New to hobby - not sure what to get

[daan]

May be you could consider 0 gauge narrow gauge railways, they aquire less space then 0, the locomotives are bigger then h0 and it has more place for scenery as with 0.
In reality those lines don't run huge trains, so a small porter engine with a few cars is prototypical in this case too. You can make an island railway with a harbour and a coalmine for example to create a need for transportation and you can use tight curves.
In 0 there are possibilities as well. You'll need to let go the prototypicall length of trains, and settle with 027 or 031 (last one leaves more possibilities for engines). In cost a 0 gauge railway doesn't need to be more expensive then a h0 or N gauge railway. Look on ebay to get the nice engines for not too much money (about 60-70 dollars for a classic postwar 2026 or something).
On your 4x8 you can make a layout which should be able to handle 2 trains at once, but it will be filled with tracks and not with landscaping.
You could also think about a harbour railroad in 0 gauge, with small switcher engines and one oval around it on a higher level, giving a continuous running train and one for switching.
Personnaly I would not go for the small scale's like N or even Z, since their driving capabilities are very bad compared to 0. I've had both the smaller scale's and railcleaning is the major business you're doing instead of running trains.
It's up to you what you like to see, a nice long train with a double F3 in front running on high speed across a landscape, or a nice old smoke puffing 0 gauge steamer on a small layout with a short train switching in on a harbour track.

to be short; in 0 gauge the train itself with all it's details is important, and with N or Z the train is part of a scenic showcase only as an add-on.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered N scale? I say that simply because you say you have a space of approximately 4x8 available, and you want to be able to operate two or more trains simultaneously. That leaves out Large Scale (G gauge) trains for sure. There's very little that you can do with Large Scale in a 4x8 area, aside from a small oval and perhaps a short siding or two.

It does not necessarily leave out O gauge (or, more realistically, the somewhat smaller O27), or even S scale (1:64), but that won't leave you a whole lot of room for scenery or accessories, especially if you want to keep to that two-train option. You can, indeed, configure a 4x8 for two train operation in O/O27, but they won't be big trains, and they won't be long trains.

Ditto for HO scale (1:87), to a certain extent, because HO trackwork pretty much requires the same amount of space as O in a lot of cases--the minimum curves available are 15" radius (30" diameter) compared to the 27" (or so) diameter required for O27 and the 31" (or so) diameter required for O31 (O gauge). In HO, you will, however have more space available for scenery and accessories on that same-size 4x8 pike.

In N scale (1:160), you'll have space for a good amount of railroading and for a good amount of scenery and other items, and will be able to operate fairly long trains, plus have a good amount of space left over for sidings, yards, and other such additional trackwork. The trains themselves are considerably smaller, of course, so that may not be a tradeoff you're willing to make.

And, of course, in Z scale (1:220)--the smallest of the commercially available scales--you could have a very large empire in that same space, with very long trains and some very spectaular scenic features.

So it pretty much depends on how much railroading you want to fit into the space that's available to you. There are plenty of resources available, both on the Internet and in printedf form, to show you what can and cannot be accomplished in the "standard" 4x8 space. You're doing the right thing by inquiring on forums like this oner, but do keep in mind that most of the folks here are O and S gauge enthusiasts. They'll likely try to entice you to join there ranks, which is only natural.

The bottom line is that everyone has space available for a model railroad. What they can realistically do with their railroad largely depends on the amount of space they have available; the scale they want to model in, for whatever reason; what they want their railroad to be; and, to some extent, their hobby budget.

In any case, welcome to what is truly the greatest and most diverse hobby of all! No matter what scale you end up going with, you'll find that you have many hours of enjoyment and relaxation ahead of you.

[Anonymous]

Hello, I'm planning on getting my first train soon and am not sure which gauge to go with. I love the G scale just because of how great they look up close but they are just too big and too expensive for what I want right now. I had a Lionel Train growing up (probably O) and my father had a fleet of HO trains. I have none now and I want to create something that I can enjoy in my spare time. I have an area set aside large enough for a sheet of plywood (approx 4x8'). I would like to have the ability to run 2 trains at once if I choose. I'm spending some time on the internet learning what I can but was hoping I could get a few opinions on which gauge/scale would work well with my desires and restrictions. If anyone would like to share their opinion please give me some pros and cons of your choice. Thank you for any help.
Note - I posted the same message in the MRR forum to get some different feedback.