Hi everyone, I am contemplating different options for a new home layout I hope to build next year. I am looking at alternatives to HO, which scale I have modeled in previously. A friend suggested I consider S Scale, so I am starting to research what is available. Can anyone point me to good places to get information on what sort of locomotives, rolling stock, track, buildings, vehicles, figures, and other scenic materials are available in S Scale? I could also use some general guidelines on layout planning such as minimum radius, etc. Thanks
Don- You are not alone. Am glad to see another person essentially at the same stage. I'm here doing as you are now. Researching. Trying to learn for a possible switch due to health concerns. There is some excellent info in previous posts, that has been supplied by Greg Elems. Boxcab E50
Don, What are your interests and what would you like to do? Will it be Scale or tinplate, like American Flyer? If you like transition era models, S is very well set. There are some steam engines, and few kits. Diesels are well represented, especially EMD then Alco. For ready to roll equipment, there are two companies that have excellent cars to choose from. For a minimum radius, 27” is comparable to HO 18”. The larger the better. Track is available in two types, scale and tinplate. Sectional and flex. One has a road bed on it like Bachmann EZ track and the other similar to Atlas flex track with larger rail to be compatible with AF equipment. Also, K-Line has reproduction AF sectional track and switches. Then there are two brands of scale flex track. Shinohara and Tomalco, with code 100 rail. Shinohara has two ready to use switches, #6 and #8. There are a couple of switch kit manufactures out there. I’ve never tried either on, but have heard good reviews about them. For building kits, there are a few companies put out S scale kits. The selection is getting better all the time. Many items from other scales are quiet usable in S. Scenery items from O and HO can be used with excellent results. S scale takes up about 15% more room than HO, for a comparable layout. It has more to offer in some areas than O but not near as much as HO. Here are some web pages to study. http://www.americanmodels.com/ http://www.showcaseline.com/ http://www.trainweb.org/crocon/sscale.html http://www.trainweb.org/mhrr/ho-s-o/mhrr-pacrail.htm I hope this helps answer some questions. On a personal level, I like S. It is a good size IMHO for an operation based layout. I am in the planning stages of an S scale layout. I hope to have 40” radius curves and a hidden staging yard. Right now, it looks like a folded dog bone in a U shape is doable with the operation I hope to achieve. I model the 70’s basically and can use most equipment offered. I do lean towards some late 80’s equipment, since I work for the railroad too. For example, I qualified on an SD60, when I became an engineer, so I have a couple of those. We used rebuilt GP35’s as switchers in the yard and so I have a couple of those. I mainly model WP, but UP merged the WP into the fold in 1983 so I have a couple of engines in UP livery. Cheers, Greg Elems
Greg and Boxcab, I appreciate your help with this. I have recently been transferred from Philadelphia to Houston. Although I have had to give up a basement, my very understanding wife has tried to mitigate the shock by granting me rights to a spare bedroom. I should have a space something like 10'x12-15' for me to build a layout. I have been modeling in HO for the last decade or so. I had a small home layout in Philadelphia and belonged to a HO club as well (I do plan to find a club here in Texas). One of the club members actually had an S scale home layout and has convinced me to at least consider S scale as an alternative to HO or N. I am interested in the larger scale because I am getting older (45) and because I like the potential for greated detailing and realism in individual scenes. I obviously don't have a lot of room. I don't see that as a major drawback as I don't have huge amounts of time as well. My goal is to build a layout I can actually finish in a couple of years which looks good and has sufficient operating potential to keep me interested. I will go with DCC of some sort. I have considered narrow gauge (Sn3 and On30), as they have some potential in this space. HO is also still on the table for consideration. If I model in S standard gauge, I will probably opt for an industrial switching layout featuring a chemical plant complex (I am a chemical engineer). The transition era is fine with me. I will probably use diesel switch locomotives, like the nice ones I notice S Helper Service has. My main concern is being able to find a sufficient variety of rolling stock suitable to the industries I might model (such as tank cars). I also want to be able to find enough vehicles and figures of the appropriate era to make the scenes look real and nice. I do appreciate the links as well as the opportunity to discuss this with some other folks. Any other ideas and suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Lets keep the discussion going.
Greg, I was re-reading your reply and a couple of more questions came to mind. First, you mentioned modeling the 70's and 80's, which is an era I would like to model. Obviously you have been able to find suitable equipment. Can you comment more on that? Second, regarding scale versus hi rail track, can you explain in a nutshell what the practical difference would be. As an old HO'er, I have usually used flex track and purchased turnouts, and I would prefer to do the same in S Scale (versus build turnouts). I usually use Atlas code 100 in HO...I know it is not as good a scale appearance as code 87, but it is nearly bullet proof. Apply a little weathering and some ballast, and it looks fine to me. Would hi rail be the same concept in S Scale. Will the trains on the links work on both or do they have large flanges requiring the higher rails? If I build with 36" minimum radii, will that be reasonable in terms of operations and appearance? What about if I do decide to use passenger trains? By the way, the links you provide were great and have been added to my favorites list.
Hi Don, Well, let’s see here. For me, I’m trying to recreate the Western Pacific. WP never had 6 axle diesels. The diesels they had from EMD lasted right up to the UP take over. That leaves me with SHS SW-1’s, SW-9’s, F-3’s and F-7’s. AM’s GP9’s, GP35’s and FP-7 fit well too. These were all models WP owned. WP ran some tight curves in the Feather River Canyon and the Northern California Extension. Those should fit the 36” radius with out much problem. As for freight cars, the ones available from SHS and AM should do well also. Pacific Rail Shops has a small selection of cars that fit in well with the early time frame of modeling. The box cars can be built with or without roof walks. The center flow hoppers can be used on a layout of contemporary time frame. Really, the only cars that wouldn’t fit the 80’s and beyond would be the 40’ box cars and two bay open hoppers. Some of the tank cars might be borderline, especially with the walk ways around the tank at bolster level. For me, I’m into lumber and grain loads on a branch line setting. If you were to try to replicate the piggy back trains and auto racks, that would entail a lot of scratch building. As for track, I’m like you. Code 100 in HO could look fine with some weathering and was idiot proof. They didn’t call me hammer hands for nothing. <VBG> I like the S scale code 100 flex track. In S, it looks good and is equally bullet proof. For the tinplate side of things, the flanges are bigger and the rail taller. Some people use the bigger flanged wheels and Kadee couplers, while others use the American Flyer coupler and wheel sets, which are even bigger. Personally, I think the scale wheels and code 100 rail is more than reliable enough. Not any different than HO really. The tin plate operators can run tighter radius curves though. For the price, SHS and AM sell both types for the same price, unlike O which usually has a price difference. SHS diesels do come with DCC ready when you by the DC unit. Or you can buy them DCC with sound. I don’t know what it will take to convert my AM geeps to DCC, since I’ve had them over 5 years. The SD60’s maybe DCC ready, but I’m not sure about that. For passenger trains, AM offers heavy weight cars that scale out to 72’ and Budd cars of 75’, IIRC. They are made for tin plate operators but can be purchased with scale wheels. AM did offer scale smooth side modern passenger cars and early on scale heavy weight cars. They are no longer offered, since most of the cars sold were to tin platers and the shorter versions. They will allow operation on the 36” radius as I understand it. They do look good, better than anything AF offered or currently offered from Lionel. Yes, I said Lionel. Lionel has the ownership of the AF line and sells old AF cars with new numbers and paint schemes at Lionel prices. Lionel is to offer a 2-8-2 that looks to be scale, but AC motor and tin plate flanges. Jury still out on that one. Anymore questions, ask away. Cheers, Greg Elems
Greg, I really appreciate your help with this. It sounds like S scale really will be a viable option for what I want to model. I have a quick question this morning based on your last response. Does someone make code 100 flextrack and turnouts in S scale? I am a little too time constrained and lazy to handlay track. It sounds like I can get the locomotives and rolling stock with appropriate wheels to work on code 100. I agree that the more to scale track is better looking. If I build another HO layout, I will use code 87.
There are two brands of code 100 flex track out. Shinohara and Tomalco. The Tomalco maybe unavailable for a while, as I understand the new owner is very sick and not able to do much. Shinohara did have two switches to go with their track, #6 and #8. Currently, I don’t know if they are available. I haven’t heard that they are discontinued either. Scenery Unlimited sold them for a while. My link to them now has a 404 message, so time for more research. Bills Train Shop in Florida used to sell the Old Pullman kits, but currently I’m not sure if they are available either. BTS has a web page. http://www.btsrr.com/ He also has a lot of building kits that maybe of interest to you also. This link should answer a lot of your questions too. http://www.trainweb.org/crocon/strack.html And of course the home page. http://www.trainweb.org/crocon/sscale.html Greg Elems
