Another convert

[FJ and G]

A close friend of mine, a retired Navy pilot, has made the leap after about 50 years, returning to 3 rails. He's making an innovative layout with a table that disconnects and folds up, something I've never seen before. He's making a NY Harbor scene and is a real pro for detailing.

To make room, he's selling his beautiful N scale layout, as he lives in a townhome. He asked me if I knew anyone who wanted to buy the layout. I don't have ideas.

Also, have you ever known anyone who converted from scale trains to 3-rail? There's a number of folk going from 3 rail to 2 rail O, just wondered if you knew of former HO and N scalers going to O and why they did it.

[Jumijo]

In my youth, I was an HO operator, but now that I'm getting back to trains, I find the 3 rail O-27 stuff to be more fun. There's less emphasis on realism, and more emphasis placed on fun. HO seems to be all about ultra realism and the replication of actual train operation. Too much like work for me. I enjoy watching my starter set speed around an oval of track on the carpet for a 1/2 hour or so each night.

Jim

[cnw1995]

Good job Dave, you must be quite an evangelist! Have him join the N scale list on yahoo - on the15th and I think 30th too of every month, they have a buy-and-sell day- largest collection of N scalers on the web.

Jim, I agree nothing finer than watching a train go 'round the oval with lights, maybe smoke and sound.

[3railguy]

This is too funny. I'm on an N scale binge right now with a floor track set up in the dining room. Not serious to buy a layout or collection however.

[wrmcclellan]

Dave,

Like many, I started with Lionel as a kid, then moved to HO. Built a small HO layout and was a member of an HO club for a while. I went back to 3 rail as others have said, for me it is more fun.

An interesting note. A few years back some scale modelers followed the success of some 3 rail holiday displays and set up a 2 rail O Scale layout in a mall in Houston, Attendance was very poor. My opinion is a room full of trains that slowly and quietly glide around a layout do not hold the attention of children for very long. A bunch of noisy, fast, rails singing, sound equipped 3 rail trains provide a lot more action.

Regards,
Roy

[siberianmo]

Well, I'm not there yet - but conversion is in the air.

I have been into HO since the mid-1960's. Since I was ten years into the military in those days, I didn't really get serious about the hobby until retirement in the late 80's. As a kid, my first train set was a Lionel 0-27 freight set featuring a great looking Pennsy 6-8-6 turbine w/Magnetraction and smoke, pulling 5 cars (crane car & work caboose w/searchlight). The memories from those times (late 1940's until mid-50's) are great when it comes to mental images of trains. Lionel - Lionel - Lionel. Boo hiss, American Flyer (AC Gilbert).

That set is long gone, along with everything I had added to it. When I joined the service, they departed the scene.

Here I am about to purchase another Lionel train. This time it will be the Polar Express with about 50 ft of extra FasTrack.

I really am excited at getting this train set - unbelievable! Considering that I recently completed "the layout of my dreams" in my converted basement to trainroom, it's amazing that one Lionel set (on order) could occupy such a place of anticipation for me.
I guess the kid within us never leaves.

That set will be constructed as a shelf railroad - kind of a huge oval - in a portion of my trainroom. It will undoubtedly be a hit with my five grandkids when they come to visit Grandpa and his trains. I plan to make a backdrop of the night sky w/snow falling (similar to the movie poster) that should put a finishing touch on this magical train. By the way - that movie will be a "standard" for Christmastime pleasure.

So, my conversion is just about to take place. I keep looking for the delivery ............

[Anonymous]

My interests extend to several scales, including Z, HO (Marklin), O27/0, On30, Standard Gauge, and Large Scale (1:20.3 and 1:32). I had a fairly large collection of N scale (almost all Conrail) that I'm in the process of selling; not because I don't like N scale but because I just have too much of everything.

If it runs on two or three rails, I love it!

[FJ and G]

The best converts are those who go from no trains to model trains in any scale. Not knocking other scales, but always interesting to see someone return to 3 rails or get enticed to model railroading with action-packed 3-rails.

It just seems like we have more fun and laugh a lot more than those in other parts of the hobby.

[cnw1995]

I started in the hobby in N scale, ending up with a pretty detailed 'prototypical' English outline circa 1940 layout running British and Thomas the Tank trains I imported direct from Japan and the UK, but I realized - for me - it was challenging to work within this scale - my trackwork and electrics weren't good enough to avoid minor derailments and DCC problems - and I could forsee it getting more challenging as I aged so I dumped it all and came over to the Dark Side :)

[Anonymous]

I will ad my name to the list of people who have switched from HO to O27. When I was 10 or so my aunt got me a HO starter set. I built a 4 by 8 layout and was relatively pleased with the results. But one Christmas, my grandfather brought over a Lionel set that he had when he was a kid. That was it, I was hooked. I guess the look and feel of them appealed more to me than the small plastic models that I had. Besides, its more fun modeling because you the modeler (artist) have so many more liberties in creating your world in miniature.

Matt

[Anonymous]

I was griping over coffee about economies of scale, but those guys rather talk about engineering software. I started in 0-27 mainly because it was the only thing available in rural Mississippi. My hobby shop guy is surprised that I am comfortable working on trains, but my response was "how else you gonna keep 'em running in Cleveland, Mississippi?" Quarter inch sounds pretty small, but I just ran the numbers on a building, and it came out over seventeen feet long! Not going to be enough to send me running for another scale, I suppose I am going to fake it and garner even more disdain from my "N" scale falooting friends.

[Anonymous]

I started with an American Flyer All Aboard set when I was barely 6 years old. I still have it and run it from time to time. Having slowly expanded my Flyer items, I played with HO for a while, before realizing, like others in this post, that it was too quiet and almost boring to me.

I have recently acquired an affinity for O gauge because it is easier to work with than Flyer, and my Dad was continually singing the praises of his Marx collection. My heart will always be with A C Gilbert and S gauge, but I am now starting an O gauge layout to mix with my Flyer trains as well. Once I figure out how to build an O and S gauge crossover, I will run both scales on a portable layout in my garage.

P.S. - While repairing my Dad's Lionel 2020 Turbine, I purposely replaced some of the hardware with American Flyer bolts and wire salvaged from an old Flyer engine.

[Anonymous]

I was a ***... due to space and price, but they never ran right, and always uncoupled.

[Anonymous]

Hello All: We are a forgiving bunch, alway's welcoming the backslider's of H.O. & N back to where they began(Most of them never want to admit it usually started with Grandpa's or Dad's Lionel or Flyer set) Imagine what those set's would be worth today if they had not of traded them off for H.O. or N . Serves them right ,for straying from the path of rightousness. Have a great day Steve

[4kitties]

I was an HO modeler for 33 years. In 2000 I sold virtually everything I had and made the jump back to O gauge, for many of the same reasons already mentioned here. My pet peeves were derailments, unwanted uncoupling, and my brass steam locos couldn't pull a decent-length train. I have none of these problems in O gauge, and signal wiring is a whole lot easier to boot. I've never looked back, and now that I'm starting to collect more vintage trains, I have a whole new facet of the hobby to keep me interested and involved.