S gauge poll

[CSXect]

Wanted to see if any S gaugers are Hidding out here. if you want to see some cool power and rolling stock check the following sites

www.americanmodels.com

www.showcaseline.com

[Anonymous]

Nice stuff on those links! I had American Flyer S as a kid which led directly into HO scale before girls/cars/etc. interfered. Also I recently had the pleasure of operating on a local 35x50 foot O scale layout. The larger scales like S and O certainly have a lot of appeal, but take up a great deal more space.

Cheers

[orsonroy]

If I could get decent SCALE S-scale steam in something other than brass (plastic or white-metal kits, of the prototypes I need), I'd be modeling with it.

[West Coast S]

QUOTE: Originally posted by orsonroy

If I could get decent SCALE S-scale steam in something other than brass (plastic or white-metal kits, of the prototypes I need), I'd be modeling with it.

Here's my experience, all S scale steam will require modifications/kitbashing for a specific prototype. Those who model the Pennsy and NYC have it the best in S, the rest of us must resort to ingunity. Below are a few of my favorite picks:

Ready to run:

American models produces a generic 4-6-2 and soon to be released AT&SF Northern in plastic. ( oh, the kitbashing oppertunities this will present!)


S Helper Services 2-8-0, based upon a B&O prototype but suitable for other roads as well

Kits... (similar in construction to MDC/Mantua kits of yore)

Putt Trains: White Metal kit for 2-6-0 & 0-6-0, my only beef is the lack of adquate stock and sparodic runs, I suspect Putt is a one man operation.

Advanced Kit, White metal and brass

Bill's train Shop (BTS) if you model the Ma&Pa or are seeking steam for a freelance road or need fodder for a particular prototype, his line of kits offer a wealth of potential.

Lionel produces a semi-scale AF version of the USRA 2-8-2, hopefully someone will be producing a true S scale conversion kit for this much needed addition. For those so inclined you could tackle the conversion yourself.

On the advanced side:

I'm converting two Bachman On30 2-6-0 to S, I'm considering writing an article as to how i've acomplished this.


Don't dismiss foreign sources, I conduct business with a HS in London that can supply drivers, valve gear, side rods, frame kits and misc. parts adaptable to American Steam.

New Zealand Finescale produces a kit for the WR. The WR class was a catalog Baldwin 2-6-2T adapted for export. Very little work is needed to restore it to American standards. Strange but true, one can purchase a SP whaleback kit from a New Zealand
manfacturer.

Freight equiptment for just about any era is no problem, did you know that the better HO manfactures will sometimes offer a similar limited run in S? You won't find them advertised in the mass market or main stream publications, but there out there. Passenger car availabilty is getting better each month, cabooses may or may not be available for a specifc road.

Structures to fit every budget and era are readily available, rtr track is available from the
same as those who supply to the HO market. We use HO and even O scale items where necessary


The hardest part to S scale is dispelling the myth that one must have blacksmithing skills. If the above seems too intense, we have excellent RTR diesels available too.

Now that you have fewer excuses, get rid of that HO and go 3/16!




Dave

[ereimer]

from what i've seen there are some very talented modellers in S scale , and some really nice models available from manufacturers . so i'm aware , but have no inclination to switch from HO at the moment . i'd probably go On30 if i did switch

[grayfox1119]

Yes, I know of S gauge, I do not have the room, nor the money. It is expensive enough for HO gauge. The size would be nice to work on, but my layout would consist of one run around the layout.

[IRONROOSTER]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CSXect

Wanted to see if any S gaugers are Hidding out here. if you want to see some cool power and rolling stock check the following sites

www.americanmodels.com

www.showcaseline.com

Well I heven't been hiding.

The site to visit is http://www.trainweb.org/crocon/sscale.html there are links to all of the manufacturers above plus others. Selection in S has improved considerably in the last 10-15 years. Steam locomotives are the one thin area, but that is improving. Otherwise all the basics are there, flex track, turnouts, Kadee couplers, structure kits, rolling stock, etc. You may have to mail order, but it is out there.

Cost is an individual issue. Prices in S are not much higher than HO (about a third higher, but then S is about a third larger) when comparing similar products, but there are no economy lines like Athearn, MDC, Accurail, etc.in HO.

S scale is 1.36 the size of HO, a little bigger linearly but a whopping 2.5 times the volume. S has a nice presence to it,

Fair warning, if you ever build an S kit you're probably hooked. It's a delightful size to work in.

I started in HO, switched to O, then to S. For me it is the happy compromise between big enough to see and work with, yet small enough to have nice layout in a reasonable space.

Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

Some of my happiest moments as a kid were running my american flyer "S" gauge trains. But, as I grew up H-O caught My eye mainly because of the vast amount of goodies available. But I will always have a special place in my heart for those great trains.

[dinwitty]

I voted who cares....8-D

really as a kid I did tinplate O, but I made the move to HO.

wont look back.

I have too much invested in HO and got a layout idea planned now for what I have.

What buggers me often when I search EBAY for HOn3, stuff shows up for Sn3 or Sn30, and I gotta filter it out...grrr....

cool theres still the S gauge following, good for those who dont want the size of O, but dont have the eyes for HO anymore, which is what I heard....8-D

now I recall it was American Flyer that did the tinplate S scale, there was quite a bit of it around.

[espeefoamer]

When I was a kid,I had an American Flyer layout with two freight trains,one had a Reading 4-4-2 and the other,a C&NW Baldwin switcher. I had a lot of fun with it[:p]!
As an adult I have switched to HO[8D].

[CSXect]

[8D] S is best [8D]

[Anonymous]

I am aware of it, but I do not pay much attention to it.

uspscsx

[paulsafety]

Much has become available over the past several years, but unless I was starting from scratch, I wouldn't consider changing scales at this time. No slight against "S", as I wouldn't likely change to N or O either. IF I was starting from scratch, I would consider the scale as it takes less room than O and may be a little easier to work with than HO.

Paul F.
Northern NJ

[cacole]

One of the most fascinating narrow gauge logging railroads I have ever seen is the Sn3 layout of Roger Russell in Tucson, Arizona. It can get to be more expensive than even G scale live steam, though, because nearly all of the locomotives he has were hand-made of brass in New Zealand, which is way too expensive for my budget.

[on30francisco]

A while back, I tried to model in Sn3. I built a timber trestle and some pieces of rolling stock. I think that S scale is an ideal size for modeling; big enough for a high level of detail, easy to scratchbuild in (1/64" increments are very common for stripwood and building supply sizes), good running, and you can build an excellent running layout in a reasonable amount of space. The biggest setback for me was (and still is) the availability of affordable steam locomotives. Most if not all steam locomotives available in S scale (particularly Sn3) are very pricy brass. Granted, they may be museum quality but I don't think they will encourage the average working-class modeler to try S scale. If there were affordable, high-quality, steam locomotives like the ones offered by Bachmann in On30 available in S scale, I would give S scale another try in a New York minute! For now I will stick with On30.

[IRONROOSTER]

QUOTE: Originally posted by on30francisco

A while back, I tried to model in Sn3. I built a timber trestle and some pieces of rolling stock. I think that S scale is an ideal size for modeling; big enough for a high level of detail, easy to scratchbuild in (1/64" increments are very common for stripwood and building supply sizes), good running, and you can build an excellent running layout in a reasonable amount of space. The biggest setback for me was (and still is) the availability of affordable steam locomotives. Most if not all steam locomotives available in S scale (particularly Sn3) are very pricy brass. Granted, they may be museum quality but I don't think they will encourage the average working-class modeler to try S scale. If there were affordable, high-quality, steam locomotives like the ones offered by Bachmann in On30 available in S scale, I would give S scale another try in a New York minute! For now I will stick with On30.

There are some standard gauge non brass steam locomotives coming out.
American Models http://www.americanmodels.com/ has a 4-8-4 coming out in addition to their 4-6-2. Shelper http://www.showcaseline.com/ has a 2-8-0 coming. BTS has some kits http://www.btsrr.com/btsloco.htm in narrow and standard gauge. Railmaster http://www.railmaster.co.nz/railway/loco.htm has some narrow gauge kits.

At $300-$500 they aren't cheap, but they are less than brass.

Enjoy
Paul

[tstage]

Same as Ed, I grew up on American Flyer - including cast iron steamers! I only have a 4 x 8 and a small basement, so HO fits the bill for what I'm doing at the moment.

Tom

[BR60103]

One of our club members is building his second S scale layout based on the south of England (search: Wandle Valley). S is an extreme minority scale in British modelling; I think his commercial items were axle boxes and Peco rail.
He has let me operate it at a couple of shows.