LHS mechanic and geniune train and antique garden tractor nut case!
climaxpwr wrote:I am planning a new layout. For the last year I have built a small, 36"x80" Marklin HO layout in our spare room. But the N scale bug has bitten back, drawing up plans for a N scale layout in the same amount of space, using the same time frame as Lance Mindheim's Monon layout. The first real diesels I got to play with were the Indiana Transportation Museum's ex-Milw road Monon F units. To bad they are both out of service now. I have located an ABA consist of black and gold freight F units as well as a BL2. I will have a pair of F3 A units painted by someone in the cream and crimsion passenger colors. Hopefully the sale of the Marklin stuff will yield enough funds to cover the purchase of atleast the passenger F3's and a pair of RS2's along with track and other needed items. I like lances scenery depicting a sunny winter day. Not sure where I will place my layout on the Monon, probably toward the northern part as that is what I saw growing up, just not as the monon but as CSX ect. The winter will see the purchase of the F3's, custom painting of them and richmond control mars lights installed. Has someone done RS2's in monon black and gold yet? Track brand is still a toss up. I like kato uni-track with the ballest already done, but might go with atlas track for its price and less fake looking high rise roadbed. Cheers Mike
YES!! Go N!!! IMHO, HO is only good for large club layouts and superdetailed locos displayed behind glass. Otherwise, there's nothing great about it anymore. The price difference between HO and N is almost nonexistent. Make the change!
Your 36"x80" space is exactly the space my N scale layout occupies. In N scale, however, that space gives me broad curves, switching, and double-track mainline.
Here's mine at a show:
Please feel free to visit my website to see what's possible in 36"x80."
Clearly I'm biased, but I would certainly support your move to N scale. I switched in 2002 after roughly 20 years in HO. My only regret is that I didn't make the switch sooner!
Modeling the Rio Grande Southern First District circa 1938-1946 in HOn3.
How is sound coming along in N-scale? I'm in HO, and I recently bought my first sound-equipped engine, an 0-6-0 steamer. Everything else now seems too quiet, so I've been installing a sound decoder and speaker into an Alco RS. This is a relatively "roomy" engine inside, but so far I've spent many hours cutting, trimming, re-wiring and cramming to stuff that decoder and speaker inside the shell. (Still not there yet, but hopefully tonight.) The engine will be a bit lighter, not too much, because I had to take out some frame weight.
Is the N-scale world moving to sound as well? I know some modellers really hate it, but I'm really hooked on it.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Mike, good for you! I am in HO myself but can fully appreciate the appeal of an N scale layout.
I have an acquaintance who is currently selling his Marklin HO and having a hard time doing it. His stuff is all German prototype and just beautiful in its quality but he can not find anyone in the US that is interested in it. He does not want to try e-Bay. I hope that you have success in your efforts to sell yours. Marklin is not cheap stuff and seems to have a very limited following in the US, at least in HO.
As for sound in N scale, well it is coming. Precision craft make a couple of factory equipped sound locos and now there is also provision for N scale size sound decoders from MRC and ESU. It will never be as easy to retrofit sound in N as in a larger scale, but it is not impossible. At a recent trainshow I had the chance to listen to a N scale modular club with a couple of sound locos and the sound was not bad. It is not as rich a sound as can be achieved with a larger speaker in HO, but it was better than nothing.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
(In a big, ominous voice) Welcome to the dark side!
I think you'll find N to be very enjoyable. Sound is coming, There are some really good steam loco's now (if one so desires), and those long trains really look great. Diesels are where N really shines, and the recent offerings leave little left to desire. They are really quite impressive. Trackwork is also moved ahead lightyears in the last decade. There are many great choices out there now in lots of different codes. N scale no longer has to be hindered by huge oversized rail, gigantic flanges on the wheelsets, and an overall toylike appearence.
There is also lots of people modeling at this top level whom you can get help from. Dave Vollmer's layout is just one example. A lot of those now modeling N have been in it for some time and so they remember the dark days of the scale. They remember that if you wanted a good looking, fine running loco, you either built it yourself, or heavily tweaked a factory one. Nothing good came from the box for the most part. Because of that there are some excellent craftsman in this scale.
Anyways, welcome to N scale, and if you have any questions, holler, OK?
Metro Red Line wrote: climaxpwr wrote:I am planning a new layout. For the last year I have built a small, 36"x80" Marklin HO layout in our spare room. But the N scale bug has bitten back, drawing up plans for a N scale layout in the same amount of space, using the same time frame as Lance Mindheim's Monon layout. The first real diesels I got to play with were the Indiana Transportation Museum's ex-Milw road Monon F units. To bad they are both out of service now. I have located an ABA consist of black and gold freight F units as well as a BL2. I will have a pair of F3 A units painted by someone in the cream and crimsion passenger colors. Hopefully the sale of the Marklin stuff will yield enough funds to cover the purchase of atleast the passenger F3's and a pair of RS2's along with track and other needed items. I like lances scenery depicting a sunny winter day. Not sure where I will place my layout on the Monon, probably toward the northern part as that is what I saw growing up, just not as the monon but as CSX ect. The winter will see the purchase of the F3's, custom painting of them and richmond control mars lights installed. Has someone done RS2's in monon black and gold yet? Track brand is still a toss up. I like kato uni-track with the ballest already done, but might go with atlas track for its price and less fake looking high rise roadbed. Cheers MikeYES!! Go N!!! IMHO, HO is only good for large club layouts and superdetailed locos displayed behind glass. Otherwise, there's nothing great about it anymore. The price difference between HO and N is almost nonexistent. Make the change!
That sure is news to those of us who have been modeling in HO, some for over 50 years. Even with limited space, an outstanding HO layout can be built. N scale does allow more scale distance and greater scenic possibilities in the same space but at the expense of smaller size of the trains. The smaller size de-emphasizes the train in relation to the scenery. With every scale there is a tradeoff. Each modeler has to make the choice that is right for his situation. It makes no sense to say HO doesn't belong in a home layout.
I'm thinking Metro Red Line was kidding about HO being only for clubs...
jecorbett wrote:That sure is news to those of us who have been modeling in HO, some for over 50 years. Even with limited space, an outstanding HO layout can be built. N scale does allow more scale distance and greater scenic possibilities in the same space but at the expense of smaller size of the trains. The smaller size de-emphasizes the train in relation to the scenery. With every scale there is a tradeoff. Each modeler has to make the choice that is right for his situation. It makes no sense to say HO doesn't belong in a home layout.
I'm being bitter, of course. HO is like the woman who done me wrong. I built my last HO layout 18 years ago and not long after, all this cool stuff came out that I couldn't really run on my layout. Just great.
I guess I meant to say HO is great for the reasons I mentioned, or if you're modeling a narrow gauge line or traction or the early diesel era where all the locos had 4 axles and the longest freight car was 50' long. If tight curves are approrpiate to what you want to model, sure, in those cases, HO is perfect.
But HO is *absolutely* no good for a home layout if you're modeling the modern era. If you want to run Superliners, Auto Carriers, TOFC flats and SD90s and can only have room for 22" radius curves max, avoid HO like the plague (or join a club if you really wanna stick with HO), N is where it's at now.