From HO to N and loving it


Sir Robbins

Sir Robbins

Well-Known Member
I did HO scale for a couple of years as a kid with my dad before the rents divorced and it went cold for 10 years without model railroading. Something in me wanted to get back into it and on my 22nd bday (last year) I went for it. I chose N scale due to space and I am building on a 4' by 6' table. I really love it and will have pics to post when I start an official build thread. I am moving to Orlando in June to be back home and am currently in Atlanta. I look forward to having fun and learning new things on here :)
 
Welcome back to model railroading. I know you can do more in N scale in a smaller space, but even if I wanted to, my vision would prevent me from going any smaller than HO
 
Welcome to the forum!

Lots of N scale railroading going on in Orlando. There is/was a large N scale club. Ask questions at Colonial Photo and Hobby, they should be able to connect you to the local clubs.

Glenn
 
WCWBrassHat said:
Welcome to the forum!

Lots of N scale railroading going on in Orlando. There is/was a large N scale club. Ask questions at Colonial Photo and Hobby, they should be able to connect you to the local clubs.

Glenn
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I have done business with them before as I lived there for some time so I will ask for sure when I move back down next month. Thanks for the tip and welcome!
 
In progress of the design
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I think I am with some others with the eyesight thing. At one time I had an N scale layout that had 16 scale miles of mainline. What frustrated me at the time was the lack of locomotives I really wanted in N scale. I was losing interest until I decided to change to HO scale. I enjoy custon painting and detailing locomotives, which was extremely difficult in N scale. Now that I am older and look at N scale equipment, it almost looks like Z scale. I often wonder how I worked with such a small scale. Welcome back to the hobby. You can do a lot in N scale. Hope you enjoy yourself.
 
Welcome
I had a go at N when I was young also. The space thing seemed to be a grand idea. Like montanan I found that motive power was lacking. Today of course there is almost everything that's available in HO.

Steve
 
since I am simply doing a 4 by 6 foot table, N scale is my choice but when I score a basement or whatever, HO is my choice. I really love the quality of Kato engines and rolling stock too. I actually still have some old HO scale stuff that we never sold
 
After I look at Z scale.....N seems just about right, though the N scale humans are indeed much smaller than munchkins and I'm sure it must be difficult to paint a mustache on one without a microscope and a gnat hair paint brush. When I get a house with room I could go HO too......but I'll always have N as my favorite.



the
other
Mike
 
Your story is near identical to mine, only with a 20yr gap. I hope my eyesight never gets to the point where N scale is undoable as I really enjoy it. I too would probably have HO if space allowed, but unless I win the lottery that isn't happening! ;)
 
railfan said:
After I look at Z scale.....N seems just about right, though the N scale humans are indeed much smaller than munchkins and I'm sure it must be difficult to paint a mustache on one without a microscope and a gnat hair paint brush. When I get a house with room I could go HO too......but I'll always have N as my favorite.



the
other
Mike
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Painting is a pain, even for buildings and weathering the engines will not be fun either and will be pursuing a pro for those.

TrinityJayOne said:
Your story is near identical to mine, only with a 20yr gap. I hope my eyesight never gets to the point where N scale is undoable as I really enjoy it. I too would probably have HO if space allowed, but unless I win the lottery that isn't happening! ;)
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I hear you! I would love HO scale again but it is not practical for my space
 
nsrailfan9346 said:
I switched from HO to N scale in 2009. The transition was kind of difficult, but thankfully eBay made the entire process a lot smoother. I was able to sell most of my HO stuff at a good price and use that money to get me started in N. My HO layout was a 4x16, but when I switched to N I decided to settle for a 4'x8'. It is actually close to a 7.5'x14.5' HO layout. I'm able to run 86' boxcars on my 4'x8'. I couldn't do that with my HO layout. I have double track on the N layout with 15" and 16 1/4" radius curves, similar to a 27" radius curve in HO. I can fit all of my N scale collection in one medium size plastic tote. My HO collection took up an entire bookcase and a TV style cabinet. That being said, there are a few things I miss in HO. I miss the wider variety of items to choose from, Athearn kits, and the details. My main reason for switching was space. We have a full size basement but we also have a lot of stuff stored down there. Overall, I'm glad I switched to N scale. It just seems to work better for me.
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I went the other way. I had an N scale layout with almost 16 scale miles of track, but I couldn't find locomotives for the road names I wanted (this was over 15 years ago), plus I couldn't put the detail I wanted to into the layout. I was helping a friend with his HO layout and decided to go the other way, and switch to HO. Now that I am a little older, and the eyeballs aren't as good as they used to be, I'm glad that I did make the change. I do miss the long main line run, which at scale speeds took almost 15 minutes, but I enjoy the availability of detail I can put into the HO scale equipment and scenery.
 
Like Montanan, I got into N in the late 70's but was dissapointed with the motive power available, the way it ran, and the lack of detail. Detail parts also. I settled on HO and found that the detailing, scratch building and kitbashing, and availability of motive power was much better. I've experimented with narrow gauge in HO, S, and O scales. I still seem to come back to HO when I model.

Steve
 
Back in the 1970's-80's when I occasionally noticed model railroading.....I thought N scale was an interesting oddity done only by a few "freaks".....mostly because I'd never seen it in person. Now N is mainstream.....and Z scale is the new freak show. Ha ha! :p

Mike
 
I apologize for a lack of pictures. I am relocating to Orlando in August and switched from DC to DCC as well as going from kato Unitrack to Atlas code 55. Complete revamp on my project but still n scale :)
 
Finally.... some pictures of my rolling stock taken from all over the condo.... They will be coming with me to Florida
My SD70ACe
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SD80MAC
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P42 Phase V and Phase IV A Superliners
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P42 and 5 car set
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Recent pickups from American Hobby Supply
Walthers Maxi III well cars with some containers. Picked up a 5 car set of the well cars (diecast) for $40 each set!!!!! Got 3 sets of them
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I won't start or pick up anything else until I'm back in Orlando. Just thought you all would like some pics.
 
^ thank you. Here is the current lineup of all of my well cars together. 15 so far with more to come. TTX Maxi III 48' cars with a few containers
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