N or HO?


S

SDJeff

Texas Railfan
I haven't had a layout since 2007 when I moved from my apartment to my house. Sounds backwards huh? Well no since my fiancée moved in. I had a HO scale 4'x8' layout, nothing special. I do have quite a bit of rolling stock and locos - no DCC.

The problem is lack of room. I have a 3 bedroom house, one bedroom is mine, one is hers, and the other I took over for my office. I'm an civil engineer and I play guitar so the bedroom has books shelves, a used library file cabinet from the university, amps, and a big desk. So I've taken up my share of real estate in the house.

I've seen some n scale layouts and I'm impressed. I still like the size of the HO scale. I'm going to be 42 this month and my near side eyesight is already going, so working with details on the smaller scale will be even more difficult. My thinking is if I did start a N Scale layout I would pretty much buy the ready to roll and assembled structures.

In this case size matters and the smaller the better. I'm just not sure if I want to start over with investing in a different scale. I know if I don't go n scale I won't have a layout until I get a big house or someone moves out :rolleyes:

If I do go N scale, I'd only buy a few engines (yeah right huh?) and go DCC.

Any words of wisdom?


Jeff
 
I dont know how familiar with N scale you are, but i bought some stuff planning on making the switch from HO to N, and i was actually pretty impressed with the detail.

This seems like the perfect reason to go to N scale. People move to N scale to save on space, which sounds like a perfect fit for this situation. A 4x8 layout in N scale has lots of oppurtunity, in HO, you are really pressed for space and with what you can do.

If your that worried about your eyesight, then there are solutions. Several companies make magnifying glasses for workbenches and even wearable ones to solve that problem.
 
A good friend of mine does really great work in N as part of a module building group. I don't have quite the same constraints you do, but I can really see the temptation of N. Still, you might want to take a look at whether you could do some kind of shelf layout in HO in the room that is "yours", even with all that other stuff there.
 
I bet there is room in there for some type of shelf layout around the walls. One thing is for sure, there isn't much difference these days in price between the two scales.

I thought about going N scale at one time due to space constraints but I ended up going back to HO just because I like the level of detail I can achieve.

What kind of layout do you want? Mainline running or more of a switching type layout? I've seen some really good switching layouts in small spaces.

Good luck
 
Thanks guys.
I want mainline running and a lot of it. Maybe a small 4 or 5 track yard and a few industrial spurs. I want to have a few abandoned spurs as well since I will model present day. I am fascinated by abandoned rails.

I was thinking of doing a modular type layout and attached it together on my back patio. I would like the ability to attach and detach the modules with ease. My fiancee is an interior designer and throws a fit anytime something goes up on the walls without her input. So the shelf system is a good idea but won't work in my case.

I found a little n-scale train set for $70, I maybe buy that to see if I like things.
Jeff
 
SDJeff said:
Thanks guys.
I want mainline running and a lot of it. Maybe a small 4 or 5 track yard and a few industrial spurs. I want to have a few abandoned spurs as well since I will model present day. I am fascinated by abandoned rails.

I was thinking of doing a modular type layout and attached it together on my back patio. I would like the ability to attach and detach the modules with ease. My fiancee is an interior designer and throws a fit anytime something goes up on the walls without her input. So the shelf system is a good idea but won't work in my case.

I found a little n-scale train set for $70, I maybe buy that to see if I like things.
Jeff
Click to expand...

$70 may or may not be a good deal. What is the set?

For all of your wishes, you may have to do N scale, remember, you can do twice as much in N in the same space as you can with HO. A modular layout is good, but then it needs to be stored when not in use. Unless of course you plan on leaving it outside on the patio, which i wouldnt recomend :D
 
just keep in mind, when that bigger house becomes a reality, you may want to go back to HO when the space becomes available. N may be good to tinker with in the meantime but if you already have experience with HO and some equipment, it may be in your interest to stick with it. You can do great things with modular and/or shelf in HO in a small space. just my .02
 
Thanks Airside & Littlefoot14.
The $70 set is to give me a feel for the size, I know it's not top quality, I saw it on sale at Walthers. About leaving the layout on the patio, oh no I wouldn't do something like that. I can find room in the garage or the house to put the modules.
Jeff
 
I tend to agree with Airslide. IT is obvious you prefer HO. So.....why not see how much space you would give to an N-scale layout, then before you buy anything, see if you can make an interesting HO layout in the same space. I've seen some pretty clever small HO layouts.
 
Do you have a link to the set Jeff? Ebay might be a better spot to look for used basic entry level N scale set. I have a lot for sale right now that would help a beginner. I was kidding about the modules being outside, i figured you had enough common sense to keep things stored inside :)

Airslide brings up a good point about sticking with what you know, and while i agree with his ideas, i feel that moving to N would help you out more. Youll get a layout sooner, and have practice for any future layouts you might want.
 
I think N is better due to your space issues but I never had luck with it. I tried a small N layout and it was just to small to work with. trackwork needs to be flawless for it to operate good and I just got frustrated with it. HO works great for me!
 
I do agree with the others that i prefer HO, however, i just think that to have everything he would like on his layout, such as mainline running and a decent sized yard, then N is the only way to go. If he did modules that would be ok for HO, but then you need to store to modules and how often are you going to want to set it all up? I really feel N scale is the way to go in order to have the conditions you said.
 
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