple of years, I looked longingly at HO. But I might have one advantage over you, all my friends have HO layouts so I get my "HO" fix taken care of in their basements. It was a long time before I could actually look at some one and say "I prefer N scale." My story is not one of those who on the road to Damascus had a "conversion" experience. For me, it was a slow acceptance, then liking, then sincerely enjoying the scale. <br /> <br />Secondly, like you I wanted continuous running. I have reversing loops which now with DCC, auto-reverser's and decoder detection, you can have continuous running with it even though the track doubles back on itself. But over time, for me continuous running has lost its luster. All my friends, with the exception of one, have "point to point" running. After years of running on their layouts, I don't even notice that there's isn't continuous running. What makes the layout stay interesting for me is the switching. In fact, if I had limited space, I'd probably build an N scale "L" shaped switching layout. <br /> <br />Continuous running is great when you want to sit back and sip a cold one, enjoying the work you have accomplished on the layout. But I find I want to do this only occasionally now. Include the switching on your layout, its what may save your interest in the layout once the scenery is done. <br /> <br />Which ever scale you decide, I'm sure you will be happy. But if you want scenery oriented layout in a small area, you'll get more in with N. <br /> <br />Good luck on your choice.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Users Online
There are no community member online
Search the Community
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter
See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter
and get model railroad news in your inbox!
Sign up