Starting again...Long post

ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.


Scotty, I'm much more of structures and detail guy than an operations guy. I have the minimum amount of track to give the operations a little interest. I have one spur that does street running through downtown, another that serves a feed mill, one passing siding, and four track yard and a small engine house. That's it. A real operations guy would get bored with my layout in about 10 minutes. :) I've spent a lot of time on structures, streets, lighting, vehicles, and scenery. I enjoy my layout because I do what's fun for me. Therefore, my opinion is you're not weird at all. :)
 
UP2CSX said:
Scotty, I'm much more of structures and detail guy than an operations guy. I have the minimum amount of track to give the operations a little interest. I have one spur that does street running through downtown, another that serves a feed mill, one passing siding, and four track yard and a small engine house. That's it. A real operations guy would get bored with my layout in about 10 minutes. :) I've spent a lot of time on structures, streets, lighting, vehicles, and scenery. I enjoy my layout because I do what's fun for me. Therefore, my opinion is you're not weird at all. :)
Click to expand...

Whew, I'm glad I'm not alone then. So UP2CSX, what size and scale is your layout? Given my space limitations (10x6, long side against the wall) as well as my scenery and structure detail preferences, Should I maybe reconsider the scale I want to model? My eyes are ok , and my hands are ok but is it easier to detail scenery and structures in HO rather than N or does it not make much difference? I haven't really seen very many N scale layouts in person, but I would imagine that from a viewers perspective, most detail work in N would go unnoticed except for the very front of the layout?
 
My layout is a folded dogbone with a 4x4 section at each end and a 68" long by 29" wide section in the middle. That's a little over 13.5 feet long it only comes out 4' so it would fit in a 10x6 area with some modifications. This is an overall view when it was about 80% complete. As you can see, it's not a very big layout.

OverallViewMedium.jpg


It's HO for the same reasons you were thinking. Details are tiny but still viewable in HO. In N scale, the small details tend to fade into the background. I think structures, vehicles, and street life is a lot better seen in HO than N scale. If I wanted more operations, I would have gone with N scale since I can't have a lot on my layout without sacrificing the scenery.

Whatever you do, don't make the same mistake I did. I only have access to the layout on the front and one side. That makes the reach back into the other 4x4 section difficult at best and sometimes impossible without using a small step stool. Even then, I tend wreck some bit of scenery every time I need to make that long reach. Try to have access to three sides if it's against the wall and have a center section that's thin enough to easily reach across it. The normal reach for the average size man is about 33", which is why I kept my center section at 29".
 


Nice layout. *SIGH*...Now I need to really stand back and think about the pros and cons of both scales before moving forward. Thank you everyone for all of your great tips. I'm going to do everything in my power to make decisions that I will not regret down the road and this forum is certainly steering me in the right direction...
 
ScottyG said:
Nice layout. *SIGH*...Now I need to really stand back and think about the pros and cons of both scales before moving forward. Thank you everyone for all of your great tips. I'm going to do everything in my power to make decisions that I will not regret down the road and this forum is certainly steering me in the right direction...
Click to expand...

Another suggestion I would have to not make a boatload of mistakes is getting a subscription to Model Railroader. It's really useful, I don't think I've had a single issue yet without a useful article (or four or five as the case may be :P)
 
No matter how good the plan looks on paper - after you layout your track - you will remove it and change it. I learnt that no matter how good it looks on paper - once you actually operate the layout as designed, you will still want to change it.
 
I have not given up on the idea of N scale yet. I am starting to put together a pros and cons list between N and HO though. Here are my initial thoughts and hopefully others will add theirs..

HO Scale

Pros
Easier to detail and view detail
Looks more realistic (less toyish)
Better availability and selection
Better and truer sound from DCC trains
Easier on older eyes and hands

Cons
Cannot utilize as much track in the same amount of space
more limited track layout options may lead to boredom


For N scale, I suppose just the opposite of the above would be true. At this point I guess I am leaning toward HO. What pros and cons did I overlook?
 
Scotty, Looks more realistic (less toyish) is likely to rile up our N scale friends. :) Even 10 years ago, that statement would have been mostly true. Today, N scale engines, rolling stock, and structures rival any HO equivalent. Any larger scale is easier to see and detail so no arguement there. Selection in N scale is still less than HO but no much less and catching up fast. Older eyes and hands can be an issue for some poeple but magnifiers make it just as easy to work on N scale equipment. If you truly have hand problems, you should be probably leaning towards O scale since HO is still pretty small. The one point that rings true for HO scale pros is sound. This is simply a function of space and speaker size. However, new speaker technology is emerging that will allow a speaker the size of a dime to produce better sound than many of the larger speakers in use today, so that may become a non-ssue in the next five years.

On the con side, you missed a lot. An HO layout in the same space as a N scale layout is going to have curves that are about half the radius. This limits both the types of engines and the types of rolling stock you can run. A small HO scale switching layout may offer much more in the way of operations that a similarly sized N scale layout, which tend to turn into a lot more of roundy-roundy track, simply because you have the space. Cost is another con. Even in the same space, it will cost slightly less to build an N scale layout because the average cost of N scale engines and rolling stock is less than HO. The density of equipment that will fit on an N scale layout may negate the cost savings but that also gives you more variety of what you can run, another con for HO, which will will be limited to what's going to fit on the mainline and whatever you can pile up in boxes. It's a lot easier to make a staging yard in N scale simply because you have the space to put one in. A small HO layout will depend on all those things in boxes for staging.

I'd really say the pros for HO right now are sound and the concern that some people may not have the manual dexterity for N scale. The cons are really a much longer list and should be carefully considered for anyone starting out new in the hobby.
 
Hey Scotty,

As far as dealing with a reversing loop in DCC, I recommend tonystrains. They sell a reversing module for about $40 that takes care of the problem instantly. Also, they are very friendly and quick to answer your questions via email.
 


UP2CSx, Thanks for the additions to the list. I certainly hope I didn't offend any N scale modelers. Toyish was probably not the word I was striving for there...I think what I was really trying to convey is the difficulty and dexterity associated with fine detailing which may possibly be a concern not only for me but for people viewing my layout. My original post in this thread indicated that I wanted to embrace N scale, but after standing back and looking closer at what my priorites are, the scale seemed to maybe not be the ideal choice. I'm still on the fence at this point because both scales offer very strong pros. Since you might as well say that I'm a genuine noob, I would like to hear as many opinions as possible before I make any commitment. I think that your points regarding curve radius and staging yard possibilites are strong ones and the more of these types of points I can hear, the better equipped I will be at reaching a decision.. Thanks!!!
 
ScottyG,

Hey I just got back into the hobby after 20+ years out of it and I just finished 99% of the trackwork of my new layout. I too tossed around the idea of N, but ultimately decided to stick with HO bc I like the balance that it has of detail vs size when compared to N. That plus I was already familiar with it.

I built a 10.5 x 6 ft layout. I went with DC just bc DCC seems quite expensive to me and when I want sound Ill buy sound equipped DC locos such as Broadway Blueline or the new Athearn Genesis. There seems to be a trend towards that in the hobby and sound isnt that big of a priority to me. Ive instead decided to go with quality products in DC like Athearn genesis, kato, atlas, proto 2000, and BLI.

Here are a few things I learned:

1. Take your time...
I mean in the planning stages, benchwork, trackwork, and wiring. Its easy to get caught up in the desire to want to run trains and rush. Dont. Take your time, do it right the first time. Its a hobby and one your supposed to enjoy.

2. You cant have everything in a layout. In a spare bedroom like it sounds like your planning (this is where mine is too), it's doubtful youll be able to have a ton of switching operations and long mainline runs. I made a mental list of things that were must haves. For me, I like to run mainline trains so I added an outer loop of mainline track where I have a double cross over attaching it to the rest of the layout. So I would go thru and prioritize what you envision in your layout. Is it a large yard, interesting scenery or industries, a town, long mainlines, tunnels, bridges, etc?

3. Go with at least 22'' curves. Trust me itll make everything run better and look better too.

4. Learn how to solder. Its not hard and itll save you alot with terminal joiners or feeder wire. Also, flextrac is really nice once you get comfortable with it.

I did go with a 'canned' Atlas layout bc I really liked the trackplan, but I modified it heavily bit by adding wider curves and Ill be replacing about 7 of the switches with wider radii turnouts. If I knew what I knew now, I wouldve used it as a plan, and not bought it bc i ended up replacing alot of the stock pieces with wider turnouts and curves.

Not meaning to preach, but this is what Ive learned over the last few months. Hope it helps!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.




Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top