What's is the Size of Your Layout?


I bet you can't see many layouts like mine. I live in a 30 foot 5th wheel. We have a 3X5 15 sq. ft. layout in the dining area. Not to many out there in a rv!:p Its a logging camp/ sawmill layout of the West Virginia areas. Around 1920's and has been in one stage or another for 4 years.View attachment 50486
 
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I am trying to figure out what I can build in my apartment. As we are bursting at the seams there's not much room left and thus I'm still undecided on the gauge even.

I always owned/liked H0; the size was a "handful", the detail was there, etc, but it appears N has come to par as lately there are some amazing items being produced for it.

Having said that, I'd love to have a mix of a loop and point-to-point/ops, I just do not know whether it's even realistic think of a door sized H0 layout due to minimum curve radii for that gauge.

N just feels too delicate and finicky to me, although while talking to some N modellers in RL, they have actually moved from H0 to N and never looked back.

An impasse, my past love of H0 and the fear of unknowN. ;)
 
TrainzLuvr said:
I am trying to figure out what I can build in my apartment. As we are bursting at the seams there's not much room left and thus I'm still undecided on the gauge even.

I always owned/liked H0; the size was a "handful", the detail was there, etc, but it appears N has come to par as lately there are some amazing items being produced for it.

Having said that, I'd love to have a mix of a loop and point-to-point/ops, I just do not know whether it's even realistic think of a door sized H0 layout due to minimum curve radii for that gauge.

N just feels too delicate and finicky to me, although while talking to some N modellers in RL, they have actually moved from H0 to N and never looked back.

An impasse, my past love of H0 and the fear of unknowN. ;)
Click to expand...

If you're in a pinch for space..... [emoji6]

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If I weren't invested in HO. and will have a room to build in, I would move to N. 17" radii are generous in N, so you can put in loops in much smaller spaces. A door sized layout is reasonable in N.

Or if you really want to do a lot in a small space, go to Z.
 
A small side track here, for which I will apologize for in advance. N Gauge is a great little gauge for tight spaces, but Z Gauge? Grief, you may be able to put a LOT of it in a small (very small space) but how on earth do you handle it or even see it?
 
While visiting local hobby shops, people I spoke to all had multiple gauges. Only one fellow said he sold all of his H0 decades ago and moved into N and never looked back (yeah, sounds like he was trying to sway me into N as well ;) )

Should I be worried about investing into one gauge or another?

I'm thinking that all that might be reusable; a smaller gauge for background/further away scenery, or just sell it all off and recover some of the investment.

And as wombat457 mentioned, everywhere I see people moving up the gauges as they get older. I guess only hindsight remains 20-20. :D
 
What scale you go with (N/HO) really depends on a few things I think. Firstly, it depends on the amount room you have to play with, I think it also depends on what you want to have on your layout - something simple and straight forward or something a little more complex and finally, I honestly believe it depends on what you are comfortable working with in terms of size.

If you have limited space but want lots of "action" and have reasonable eye sight ( :) ) go with N Scale, you'll get more bang for your buck.
Or, if you have limited space and are content with something that is simple, go with HO.

If you have lots of space, then I'd suggest HO however much "action" you want on the layout and if eye sight is going to be a factor for you.

When it all boils down, it really is a personal choice. I have both a small N Scale and a Small - Medium HO layout and I enjoy them both for different reasons. The HO for the detail and being able to see everything well and the N Scale for the amount of track possible with it in a very small area.
 
I've been in HO, exclusively, for 49 years now. I've no intention of changing. So pick a scale based on the amount of space you have, the type of operation or modeling you enjoy, and the equipment available and don't look back.
 
My layout is 12x18 feet and is the smallest of the three prior layouts. But I must say that this current attempt is certainly the most fun. I model in HO and have no plans in changing scales.

Mel

Having fun with RailPro
 
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