Which guage to go with?

[Anonymous]

[?] I want to start a model railroad but, I am stuck between N and HO guage. I have a room that is 12 x 12 all to myself. I was brought up on HO guage but there is a lot more to N guage than I remember. I have not dealt with model railroads in mabye 20 years. I am just looking for some guidence.

Thank you in advance for your time.

[IRONROOSTER]

The smaller the scale the longer the trains and the more scenery you can have in a given space. As you move up in scale the emphasis changes to shorter trains and trackside scenes. Most folks find it's easier to build in larger scales and operation is more reliable. 12x12 is enough space to build in any scale. It really comes down to what you want to do.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

Thanks Ironhorse,
I think I will go with HO guage. I am a big man with big hands and I don't do well with small things.

Again Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I have seen people with N and O scale layouts alot -mine has always been the HO scale size because I have always been into HO. I don't understand why, but HO seemes to be more realistic to me. I have a friend in omaha who only runs HO and O scale. I've always thought that O scale was way to big. Course I could be wrong too.well anyway have fun with your project.Question. What railroad are you going to model?......
from BNSF 9959/mrlove.

[CP5415]

My layout is 9X12. For the space I have, I'm going to have a decent sized layout that I can see without the use of binoculars.
Granted the train size will not be large, but I'm willing to live with that.
I've had N scale before, it's nice, I just prefer the size & availability of HO scale.

Gordon

[Anonymous]

Thank you Gentlemen for your input.

[MAbruce]

It really depends on what you want out of your layout.

If you want to model super detail, like the wide availability of items, and don’t want a large “empire”, then HO would be your scale.

You also mentioned that you anticipate having difficulty handling smaller items. That alone should be reason enough to go HO. You want to enjoy the hobby, not get frustrated because you are forced to deal with something you have trouble handling.

N-scale shines in the scenery to track ratio, and allows you to run longer trains. Availability has also improved and just continues to get better. But you also have to be comfortable working with smaller items. Great scenery and detail can be achieved, but I have to admit that HO provides more opportunity to super detail.

BTW: I model in N-scale. [:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MAbruce

It really depends on what you want out of your layout...

N-scale shines in the scenery to track ratio, and allows you to run longer trains. Availability has also improved and just continues to get better. But you also have to be comfortable working with smaller items. Great scenery and detail can be achieved, but I have to admit that HO provides more opportunity to super detail.

BTW: I model in N-scale. [:D]

Yeah, what he said.

I also model N-scale, and I am one of those fellows who hand bends grab irons and other details for my engines. I initially planned on switching to HO, but the quality of N scale was good enough for me, and I could do more of what I wanted in the space I had, so I went with N scale after all. I would be doing intricate need-a-magnifier type details in HO anyway, so it's not like going with the smaller scale meant that I was working with more intricate details. So it didn't matter whether I went with N or HO in that respect.

But that's how I model. Each modeler has to decide what they want, like some of us said in a recent thread concerning the same basic question. For example, if you want long modern trains on a mainline, you would pretty much have to go with N-scale in that space. If you want to model the intricate details of a steam engine, and have most visitors be able to see them with an unaided eye, then you would have to go with HO.

---jps

[Anonymous]

Go with n scale I tried Ho and found it horrible but I swithed to n scale and I love it