Hi. I`m not new to modeling and am keen on making a scale model railway . I would like to hear from members as to which railroad model scale they would recommend before I start. I have the idea of a small English village siding with a mainline running through and perhaps a brewery and stone works / quarry to provide an excuse for shunting. Obviously bigger scale = more realism = greater expense = more room required, nevertheless your words of wisdom around this theme will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Welcome at TrainBaord, Lperfectday! For me, H0 and now H0n3 is the perfect scale. You will find arguments also for N, Z, O, I, II and the bigger ones. I've just seen an article about a 1:22 (scale II) layout in a room! Perfect. I've seen modules in all those scales. It depends what you want. Big scenery, slowly switching, details, prototype feeling, ... Wolfgang
It depends on what you want. For me it's N scale for my home layout. HO for the club layout. That is until we get a N scale layout up and running.
Well if you have the room then HO scale will provide nice detail easy scale to handle & see, and vast array of item both scenery and equipment to choose from. I happen to have both N Scale Hollow core door layout in my bedroom & soon to come an HO shelf layout in my Den. Apartment living with space constraints N Scale was better more action in a small space.
We have a lot of N-scalers here, I used to be one of them. However, I really do think HO offers the best bang for the buck as far as tradeoffs go. Let me explain what I mean. It's small enough that you can get something enjoyable in to a spare room or basement. It may not be modern double track with 10,000ft trains, but you can accomplish alot. Yet it is also big enough that you can fit sound and lights in the engines easily. You can superdetail quite easily. Scenery is big enough to show unique details and is reasonably easy to work with. And of course the selection of models and kits available is currently unmatched. Which is not to discount N-scale, but again, for the layout you've suggested, I think HO might be the best fit.
I also believe that HO might be the best for what you want in the space you have. HO is large enough to handle, detail, paint, decal, add electronics, etc. while remaining small enough to fit in most average-sized spaces available to average modelers. Availability is also a big plus. I model in HO scale primarily because of the above reasons, and aging eyes. Thirty years ago I could spot a flea on the back of an ant, but now... lol... Of course, the best is always 1:1 scale...
N scale. I used to be an HO-er back in the day.. If you have around a 10x10 room.. You can fit an empire with N scale.. Rather than a decent layout with HO.. Plus N scale is normally a little cheaper now a days.
twelve inch to the foot is a good scale 12:1 i like n scale myself but go with what ever you feel the most comfortable with
I'm in HO, but there are advantages to each scale. This month's issue of Model Railroader magazine features a beautiful O-scale trolley layout. The interior (and exterior) details of the buildings are simply incredible. If that is what you are looking for, then O might be for you. You owe it to yourself to check out sound locomotives before you commit to a scale. At this point in time, sound in HO locomotives is becoming very common, and most manufacturers are putting sound in their new releases, some exclusively. You may choose not to go with the expense, or with what some modelers see as a distraction. I personally like sound engines, but it's a very personal decision. It is one that should be part of your scale choice, though, because sound is just starting to move into N-scale, and the small engines make it very hard to put in speakers that are worthy of the effort. The size of your room will be a factor, of course. But, also consider the type of layout you are looking to build. For a continuous-running layout, it doesn't take too many cars before an HO-scale train seems to be chasing its tail on a small loop, while N-scale might feel more at home. On the other hand, if you're building a switching layout, then the size of HO gives the trains more "presence" and enhances the experience of running it.
It depends a lot on what your focus it to be. If you want to make a vast landscape that has a train running through it, but your space is, say, a 10x10 room, you may want to consider TT scale (1:450). If you have this same 10x10 room and you want to build lots of scenery and industries and have some nice, broad curves, try N scale (1:160) or Z scale (1:220). N scale has a lot more RTR stuff, but some of it is junk. I am in N scale and a bit biased toward the scale, and I know that. In Z scale, there isn't much available, but pretty much everything that is is excellent, and we have here on TrainBoard a top-notch group of Z-scale modelers. I am never disappointed when I take a walk on the Z side and go through topics over there to see what they are doing. HO scale is a good scale for superdetailing locomotives. Things like decoder and sound installations are much easier than in N or Z. There are probably more items available in HO than any other scale. S scale is a little bigger, and some like it because it offers more detailing opportunities than HO but isn't such a space hog as O. O scale is a really good scale if you want to get into even more detail on your rolling stock and trains, but it's harder to get a layout with wide enough curves to "look right" in a 10-by-10 foot room. Gauge 1 comes in many scales depending on your flavor. I have seen all of these scales in action with the possible exception of S, and I can say that a good modeler can have a lot of fun in any of them. It gets down to what you want. For example, if you tell me now that you want to have your layout outdoors in the garden and power your trains with on-board batteries I'd tell you to strongly consider any of the scale making up Gauge 1 (covered in the G forum here).
My family is friends with the Heimburgers, publishers of the S Gaugian Railroad and model train books from Heimburger House Publishing So, I've had a bit more S exposure than average. It didn't hurt that my first train was my mom's old American Flyer (3 rail Lionel is for losers ). I like the scale, especially I think for steam, but the list of products is of course much shorter.
Welcome aboard! You mention a British village scene, so my guess is that you're going for UK outline stock, which is OO (1/76) not HO (1/87) and N is 1/148 not 1/160. In OO, you have Hornby and Bachmann (you'll find a lot of folk on this forum can't abide Bach . . . for a variety of reasons, but they're talking 87 or 160 . . .) In N you're talking about Farish, which is part of Bach . . ., and Dapol. I've read some nasty things about Dapol's pulling power. All my locos are Farish, and mostly from before they sold out to Bachmann. Peco make a large range of wagons (freight cars in US terms) and one locomotive. For track, there's Peco in OO or N, there's Hornby in OO and there's Kato - a Japanese line - in N. My setup is about 12ft long by 4ft wide, N 148 and it uses Kato track. Couplings is something of an issue and others on here may well comment on what is best or worst in whatever scale you decide to use: regardless of which way you go, happy modelling! Regards, Pete Davies
for comparison.. HO scale - athearn complete with DCC/sound http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATHG68620 N scale - Kato N-Scale EMD SD70ACe : Precision Railroad Models adding a sound decoder will run you 60-90 a piece for N scale. ------ So you can spend around 289 suggested retail on that HO scale ACe.. or around 200 or likely probably less on a N scale ACe.. with installing Decoder on your own. ------- Obviously the HO scale has some better detailing.. and probably more sound capabilities.. I guess from my point of view.. I'm not gonna plunk down around an extra hundred or more for a similar engine.. Hence why Im out of HO scale.. ------- I hope the OP enjoys his choice.. No matter what model railroading is fun!
The HO v. N cost thing really comes out in the wash on so many things. Yes, you'll save money on one but you'll spend more in another case.
At least from what Ive experienced.. Engines, and cars on a basic listing.. N scale is cheaper.. If only slightly in most cases. Track.. Is a wash.. Unless you use Unitrack which is more. Buildings.. Is generally a wash. ----- From what the OP posted.. It sounds like he would do a switching layout.. From the sound of that.. HO may be the way to go.. Since you aren't modeling an entire "railfanning layout".
But that's a Genesis, the Creme' de la Creme' of Athearn's line. The non-DCC, non-Sound version is $189.00 and again, that's the premium line. Athearn's normal DC products run ~$110 For instance the RTR SD40-2 is MSRP $110 (for existing Roadnames). Kato's N SD40-2 appears to List at $100. A $10 difference isn't really anything to talk about. Especially when talking about list price. I'd argue that the quality of the Genesis isn't even available in N. At least as far as detail goes.
These came in while I was typing, Yes, I agree. 15 years ago when I was in N, this wasn't the case, N was by far more expensive. By far. Because there was no Blue Box. I'd say the costs are around the same for both scales, though I think there are products that are way more expensive in HO that N simply doesn't have yet. That may very well change.
For example, Kato's GS-4 is a very good puller, looks great, yadda yadda, and it lists about $198 which means that getting it for somewhere in the neighborhood of $160 is not out of the question. MTH makes a really nice 4449 in HO that is, if I remember correctly, in the neighborhood of $450, but one has to remember that it has sound, lighting effects, really nice detailing, and it change the baby and take the garbage out. It's just a more refined model in pretty much every way. Until recently, HO had the Athearn Blue Box kits which meant someone could build up a reasonable line of decent locomotives fairly inexpensively. Those kits have gone away now. I think of N and HO as being about the same in terms of expense. HO clearly has the edge in product availability. N scale has the edge in terms of space.
Now obviously most.. if all of us don't pay full price for these.. I just used those as examples.. From what Ive seen in general sale pricing there can be a 10-100+ range in HO-N prices in engines. Depending on what type of engine youre looking for.. So for me.. Im out of HO.. The prices I can get at my LHS's and my online shopping makes it harder for me to stay in the hobby with HO.. That's just me though.
