thestumper
New Member
Hi all: I posted this on another forum and wanted to give you all a crack at it as well. Pretty self explanatory. I'm new around here, and I'm eager to start building out a layout, but I'm really on the fence in terms of gauge. I have a lot of HO at the moment, but I don't have permission to build what I want to do at the moment in HO. Read on...
"I've recently returned to the world of model trains and I'm at a junction (no pun intended...). I've always been an HO guy - I like the size/detail ratio and I like the variety. However, it would appear to me that N gauge has come a long way and is getting better everyday. My big problem right now is space - I like long runs with long trains, and recent conversations with my better half suggest that I will NOT be getting the space I would like anytime in the near future. 8x10 for HO just isn't getting it done for me at this point - there's just too much I want to do, and I don't like the turn radius restrictions for longer cars and engines. But... 8x10 in N scale would allow me to build a comparatively huge layout with lot of variety. I've actually download track plan software and sketched out a N layout - I was amazed with all the functionality I could build into it with room left over for future expansion.
I know this is the 'N' forum, so my guess is I'll find mostly pro-N responses here, so I may post in the HO forum to get that side of it as well. For now, what has been the experience of the "switchers" (HO to N)? Was it worth it? What did you feel like you gave up? Am I missing something?
Thanks, and sorry for the long first post, but I'm excited to be here and I hope to get some good advice moving forward!
Thanks!!!
PS: Into PRR and UP. Some interest in NS and CSX at this point because its all around me. I favor passenger, but I'm getting more into freight - especially intermodal with newer engines."
"I've recently returned to the world of model trains and I'm at a junction (no pun intended...). I've always been an HO guy - I like the size/detail ratio and I like the variety. However, it would appear to me that N gauge has come a long way and is getting better everyday. My big problem right now is space - I like long runs with long trains, and recent conversations with my better half suggest that I will NOT be getting the space I would like anytime in the near future. 8x10 for HO just isn't getting it done for me at this point - there's just too much I want to do, and I don't like the turn radius restrictions for longer cars and engines. But... 8x10 in N scale would allow me to build a comparatively huge layout with lot of variety. I've actually download track plan software and sketched out a N layout - I was amazed with all the functionality I could build into it with room left over for future expansion.
I know this is the 'N' forum, so my guess is I'll find mostly pro-N responses here, so I may post in the HO forum to get that side of it as well. For now, what has been the experience of the "switchers" (HO to N)? Was it worth it? What did you feel like you gave up? Am I missing something?
Thanks, and sorry for the long first post, but I'm excited to be here and I hope to get some good advice moving forward!
Thanks!!!
PS: Into PRR and UP. Some interest in NS and CSX at this point because its all around me. I favor passenger, but I'm getting more into freight - especially intermodal with newer engines."