N scale how do you guys do it?

[yard master]

I am 47 yrs old i cant hardly see the holes where the HO stuff needs to fit in how do you guys do N scale? Maybe I need stronger glasses or a stronger glass of single malt scotch?

Jay

 

[Backlash]

Glasses do help, but for the finer details I find one of these very useful..

Its probably best to keep the glass of single malt scotch until work is done for the day, and your sitting back and running some trains..

 

[wombat457]

Its probably best to keep the glass of single malt scotch until work is done for the day, and your sitting back and running some trains..

Nah, have the scotch first - things will look a whole lot better and larger if you do, unless of course you want everything to work

 

[powersteamguy1790]

I use magnifying loops Backlash. What you're using is fine. have fun working on your layout.

 

[arealgijoe]

I SEE one problem BREWING aready.!.!.!.!.!Too much suds then running trains is asking for T-trouble and more fine work later. I use optivisor brand. I have tried others but like the optivisors far better, and last longer. I use one with a #4 lenses but usually for finer stuff I like a #5 better. (they come in different strengths.Been N scalling for over 30 years now, getting old and may make it to 70 next year.

 

[djstrains]

I have been struggling lately (age 44) with my n scale stuff. I had to walk away from the bench when changing couplers. I see a scale change in my future, lol.

 

[yard master]

i am convinced that the devil himself made N&Z SCALE if those 2 scales could be compared to sex....then whoever models those likes whips,chains and leather...LOL

 

[arealgijoe]

Sometimes I use bits of tape to hold part in place while working with them. Back in my teens/HO days truck often had real springs in the side frames and they were not any larger than N scale stuff. To get the bolster ping into the truck hole (pivot point) I put the pin head down on a finger and lower the truck down over the pin..... sometimes working backwards works best for me????????????

 

[2-8-2]

N scale: Model railroading in hard mode.

 

[arealgijoe]

Quite frankly, when I was looking for a smaller than HO gage/scale I was thinking 1/120 ('T"?) scale. That is when I found N scale, the tween HO&N was no longer around. I still think 1/120 would be a great size/scale, big enough for detail and DCC with sound etc. yet small enough to do more than a small oval in limited space.I have been happy with N scale and never looked back.

 

[montanan]

I was in N scale until the late 70's. After starting off with a small layout that could be slid under a bed, we bulit a basement for the trains and put a house on top of it. The small N scale layout was incorporated into a really nice size layout with over 11 scale miles of main line and a few more miles of branchline.

One problem. Back then we didn't have quality locomotives like the ones on the market today. For the most part they were, well, garbage. They, with a couple of exceptions, didn't run worth a darn. The availability of different locomotives and road names were also poor. I ripped out the whole layout (with tears in my eyes) and started on my current HO scale layout.

Wow, a whole new world (in the very early 80's). Even back then, the locomotives ran decently and were dependable. This opened more doors for me. There was also an abundance of parts available for detailing locomotives and scenery. It got me into custom painting also. I was in PIG HEAVEN! I plugged ahead custom painting and detailing locomotives, scratchbuilding structures and rolling stock and on and on.

Now I am a few (quite a few) years older and the old peepers don't seem to work as well as they used to. I have at least 2 optivisors on hand at all times. Small tasks I didn't even think about years ago have become a bit more difficult now. Simple jobs can turn into major projects. Maybe I'm just getting more grumpy with age or can't admit to the fact that I can't see as well.

There is a local group of N scalers that set up their modular layout at different locations across the valley and the first time I saw it I was wondering if it was Z scale. The locomotives ran great and the details were outstanding. Nope, it was N scale. I couldn't believe that I used to work on something that small.

One consolation is that trains are trains, mine are just bigger than N scale, and I can see most everything fine with just glasses.

 

[yard master]

I can see a change in scale comming , from HO to O scale by the time i am 50 and i am 47 now.

 

[catt]

Gee you guyz must be getting old. My "N"ormal scale is N with a dash of Z (two layouts) and HO when I feel like it.Oh and I will be 70 in less than a month and I'm not even concidering dropping the N and Z.

For got to mention that TT is very much alive there just isn't much of it in North America..T is really tiny in fact T track is used for Z narrow gauge.

 

[Bruette]

I can see a change in scale comming , from HO to O scale by the time i am 50 and i am 47 now.

That is exactly why I prefer my O gauge trains, I can see most of the details without my glasses and I can still fairly easily make repairs. In HO I need the glasses and repairs are challenging. I love the little N scale trains, but have difficulty even getting them on the rails. I actually do better without my glasses. I can't see with them so I guess I am getting by just on feel. I made one repair on a N scale steamer that should have taken 10 minutes including taking a 5 minute break, but it ended up being almost an hour!

Gee you guyz must be getting old. My "N"ormal scale is N with a dash of Z (two layouts) and HO when I feel like it.Oh and I will be 70 in less than a month and I'm not even concidering dropping the N and Z.

For got to mention that TT is very much alive there just isn't much of it in North America..T is really tiny in fact T track is used for Z narrow gauge.

Catt you have been blessed, but many of us have not been so fortunate.