Advice Re:$$ for someone returning to the hobby

[Anonymous]

Greetings!

My wife and I are looking to put a layout in our home, and I have two choices: build a layout in the basement, with less space restrictions, or in our spare room, which is 9' x 11'. My previous layouts were O27, and I have plenty of rolling stock, track, and power.

However, our basement is _EXTREMELY_ damp (our dehumidifier runs constantly in the summer, and the humidity rarely drops below 60%), and I have concerns over the lionel (track, especially) rusting.

How ambitious can I get with an O scale layout in a 9'x11' room? Should I consider switching to a smaller guage (HO?), if so, what are my startup costs going to be like?

Thanks
Darcy Burgess

[Anonymous]

Welcome back to the hobby. I think you would be wise to forget about the basement if its that damp. As far as how much of a layout you can get into the bedroom, it makes sense that the larger the scale, the less you'll be able to do with a given space. The Model Railroad Planning 2000 from Kalmbach (Model Railroader) had track plans for both HO & N scales that were made to fit into a room 11'X 11'. You maight be able to get a copy of it from Kalmbach to see if you like any of the plans. There is also a book by Ian Rice, also from Kalmbach called Railroading in Small Places (or something to that effect). The cost of changing scales to either HO or N would probably be about the same. Quality locos from Atlas, Kato, or the new Life Like will cost close to the same for N and HO. The same will hold true for quality rolling stock and track. The biggest price difference I've noticed between the two scales is for structures. N scale structure kits on the whole cost less than the same ones for HO. As far as product selection, HO offers the most since it is the most popular scale. That said, the quantity and quality of N scale locos, rolling stock and accessories has increased dramatically in the past five years, and that trend is continuing.(You can probably tell that I'm an N scaler.) Given the amount of space you have available in the spare room, you could have a very realistic looking and operating model railroad.
Just something to think about.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a N scale guy but N should meet your restricted space. As Charles said!great N improv-
ments over the last five years.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Charles & Charles.

Hmmm... sounds like you guys really like pushing the N scale... :)

My only concern re: N is that I _love_ scratchbuilding scenery and structures. I think that the small size of N scenery is pretty daunting...my hands are steady, but that steady?

On the other hand, my wife would be thrilled...she thinks that N scale is (and I quote) "really cute".

[snowey]

I have to aggree with everything the others say. I'm building 2 layouts in both HO & N scale & even though I'm a newcomer to N, I like it a whole lot better! Before you do anything, though, get & read some of the exellent hobby books from KALMBACH. Ther's a big difference between O27 scale and a smaller scale! As for the scenery, I wouldn't worry about it. I have the same thing with my hands, & my scenery's turning out OK!

[MAbruce]

Darcy,

I too am returning to the hobby after 17 years. I was into N-scale before, and have spent the past year catching up on the changes. I'd have to say that N-scale has made vast improvments from it's early days. In fact, most of my locos (those that still work) and cars look like junk compared to today's offerings. So in a way, I'm starting over too.

In N-scale, a 9x11 room could yield a spacious layout without having to capitulate to tight and restrictive turns that look unrealistic. Wish I had that kind of space to work with! Detailing would be a bit more challenging than say HO scale, but not as difficult as one might think.

I agree with the advice that the damp basement would be a problem. Prehaps there is some way to seal it? Depending upon the problem, there are several products and ways to seal a basement. But I'd say it must be addressed before you invest the time and money into a layout.

Start-up costs in any scale will be significant, and go up depending on how large a layout you plan. For N-scale, while I am impressed with the improvements, I'm not so impressed with the increased cost. Yikes! This will unfortunately slow my return to the hobby. So I will continue to save my pennies, plan, and keep an eye on e-bay!

[Anonymous]

Scratchbuilding isn't that hard to do in N scale. At the risk of sounding immodest, I've become quite good at it, and I'm hardly mister dexterity.
Its nice that your wife likes N scale, but please, don't call them "cute".
Good luck with your scale choice and layout.

[BRAKIE]

Dracy:Speaking as a modeler in H.O.,but also a former N-scaler,I think for your space N scale would be your better choich.Do stay out of the damp basement.my wife built all of my buildings when I was in N scale.She also scatch build a engine house so scratch building in N Scale is no problem.The sceinery is no problom,as same in H.O but just smaller.It is ok for your wife to call N-Scale cute,my girl friend thinks so to! Wecome to te hobby.

[Anonymous]

If you`re set on building a cute little N gauge layout be advised that N scale steam will cost you more than HO steam. Also good steam locos in N gauge are very hard to come by unless you spend a pot load of money. If you`re modeling a diesel era, N gauge has decent diesel motive power. N gauge is more delicate than HO and needs more careful handling than the bigger gauges. The positive aspect of N is the ability to build a large layout in a relatively small space. Good luck with your project! Gerald

[Anonymous]

If it hasn't been said previously, take a peek at
the Walthers N Scale Reference Book. Should give you an pretty good idea as to the range & scope of products available.

[Anonymous]

N scale steam is not much more than HO. The Japanese Kato imports are around $80 and run awesome. They are planning a re-run of the Kato Mike, reserves are as low as $102. Bachmann is releasing a Spectrum 2-8-0 that should rival thier HO model, and will sell for around 80.

Con-Cor has 3 nice steam offerings (soon to be 4 with the Daylight) and they cost around $160-$200.

For imported N steamers Reynaulds has an awesome selection of imports.

www.reynaulds.com

Some good N scale online stores are:

www.buynscale.com
www.4nscale.com
www.nscaledivision.com

[Anonymous]

But keep in mind that the Walthers prices are very high.

[Anonymous]

There's noboby any higher.

[BRAKIE]

yes,that is true that walthers is higher,but,why use walthers when most hobby shops give 10% or more discounts?

[Anonymous]

Oh really,didn`t we just have a discussion on the absence of dependable steam in N gauge? I remember the anticipation of decent steam in the near future only about 3 weeks ago. Maybe the 2-8-0 N gauge steam loco made by model die casting for 189.98 is what the wait is for. I can get a Bachman Spectrum 3 truck shay for that kind of money. I sure am surprised more HOers aren`t jumping into this topic. Probably just a matter of time.........horailfan

[jamesedwbradley]

Darcy, aren't the previous posts putting cart before horse? Do stay out of damp basement, but your choice of scale is driven by what you want to see in a railroad - main or branch line, freight only or passengers too, steam or traction? A 9 x 11 space is probably O.K. for O scale traction (trolleys) or an HO branch line; with a little ingenuity even some HO 'mainline' can be 'shoehorned' into such a room; see John Armstrong's 'Track Planning for Realistic Operation' the best book on the subject ! I have HO in 7 x 12' including a passenger terminal, 28-30" radius mainline, hidden staging yard; there's not much mainline but I CAN watch trains run, and take siding for meets, too ! What are YOUR priorities ?
Jim Bradley National Director Hawk Mountain Chapter National Railway Historical Society

[Anonymous]

I want to run a combo of passenger/freight. I'm not overly concerned about steam/diesel/transition era. Current thoughts on the freight line include lumber and agricultural (livestock, grain, etc.)

My primary focus is to build an attractive layout with lots of opportunities for scenery building (as previously stated, I love scratchbuilding scenery), which just happens to have a train running through it to "tie it all together" and have it make sense.

I'd also like to try my hand at 'realistic operation' with switching yards, etc... but that isn't my main focus. I could probably make do with a few sidings.

Current musings include a dogbone layout, but I'll check out Armstrong's book (it's on my Xmas list as we speak...) before going any further.

Thanks