I'm 64 and have a renewed interest in Model Railroads after 55 years wheh I had a Lionel O gauge.
My wife and I are into Cowboy Action Shooting and we think it'd be fun to a Cowboy/old West genre layout.
What are the Pros and Cons of HO vs H gauge?
Which gauge is the most popular and the most versatile?
HO is the most popular scale. O is pretty far down the list. I like the action accessories/cars that are common in O and pretty rare in HO. Most HO enthusiasts are heavy into scale and prototype issues while most O gauge folks like to play with trains.
You may want to take a hard look at "S" gauge (American Flyer) and On30 (O scale, narrow gauge track). The latter may be very appropriate if you wish to model the old west as you stay at 1/48 scale.
HARDCASH,
First off to DA FORUM.
The biggest difference for me was I grew up having Lionel trains every Christmas around the tree. So I sorta kinda like them and didn't know about other gauges. This is one of the reasons I still like O gauge. The other reasons are the size of the gauge is easier on my eyes. I can see this stuff the HO is harder to see. HO does have an advantage when it comes to your layout though. Since its half the size of O gauge, hence the nameHO half O gauge, you can have a bigger scene. Hope this helps you in your decision?
PS Love those action Wild West shows they have on the Outdoor Channel on Wednesday Nite at the range, love shooting sports myself.
laz57
Pick up a copy each of "Model Railroading", Classic Toy Trains" and "Garden Railroading" to get some info. on what's available for the various hobbies. Remember, as you get older the eyes get weaker and possibly arthritis sets into the hands.
If you are into cowboy action shooting, then you might appreciate the animated Lionel Sheriff and Outlaw Car. It is O scale and are still presently being made. Lionel used to also sell this same car in HO but it is hard to find.
Although "HO" stands for "half O", the O that it is half of is a British scale (1/43.5) somewhat larger than American O (1/48). However, much Lionel-style 3-rail O is built somewhat smaller than even that scale; and the curves are very sharp, the tightest being O27, which has a radius of 12.5 inches. Twelve-inch radius is not unknown in HO; but 15 is the sharpest that is at all common. Many O-gauge cars and locomotives are available in scale or nearly scale height and width, but reduced in length. The Lionel GG1 is a good example of this, at 70 percent of scale length. The result is that the track of an O-gauge layout may well fit in the same space that HO requires; and the trains running on it may occupy a length of that track comparable to HO trains.
Bob Nelson
Similar to what Bob Nelson mentioned, I have an experiance with H.O. verses O gauge track, I thought that H.O. would fit in a circle smaller than that of 30 inches. I tried to set up a small layout on a card table and needless to say found out that Lionel style 027 track has a smaller radius than H.O. curve track. I think the smallest curve in H.O. is 15 inch radius, there is flex track but try to get something to go through your homemade curve is a disaster waiting to happen.
H.O. is smaller in height and smaller in length but needs the same amount of space for a similar layout with H.O. track. If it is for lack of table space H.O. will not do!!
I have sold off my H.O. stuff except for some stuff I like that isn't made in O gauge or is too costly to obtain in O gauge.
Lee F.
CHUCK QUOTED ..... " HO is the most popular scale. O is pretty far down the list. " ......... I'd take that statement with a grain of salt ! Depends on who's list you're talking about ... avid collectors and train builders " O " Scale or more childlike ..... plastic engines and cars ... = HO scale . I started out as a child with O scale .... then HO many years ago .... plastic engines are'nt my cup of tea and HO is almost all that type . Sold all my HO and got into O scale . If you want the most realistic track and engines I'd suggest On3 .... sometimes I wish I had gotten into it instead .
I believe in the last survey by Model railroader, 80% of the repondents were HO modelers? The next two most popular scales were N and G. While O is the most popular of what's left, it's something like 5% of the total.
I feel obliged to tout the accolades of “S”! It is smaller than O bigger than HO. If Littler Red Riding Hood had a train layout she would say it is” just right”. All kidding aside, in the same space an HO layout occupies you can have an “S” and if your eyes are like mine, the bigger size makes working on them a lot easier. Here is a size comparison between O&S.
There are more things becoming available in S as far as engines and cars and as far as accessories, there are the original American Flyer, repro American Flyer by Lionel. Cars can be troublesome to a highrail layout because sometimes the 1/64 is too small and the 1/48 is too large.
Short answer, don’t overlook “S” if you want a lot of layout in a small space. Here is 6.5’x9.5’
Jim
But it seems like MR caters more to the HO and N audience. So I'd expect most of their readers to be HO & N (& the survey results to be scewed because of it).
On the initial question, to me it seems like if you're more into "modeling" - HO is the way to go. If you're more into "toys" (i.e. operating accessories, operating cars, engine sounds, smoke, colors, heft, etc) - O is the way to go.
Also, O is generally more expensive.
Not to say there aren't lots of great O scale modelers out there (or even lots of HO guys that are more into the "toy" aspect of the hobby).
But the sharpest American Flyer curves have a 19-inch radius, greater than Lionel O27's 12.5 inches, greater than Lionel O31's 14.14 inches, and greater even than Marx O34's 15.75 inches. It's just a little sharper than O42.
The shortest radius that a prototype F3 can tolerate is 274 feet. This would correspond to what would be called O139 in toy-train terminology, nowhere close to what our models can do. This radius of 274 feet would be described in railroad engineering as a 21-degree curve, meaning that the track would change direction by 21 degrees along a 100-foot chord. The sharpest curve that can be described this way is one where the chord is also a diameter, that is, a curve with a radius of 50 feet. This is exactly the radius of O27 track in 1/48 scale--prototypically possible, but just barely!
Speaking of S gauge track, A.F. put out Pike Master track and the curves are very tight, don't know the radius off hand, but willing to say that a circle of Pike Master curves only might be 28 inches outside to outside. Most current A.F. compatible track has 42 inch curves, like GarGraves track.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month