Poll. What do you use, Scale or Traditional?

[magicman710]

I myself use Traditional. I wouldnt mind getting into the scale stuff if it wasnt so expensive and was the same size as traditional, or vice versa. Second, I like Postwar, so they wouldnt look good together mixed. 

[Jumijo]

 

All of our stuff is traditional. No scale trains on the Jumijo! Even Hobbes, the layout mascot is not to scale. BIG dog!

I like post war trains, too.

Jim

 

[LL675]

traditional for me

[Railroader_Sailor_SSN-760]

I use traditional O-27. I run a rather mixed layout. The current one has an O-42 oval main line with an O-27 middle line that is connected to the main by a pair or new style Marx remote turnouts, with a pair of Lionel 1121s. This is so I can run my Marx M-10005 on the mainline.

The middle line has a siding for my Lionel crane, and a small frieght yard.

The innermost line is a O-27 oval. Nothing fancy. It can run O-27 Lionel, Marx, and all of the wind up trains I have.

The fourth line is an elevated line that is used for my Lionel gang car.

As you can see, I cannot use scale sized trains.

I have about an even mix of Marx and Lionel.

One final note, the layout is on one 4x8 sheet of plywood.

[palallin]

Both.  The layout is being built to Hi-rail specs, but it also does double-duty during the CHRISTmas season with ceramic buildings, huge plastic reindeer, and other seasonal fol-de-rol.  At those times, we run traditional, to include my old MPC and Marx outfits.  Most of the rest of the year, we run mostly scale or near scale equipment. 

[crip]

traditional for me

Ditto

[mpzpw3]

Traditional, but do have some scale items, such as the conventional scale Santa Fe F-3 and a few Weaver reefers.

[Bob.M]

Traditional. I bought some cars which were Scale before I knew what it meant. They look outlandish compared with the rest of the postwar cars. First one was a caboose I picked up in a local train store. I just did not notice how huge it was until I brought it home. Some items bought on the web turned out to be too big also. Most suppliers do not say what size the cars are.

[Jumijo]

We do have one scale item. A Weaver New Haven State of Maine boxcar. Didn't know it was scale until I got it home. It's taller, but not by much, than our traditional box cars. Got it at Mountain Trains. Right now it sits on a shelf over the computer I'm using.

Jim

[BMRR]

I have a small 5'x12' layout, so all my trains are traditional.

Stan.

[traindaddy1]

traditional for me

Ditto

Double Until I get more space & "$"

[prewardude]

Guess

 - Clint 

[Dave Connolly]

 Scale Only. Mostly all Atlas freight. Passenger fleet is GGD with some Weaver. Engines from everyone.

[Bob Rice]

I run traditional in conventional mode.

Best regards & merry Christmas,

Bob

[rogruth]

Both.

One TMCC loco.The rest are conventional.

Locos and rolling stock from 1946 to present. 

 

 

[BDT in Minnesota]

Traditional is my primary three rail choice.... I am also one of those guys who has some scale sized equipment that just don't "look right" next to the traditional stuff...I have no complaints, as I bought most of it on eBay and was "flying blind" as to what exact size they really were. The price was right, and the way I looked at it, if I don't find a use for a particular car, I could use the trucks to ungrade anouther car that I do want to run...So I have some real "mutt and jeff" accumulations of railcars.... The little Marx cars are dwarfed by some of the RailKing cars, but I like them all...  I do not own a three rail diesel so the diesel variations  don't pose any challenge.... The steamers; that is a different story...Big ones and little ones... But I can remember 14 steam locomotives that were coupled together for their last run through my home town back in 1961...being towed to the scrap yards behind a SD9....There were big ones and little ones: articulateds, mikes, 0-8-0s, consolidations, 2-10-2s, you name it, but both big and small...  So for me, the 675 postwars and 225 prewars  will get along just fine with the little Marx 999s.....I do have have one steamer that don't really "fit in" as far as size..... That is a MTH RailKing 0-8-0 switcher that dwarf's the Lionel Berkshire Jrs. when placed side by side...

But, that is where plan B kicks in.....When I lay track on the planned layout, One mainline is going to be for 2 rail scale operation....I'm still kicking around the choice between Gargraves and Atlas track..... whichever brand is used for the 2 rail will also be used for the three rail mains....So the Railking 0-8-0, along with an American Flyer S gauge pacific, are going to be rebuilt into a pair of two rail switchers.

I have been scratching my head over this for the past two years....I have plenty of dedicated room  to make separate layouts, but have chosen to combine the layouts  and have separate scale and traditional "Communities" and railyards for the two scales.... The scout locomotives can even have their own "little world" as logging company locomotives... the logging railroads ran everything from converted model T Fords to Mallets for motive power, so the 2-4-2 wheel arrangement of the Lionel scout and Marx 666  would fit right in for a logging operation.

As far as the big Railking cars, they will be converted to body mounted couplers and scale 2 rail trucks.. their original trucks will be donated to needy Lionel or Marx cars....

As far as the old 027 track, It will be put to good use on secondary lines, tunnels and hidden track....Some of that stuff is 60-70 years old, and as good as the day it was built... But my mains are going to be new track; mildly curved to enable long trains and double-headed steamers...

In other words, I plan on having the best of both worlds; combined...

What I end up doing with the HO that dominates a dresser, and the G that is now set up in the living room?? who the heck knows??   It took me over two years to figure out what to do with the O-027 issue,,but the olanning is part of the fun..

 

 

[challenger3980]

I have a mix, I really like the traditional stuff size wise, but I have several of the Standard-O(Scale) 2-8-0 Harriman Standard Consolidations, which even though are scale size, they are still small enough that (at least to ME) they don't look out of place with the traditional equipmment. I also have 2 Challengers, 1 Big Boy and the Cab-Forward from the LionMaster series and they are semi-scale but also look OK (Again to ME anyway) with the traditional equipment.

   I have quite a few TMCC locomotives, but still don't have a TMCC system yet, so all of my operating is done in conventional control. As many may have figured from some of my other posts, I am a fan of the CW-80s if used properly. but do have 2 PW ZW's and a modern ZW, plus some of the MTH Z-Series (Z-500,750,1000) transformers, and absolutely HATE the MTH transformers. I don't like the looks of them, HATE the external power bricks (yeah, I know the modern ZW is cursed with them also, but at least, you have up to a 720 watt output available because of them) and also the high minimum voltage, which the CW-80 is the only one that I know of (in MODERN transformers anyway) that has a near zero minimum voltage.

                   Doug

[Geno]

I'm a 3-rail scale guy- I've been buying only scale engines and rolling stock for the past fifteen years now, but lately I 've also been buying 2-rail cars, as well as conversion kits and parts to convert my 3-rail rolling stock to 2-rail.

 I also recently got back into Lionel starter sets. I bought a Copper Range Set last year, bought the Cascade Range logging set for my nieces and a PE set for myself this year. There is something very simple and fun about them- plus my nieces love them too.

I run 027 track with 054 and K-Line 072 curves and 042 low-profile switches on my temporary layout, and the scale equipment runs very nicely on it. But eventually I will switch over to Atlas code 148 track with a center stud rail when I relocate my layout to my garage.

Geno

[Kooljock1]

Well if you exclude the #145 Gateman and the rest of the accessories, the Plasticville houses, the trains, and the track, I do have a scale Cape Cod house and a RS-11.

Everything else is wonderful, magical, fun, non-scale!

Jon

[Jumijo]

Guess

 - Clint 

WOW!!!

[ChiefEagles]

Mainly SCALE.   Except my Post War.

[lynbrookyankee]

Traditional for me too; I have 1 scale boxcar & when I run it I dont put it next to "regular" boxcars.

[LocoPops]

I love post-war, so I run all traditional.

I guess this is a dumb question.  But one fellow referred 2-rail O gauge, and about converting from 3-rail to 2-rail.  I never heard of 2-rail O gauge.  Is this common among O gauge guys?

[Jumijo]

I love post-war, so I run all traditional.

I guess this is a dumb question.  But one fellow referred 2-rail O gauge, and about converting from 3-rail to 2-rail.  I never heard of 2-rail O gauge.  Is this common among O gauge guys?

Pops,

2 rail O gauge is mainly scale equipment run prototypically in a realistic setting, ala HO, N... Lots of brass locos. MTH makes locos that will run on 2 or 3 rails.  

Jim 

[Wes Whitmore]

I guess most of my MTH stuff is scale or closer to scale, because it's much bigger than most of my lionel cars.  The Lionel caboose is just silly small compared to the MTH.  All of it runs on 0-31 though, but I try to put in as big of curves as possible.  All are "sets'.  I have yet to buy a loco that didn't come with track and a transformer.

Wes

[Bob Keller]

Mostly modern scale-sized cars, though 6464-size postwar boxcars can easily be found in my trains since they were close to scale.

[laz 57]

Both for me what ever looks great.

laz57

[Prairietype]

Post-war traditional.

[jd-train]

Mostly scale.  Also run some traditional.

Scale doesn't have to mean large.  There are lots of smaller real nice scale items. 

Jim

 

[baberuth73]

Traditional in conventional mode. Can't accuse me of being a rivet counter or a big spender. Maybe if I had the expendable income to spare I'd expend some on modern stuff and digital gizmos. But traditional seems to suit me just fine. I guess some folks wonder how I have so much fun with that toy-like junk. Oh well, to each his own. Ya'll have a nice Christmas. If you ever want to get rid of your traditional stuff, give me a call.