Hopefully this hasn't been posted somewhere else. What is the best scale for modeling the C&O around the steam/diesel era? Which offers the best selection of locomotives, cars, scenery, etc... I would like to start working towards a model but am not sure which scale would be the best.
Depends on your space and what you are after. Obviously HO has loads of items. Much of the items that come from the COHS are in HO. O actually has many engines not readily available in other scales (not to mention being more correct compared to the prototype). If you want scenes depicting long coal drags then I recommend N. Unless you have a HUGE space, I think coal drags or even large freight trains look better in N. N does have a lot of C&O engines as well, but HO still has more. If you definitely want an Allegheny, then you might want to consider HO or O. N only has one Allegheny, which is brass. I have heard that run was less than 500 units, and when one DOES come up, it's usually $1200 plus. If you want a lot of laser cut C&O structures, HO again is probably going to be your best bet but you can get by in N. I model N. There are some good C&O ready to run steam and diesel locos. Plenty of coal cars. And, if you are into passenger service there are some lightweight cars that are pretty darn close. I have just been trying to get a heavyweight (probably FFV or Sportsman) together. There are "some" items out there, but almost all require some modeling initiative.
Thanks for the suggestions RCB. I was leaning toward HO for many of the reasons you confirmed. Seems to be a wide selection without the O-scale price tag. Is your N layout C&O based, I assume? Do you have pictures of it somewhere?
RCB hit all the right points. I am an N scale guy and there are plenty of diesels but only a few correct steamers. In plastic the Walthers 2-8-4 is correct for the ones that came from PM. Walthers also made an 0-8-0 switcher that was really good. Both out of production. The 2-8-4 pop up on ebay fairly regularly. Bachmann has three really good C&O steamers in N. The 4-8-2, 2-6-6-2 H4 and H5. Then you have to go to brass. There are four brass steamers. As mentioned the Allegheny, the 2-10-4 T1, the 2-8-4 Kanawha, a 2-6-6-2 mallet, and a 4-8-2 Mountain. All are hard to come by and expensive. But if you want a really long coal drag in steam the Bachmann 4-8-2 mountain is a real puller. Or a string of GP9s looks great for the 1950s era. I have a ton of GP7/9s in all sorts of C&O schemes. But for sheer availability and price..yup,HO. Here is my link to my C&O stuff. http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/1636 http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/1787
My layout isn't C&O based, but rather locations from in and around Indiana. B&O, Monon, PRR and Milwaukee were the roads that ran through here (B&O being the closest) though I do plan on using an iron bridge from outside Peru. It's just in it's infancy now, built for the many reorganizations I know I'll be having to do shortly. My initial layout is build around a 3x8, but with extentions in mind, including an 18"x4' coal operation and an 18"x4' yard. One structure I haven't figured out precisely where I want it, will be one of the art deco coal towers. Sadly I won't have the space I need for a while. I'll be adding a couple C&O structures to the club layout, but it's not that large either and still under construction (though further along than my home layout).
