Actually I think N Scale choose me.After getting a Atlas train set in 1968 I was hooked but,it wouldn't be till '78 with the Clinchfield project layout I returned to N Scale..Went back into HO in '88 and still dabbled in N Scale.I came full circle after joining a N Scale club as a N Scale dabbler and then realized that I am a N Scaler at heart-why else would I never actually leave N Scale??? I since sold off 66% of my HO.
Well in 92' I went to N Scale to have something to do while my then pregnant Wife was on bed rest, and all I had for whatever hobby was a spare bedroom. I purchased enough track to make an oval and never looked back. From there I modeled the Tucson Yard and I've been hooked ever since. I served overseas for a spell and left my trains in the states but when I got back I was amazed at the advancements that N Scale had made in a short time. In recent years our scale has gone from the Red headed stepchild to almost a industry leader. The realism and amount that you can model in suc a small space; is there any other scales??? LOL sure is but I'm staying where I'm at. Just to prove I'm not as biased as I may have appeared I do have a nice Subway/Amtrak HO collection.:tb-wink:
I chose it because $50 for a Model Power Mikado or, in my case, $50 for a Kato Mikado is a lot better than $400 for a G scale one... I still have the G, but I'm keeping my G scale collection to narrow gauge and N for standard.
Actually, it was chosen for me. I had sold my HO collection of some 30 years, and after 5 years of bemoaning that knee-jerk event (emphasis on 'jerk'!), my wife bought a Rock Island 40' N-Scale box car, because it was "so cute". Now, 25 years, 3 houses, and 4 layouts later...I think I'm hooked, :tb-wacky:
Wow, this is an old thread that's been dug up and revived! I went into N scale for the size factor. I had HO when I was young, but I never had room for any sort of permanent layout. Always having to get out a sheet of wood and set it all up in the living room was a pain. So I went to N scale about 18 years ago and it's size let me have a permanent loop to run stuff on. I also really like long trains, and 8-12 cars in HO just didn't cut it. Since then, the amount of space available for a layout has grown, and so has my N scale roster. I don't know, if I had enough space for long trains in HO, then I'd probably switch back, mainly due to there being more available for my modeling time frame. -Mike
I went N scale because I had had some HO stuff way in the past (cheap Tyco stuff) that no longer worked, and wanted to improve on that quality (therefore buying new locos, rolling stock, etc.) and get more "room" for scenery. Also, I found a nice club here in town.
I'm not sure why I went into N scale about 1972, I can't remember why I did things last week.:tb-confused: I do remember though, liking the looks of some Kato Japanese steamers at the LHS, one thing that, like a certain otherwise cutting edge manufacturers coupler and flange size, hasn't changed in 30+ years.
In sales they say: "If you don't ask the answer is 'no'" Interesting considering the original poster's first comments about detail issues. While I personally don't give a flying fig about details I have always believed it is necessary for - any - group to have a vocal cadre pushing the outside edge of the envelope. Without these dedicated people the subject would stagnate and implode upon itself. The ongoing debate over everything from rivets to rail is one of the most important aspects of the hobby that will help to insure it's growth. What would the various producers of details have done, (Craig Martyn comes to mind), if the discussion did not exist? A friend once commented that I would be happy with the detail associated with "Brio" trains. They are right. That said I always admire the work I see done in N Scale. The quality the manufacturers produce today certainly must be in part in response to the vocal people. Why did I get started? It is more appropriate why did I return when I picked up the hobby again and for the most part it is similar to everyone else s. I like all of the relative perspectives due to the smaller scale. That is "longer" trains, "broader" curves ... What I mean is 12" in HO is still 12" in N. It just - looks - different. Ya, so, yes, I like running longer trains past taller mountains.
Nice work Hytec. I like your bench work. I'm going to use similar bench work for my new around the room layout when I move to Texas at the end of January.
SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE And I like the dog gone little rascals and I'm :tb-wacky: over them. See ya Ron
When I decided to take up this hobby I always thought that HO was the way to go about it. Like Ron, SPACE decided for me. Properties are very expensive here and most of us like in apartments so N works well for me. Cheers,
Why I chose N scale is very different from the reasons I've read so far in this thread. I model the Japanese RR and almost everything is in N scale. Because of the size of their population compared to that amount of land they have, space is a huge factor in most anything the Japanese design. Therefore N scale in Japan is the most common modeling size. As a matter of fact very few Japanese can have permanent layouts that is why Tomix fast track & Kato Unitrack are used, easy to set up and easy to take down. Some hobby shops in Japan have permanent layouts where modelers can buy time on the layout to run their trains. So I chose N scale not because of space, but what I was interested in modeling.
In terms of the space advantage you get with N Scale I don't think its just about the length of run. I think the amount of foreground and or background available really adds to the model by allowing a vista to be created with a train in a setting (be it a yard or mountains). HO scale would need benchwork around 4 feet wide to get the same effect.
Hmm... interesting. Im torn between N and HO and this thread does nothing to help. LOL. There are advantages to both and disadvantages as well. The reason I would go to N-scale would be so the train - scenery ratio... as well as being able to run longer trains.
Paul, Nice job! I do have a couple questions though. 1.) What is your height differential between the two turns on the corner and the track the intermodal is moving on? 2.) How do you access the trains in the tunnels / clean the tracks or do track work if you need to? I have a nice little area to do an N empire in, and have operations and roundy-rounds as well. I am realizing the benefit of the folded dogbone layout and bridges now after seeing some spectacular photos. With a 5' x 7' dedicated area (I can go longer onthe 7' if need be), I am thinking 15" radius on a shelf layout. I think this will allow some height and some fun operations nicely. Thanks, 'Nut
What got me into N-Scale? I was out drinking with some friends one night. . . But seriously folks, mostly the answer was N-Trak. I wanted to operate and participate with the local N-Trak club and I saw no reason for my home layout to be some other scale.
No one has mentioned friends? I was a space starved HOer and met several guys who had an N scale club (N trak) and home layouts. They were enthusiastic N scalers and I joined them. Still doing N, even though the space issue has eased a little. The only problem I have with N is the scarcity of steam era equipment. (A 10 wheeler, please ) Ernie C
I began in N-scale and model railroading in 1973. The only hobby shop in Champaign, IL carried only n-scale. His belief was in order to do something right you had to focus, so his only train focus was N. I was looking for a diversion from studying and started a small layout. Bought one of the first MRC 2-8-8-2's with smoke. It still runs, but no longer smokes. Spent $40 for it and thought I had gone over the top. One thing that has re-inforced my modeling and being in N-scale has been clubs. I have been active in n-scale clubs since I got started. Dave G Cache Valley & Northern RR
I sort of didnt' choose N, it chose me, pure kidnapping and capture. I was a long time Lionel fan in the fifties, an HO guy in the sixties and seventies, and a tennis injury put me back in the home and I resurrected my HO, the old stuff from when I was a kid. I built a 4x8 layout which was basically a loop, and my new brothers in law in Chattanooga tried to convince me to build a larger platform. Then when I displayed some of my newly built models at work on my display shelf, I realized that the City Govt I worked in had a scad of model railroaders. One guy, who is probably one of the better model railroaders of all time, was into N and showed me his 5x9 pike, and I was signed sealed and delivered. I still have my HO trains and structures and pull out my Kato Unitrak as I still like HO, but my home layout and passion is always and will be always N. In my doublewide where I live alone now, I have my main N, a table top 2x4N in the closet, 2 Z Scale layouts and a point to point 1x10 portable HO layout. Needless to say, I have learned the art of disguise as my workshop/spare bedroom is quite intense and the only layout outside that room in my living room N scale main pike. I run trains many times everyday. When I resumed my train hobby in the early eighties, I would have never dreamed I still have the same level of enthusiasm as I do right now. N does that to you. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
Hi! I slowly find myself drifting away from N scale trains. Sure, I still like them and all, but I've fallen in love with live steam. There just isn't anything that compares to having coal smoke in your lungs. I even sent for 10 bags of good old Pocahontas coal just in case I can't get it any more. I suppose N Scale is solidly in the future, but for now at least I don't have to worry if I can get a good sounding DCC speaker in my steamer! It's amazing how much brass there is to polish on a steam engine!
