I'm sorry for the double post, I'm going to put this in both the HO and N scale categories so I can get some good info.
I am about to get back into the model railroading hobby. I've been away for a while. I'm trying to decide between HO and N gauge for my next layout. several years ago I had an HO layout. I have a decent amount of track, 2 trains, and scenery items. all of my HO is low quality stuff, rolling stock which had to be assembled etc. just setting it back up reminded me of some of the frustration I dealt with last time. cars which would uncouple at random and my Dash 9 locomotive which would derail whatever car was behind it if I go from a right to a left turn or vice versa. Now that I have a little more money to play with I'll be getting some higher quality locomotives and rolling stock when I build my layout. But they all run fairly well. they don't have any neat features on them like working ditch lights or sound effects or anything like that. these are features I will want when purchasing new items. right now I have more HO stuff than N, but neither of these collections is very large at all.
a relative of mine recently passed away but left me his model railroad platforms (he had mostly 0 gauge) and his n scale trains (small collection). I have the platforms arranged as a 4x28 ft layout. which for either N or HO will be a pretty decent size.
I really like the N scale trains. at the moment, I like them better than the HO's but that could be that they are just better quality. N seems to be a little less expensive in general compared to HO, so the same investment would go farther. one thing I am concerned about though are special effects. that's something I really like in a layout. rolling stock with lights in it where applicable; locomotives with sounds, working lights, flashing lights, smoke effects for the steamers. in addition I will want to have things like working signal lights, crossing lights, street lights in the villages. how available are these items in N scale? I know they are around in HO. I've found a few things like this in N scale, but it doesn't look like there is as much out there. especially things like smoke effects are not impossible to find in N, but seem more difficult to come by.
so I'm just looking for information regarding the above points. help me decide which scale I should focus on.
thanks!
I am about to get back into the model railroading hobby. I've been away for a while. I'm trying to decide between HO and N gauge for my next layout. several years ago I had an HO layout. I have a decent amount of track, 2 trains, and scenery items. all of my HO is low quality stuff, rolling stock which had to be assembled etc. just setting it back up reminded me of some of the frustration I dealt with last time. cars which would uncouple at random and my Dash 9 locomotive which would derail whatever car was behind it if I go from a right to a left turn or vice versa. Now that I have a little more money to play with I'll be getting some higher quality locomotives and rolling stock when I build my layout. But they all run fairly well. they don't have any neat features on them like working ditch lights or sound effects or anything like that. these are features I will want when purchasing new items. right now I have more HO stuff than N, but neither of these collections is very large at all.
a relative of mine recently passed away but left me his model railroad platforms (he had mostly 0 gauge) and his n scale trains (small collection). I have the platforms arranged as a 4x28 ft layout. which for either N or HO will be a pretty decent size.
I really like the N scale trains. at the moment, I like them better than the HO's but that could be that they are just better quality. N seems to be a little less expensive in general compared to HO, so the same investment would go farther. one thing I am concerned about though are special effects. that's something I really like in a layout. rolling stock with lights in it where applicable; locomotives with sounds, working lights, flashing lights, smoke effects for the steamers. in addition I will want to have things like working signal lights, crossing lights, street lights in the villages. how available are these items in N scale? I know they are around in HO. I've found a few things like this in N scale, but it doesn't look like there is as much out there. especially things like smoke effects are not impossible to find in N, but seem more difficult to come by.
so I'm just looking for information regarding the above points. help me decide which scale I should focus on.
thanks!
