For the past 12 years I've driven myself insane trying to settle on one scale to model. I've done O, HO, and N scales. I'd get started in one and then change my mind, sell all the stuff and start buying in another scale. Only to wind up and do the same thing over again many times. There are things I enjoy and hate about all three. I just can't seem to settle on just one. I'm at the point where I'm about to quit the hobby altogether. Have you ever been in this situation? What did you do to settle on one scale? Any advice or input is very welcome. Thanks!!
Find a prototype you really like, Then look at the available space. Once you know what you want to model and how much space you have then you can choose what scale you will do it in. I personaly would love to model in 2 Rail O scale becuase of the size and how well everything can be detailed. How ever if I want to model in 2 Rail O I wouldn't be able to do much due to the amount of my space, 10x12. HO was my next choice, so I looked at possibly doing that, Again due to the space I couldn't fit everything I wanted so I moved down to N scale. I'm still not completely happy with my N scale layout, but thats probably the best I can do in my availble space and be able to have all that I want.
I have heard that MR did a survey some time ago, and the average model railroader changes scales about five times during their lifetime. I am at that point right now having just restarted in HO for the last time.
A few things come to mind that may have an influence on your situation and the scale that you ultimately wind up with. These did for me.
- What you want to model. (Is the equipment and accessories available in all scales?)
- How much room you have. (Do you want long trains running through the scenery, or do lots of switching, or some of both?)
- The condition of your eyes. (How good or bad you see. This will influence the size or scale of the trains.)
- How much time do you have left on this earth. (I'm 65 and for me that is a serious question when starting over. Can I finish a large layout or do I go with something smaller?)
- How is you manual dexterity? (Are you able to work in a small scale, or do you need something larger?)
I am sure there are more. Since a railroad is a railroad, and they all have the same elements, I would think that you might be able to look at the above list and let that be your guide in selecting a scale. Those items all had an impact on what scale I went to next.
I hope this helps.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
For me, availability of all associated modelling equipment and materials, plus the pricing, were factors, but size was the biggest. Size of the items I would have to handle, and size of the area in which I would presumably use them. So, I have no experience in the other scales, and am content to the extent that I have no real interest in learning more about them. That helps, unlike yourself.
I like the advice to pick a prototype, maybe two you can use co-located on the one layout for a bit more variety, and then learn, and find out what is available in materials that you will feel confident in and happy owning and using. Concrete steps, for most of us, tend to seal the deal, but that doesn't seem to help with you. Apparently you haven't lost much financially? Or is the expense something of a problem now that you find yourself demuring once again?
Is your available space firmly settled, or is there still some tension or possibility of changess that you must negotiate? If your turf is established, then maybe confining yourself to a highly favoured track plan will help you to chose a scale. If the gee-whiz track plan works really well in N scale, there ya go. If it will fit reasonably well, maybe with a couple of alterations, in HO, that might be important when you go to stock up on a given prototype's models. And, of course, there is the handling and visual component in the smaller scales.
Nothing we do in the hobby is permanent. It can all be undone in an hour or less complete with big mess to clean up. Just takes a big hammer and a saws-all. Most of us are on a second-fifith layout over time, so we all get a crack at several ideas and probably at least two scales. I dont see why you should be any different. Try one, play for a year or four, and then take a whack at something else.
Other things to consider are cost and availability of desired features.
I started very young as a Lionel baby, maybe even pre-school. Somewhere in my Wonder Years I had filled my available space, but I also yearned for the more "realistic" HO models. At this time it was the early 1960's, so N was not much of a factor. HO also offered much more reasonable pricing, even back then, for a teenager working with an allowance.
I put those HO trains away during college, and kept hauling the boxes around with me until about 3 years ago, when I pulled them out, cleaned them up and started building a new layout. So, one factor in my decision was already owning a lot of equipment. As it turns out, the old brass track and cardboard buildings were largely useless, and the engines couldn't be made to run well, but the rolling stock still looks and works fine.
At times, though, I envy those who model N-scale. They can fit so much into a limited space. But, as others have remarked, I'm now 61, and I've got to kick my glasses up a notch every time I see the eye doctor. Besides that, I've become a big fan of sound, which has become almost standard in HO now, while it's still rare in N.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
tangerine-jack wrote:You've seem to have tried every scale but a real one, G. Come join us over at the Garden Railways forum and learn about real model railroading. After all, I've never seen a real train run indoors......
Obviously never visited Manhattan (New York, not Kansas.)
Two things to consider:
I wanted to build in my back yard. So I put a length of flex (good old Atlas code 100) on the wall separating the two levels of the back yard and parked a couple of yard sale junkers on it.
The wind blew them over, not once but several times. The desert sun bleached the colors of the cars. Finally, after about 6 weeks, ultraviolet radiation did enough of its thing that the plastic parts began to disintegrate.
I salvaged the rails - the only thing worth salvaging - and beat a hasty retreat to the garage.
I never considered G-gauge in any scale. For the kind of railroading I want to model I already have a full HOj roster, bought and paid for. Disregarding money, to do what I can do in a double garage in HOj (1:80 scale) I would have needed a vacant lot in G - and I would like to have more space than my garage provides to implement more of my master plan.
I would love to have a basement - or a climate-conditioned hangar (about Lear-Jet size.) I would also love to have enough income to afford it.
Why do I model in 1:80 scale? Because back in 1960, when I decided to model Japanese prototype, 1:80 scale on 16.5mm gauge track was the ONLY choice that was reasonable. Since then I've been operating on that well-known mechanic's axiom; If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in a Mojave Desert garage)