Why I love N scale!

[Metro Red Line]

s been to a train show.

Here's ALL of my N scale stuff (layout, trains, electronics, etc.) in the back of my minivan.  How's that for portability?  The legs collapse and telescope so they tuck neatly under the table.

That's awesome, but shouldn't you rest the layout on a (soft) foam cushion? Driving over potholes might cause things to come loose or scenery to crack.

[mikesmowers]

  Dave, that is just too cool! I am running in HO scale for the reason of my eyesight, but I am wanting to build an N scale to see if I can do it. I really like the idea of a lot of train in a small space.     Good work.      Mike

[SilverSpike]

Hey Dave,

Nice post on your story with the switch to going N scale! I certainly understand your reasoning behind the switch, and it makes sense being on the move so much as you have been the past few years. I enjoyed meeting you and seeing your layout at the show on the 4th, really impressive detailing too!

However, I will be sticking with HO, with my eyes starting to blur a bit I cannot see me getting anything smaller. I get out the magnifying glass more often these days when building and construction of small items.

 

[Dave Vollmer]

I switched from HO to N in 2002, and am very glad I did.  You see, I'm active-duty Air Force and I move a lot, and I was getting tired of building and tearing down HO layouts that I tried to make portable (but really weren't).  I was tired of never having the room for the curves I wanted to run longer equipment because I could never guarantee how much room I'd have at my next assignment.  Lastly, I was getting tired of how much physical space even my cars and locomotives took (since I didn't trust the movers with them, I always moved with them on my person, except for overseas moves).

N scale really helped me overcome every one of those problems.  This is my second N scale layout on a door.  The first moved with me from Florida to North Carolina without any damage at all.  I built a plywood box over the top and let the government contract movers take care of it.  Not a tree was out of place!  This new layout hasn't been through a house move yet, but has been to a train show.

Here's ALL of my N scale stuff (layout, trains, electronics, etc.) in the back of my minivan.  How's that for portability?  The legs collapse and telescope so they tuck neatly under the table.

I also am starting to love the scenery-to-trains ratio.  Someday I want to model the actual 4-track Pennsy mainline, and that would take far less real estate in N and allow for more prototypical curves in a limited space.  I really do like HO, and if I didn't have to move all the time I'd probably still be in HO.  But now that I've tried N, I don't see myself going back.  Of course, some day my eyesight might force me back to a larger scale, but I hope those days are far off.

Happy railroading!