What's your favorite scale?

jawatkins

Member
Those of us who model feel very passionate about the scale of model railroad that we choose to model. What made you choose the scale that you are in now? And if you could do it all over again, would you choose a different scale or stay with what you are in?
 

jon-monon

Active Member
Gee, were supposed to pick just one scale? :D :D :D

I primarely do HO/HOn30, although I've done a little N and O. I don't get to excited about the scale itself, to me it's just another size. It's like a telephoto lense and a wide angle; they both have their own advantages. HO is best for me for the size/detail tradeoffs. It's also the most popular/available. I think the most important is what you are most comfortable with and I'm most comfortable with HO right now. All the other scales are cool to me. Like to have a Z scale running around the brim of my cowboy hat and how can you not love a G scale switcher giving the cat a ride in the back yard? :D :D :D
 

Pete

Member
My favorite scale?? That would have to be 1:1 :D
I just model in HO due to space limitations:(
Pete
 
C

Catt

Primary scale is N,secondary scale is 0n30,and in third place is HO.I model in N scale becuse I can get more train in the space.I model 0n30 because I like the narrow gauge (gonna do some HOn30 pretty soon).
 

mhdishere

Member
For me it's HO, my fat fingers and eyes that've spent the last 20 or so years being hit by radiation from computer screens just aren't up to the demands of N. In addition I'm a dedicated steam nut, and until recently there just weren't many steam engines out there in N.

Someday I'd like to give On30 a try, but I want to get my HO layout built first. I've been collecting stuff for it for years!
 
i would have to say n scale i done ho and o also and with the space i have i wouldn't have a layout i have in n scale i could have done it in ho but that means digging out all of the ho stuff i have one colest in the house for just train stuff and i am getting it filled up with ho and g scale maybe next year i would start on a g scale layout and this fall start on a ho scale for my 10 year old son it is his frist
 

CSX6638

Member
I model N for the last few years, switched to N due to new house space limitations. Had HO and 0n30 layout for many years and I also had a G scale garden layout. I still have all my trains never sold one of them, all told about 150 or so locos and rolling stock not counting my N scale . I still set up some HO and G for the holiday season. If I had the space I would have a layout in each scale, I like them all.
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
I got into N scale the beginning of this year after trying out a few things in HO. I found I could get a lot more in a smaller space, moving the layout was a breeze (thanks to someone here, I think Charlie, I have casters on my layout) and I had no problems working with parts that small. I think N can provide sufficent detail, but not so much that it could drive one over the edge.:eek: :eek: :D :D

Don
 

MCL_RDG

Member
N

1:1
Because it's real. If only I could have a handheld throttle in my hand and controls while on the ground (or nearby rooftop) to observe (kinda would be fun to see the brakeman chase the train as I flippantly decided that I need to pull a car far removed from his assigned task).

N-Gauge
Because it allows me to operate a real/more railroading activity in a small space and the technology is bringing forth super options. I am with mhdishere though, I'm not sure- but I'll deal with it- that my huge hands and bad eyesight will allow me to do all I'd like to, it does help when being with the girlfriend though. Not to mention that my first set of trains was an Aurora B&O Postage Stamp passenger train set.

Sweet:)

Mark
 

jawatkins

Member
I guess to answer my own thread, I have worked primarily in N-scale, and that from a scenery standpoint. Although I will say that Glen taught me how to figure the radius and draw it on the first layout that we worked on together. Who knows, maybe someday I'll learn how to lay track and ballast it. As far as wiring goes, I'd prefer to leave that to the experts. My father was a journeyman electrician and my two older brothers are retired journeyman electricians, but for some reason, that gene by-passed me. (As did the Suzy Homemaker gene) I've done some Z-scale, but it is so small to deal with.

I would like to try HO, just because I think there are some great possibilities. However, if I had a yard big enough and an income to go with it, I would have a G scale in my yard. I love gardening and that would be a great way to incorporate both hobbies in one.

My start in this hobby was merely from a scenery standpoint, but have to admit that as I get more into it, I find myself fascinated more and more with the trains. Some day when things get a little more settled in my life, I would love to have an N-scale layout. I'm not sure whether I would actually model a specific railroad or area or whether I would free-lance and make up my own. But I know that either way, I'll have a great time doing it.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Down the road......
 

RailRon

Active Member
From N to H0n3...

Due to space limitations, I started out in N scale in 1970. The end product was my 'Trim Creek Southern RR'. (In between I also got my feet wet with a little bit of 0 gauge modeling. Remember Walther's passenger car kits, or Ambroid reefers?)

When I started scratchbuilding I soon found out, that there were lots of detailing parts in H0 scale, but almost none in N. At the same time I read the book 'Ride the Sandy River' - and promptly I was bitten by the narrow-gauge-bug. So I switched to H0n2-1/2 and Maine two footers (my 'Sandy River Northern RR'), using N loco mechanisms and car trucks for scratchbuilding. When I joined a model RR club specializing on American railroading I fell heavily for 3ft NG.

So the first H0n3 Trim Creek & Western RR was born, a mix of Colorado NG and EBT. However, all I built layoutwise was a small terminal. Then fate struck in the form of Personal Computers :eek:. In our school I advanced to THE Computer guru, introducing computer science to my fellow teachers as well as giving first classes to students. At home computer equipment swamped model railroads out of my room... :( :( :(

But luckily you can't suppress the RR bug! 25 years after dismantling my last RR I finally got the chance to rent a hobby room in the basement of our three-family house. Now my second Trim Creek & Western in H0/H0n3 is under construction (emphasis still on narrow gauge). Best thing is: I still have dozens of kits I bought 25 years ago - compare the prices of then and now!!! :D :D :D

Ron
 

jim currie

Active Member
after helping a old friend build three 1 1/2 scale engines it would be that if i had the room but in the real world ho has been my choice since 63 but i do like o scale have built several engines for friends and shamus work is pushing me in that direction.
 

shaygetz

Active Member
HO, quite simply the availability factor. I can buy quality equipment and parts in yard sale and flea market box lots for pennies on the dollar. I love to bash and N scale is not out there in the quantities to do the level of work I'm able to do in HO. There is, however enough N to keep my razor saw busy for my recent foray into HOn30. I love N scale. The level of detail that can be attained is nothing like it was when I modeled in it 20 years ago. Ultimately, my hobby is my wife and children, model trains is an interesting diversion.
 

Matthyro

Will always be re-membered
I have been an N scaler for many years. If I was doing it over, had the space and the money I would love to have an 0 scale layout.
 
"S"

I primarily model in S and O. I've been in O since 1970, and never really left. Dabbled in HO, but continued to model in O. 1984, S entered the picture with a Scale FP-7. With S having a good crop of Kato quality models, that is the scale I decided to build my first non module layout in.

Greg
 

shaygetz

Active Member
Originally posted by Matthyro
I have been an N scaler for many years. If I was doing it over, had the space and the money I would love to have an 0 scale layout.

Think of your projects in that scale...your power plant alone would run an easy 6-8 FEET:eek: long. Tell me when you do 'cuz I'm buying stock in Kellogg's the next day;)

I've done some pondering since my post. I would have to add that HO is a very comfortable size to work in for the level of detail I like. At a recent train show I attended, I realized that, while the level of detail on the newer N scale locos was superb, the overall idea in scenery was one of perception, details that weren't really there but the mind's eye placed there for the viewer. On the other hand, on the G scale display the level of detail was fantastic but, because of its size, it overwelmed the mind's eye and felt very toylike. Even if I had a choice and unlimited resources, my primary scale would be HO while still owning a loco or two in the other scales so that I'd have something to run when visiting other layouts.
 

Ralph

Remember...it's for fun!
I model in HO because it seems just the right size for me to work with and to create a fairly good sized layout. I admire N scale but, like mhdishere, have fat fingers. :) I also chose HO due to a very generous gift of boxes of equipment from an uncle who was getting out of the hobby. I wonder if several years from now I might switch to an O scale layout as eyesight dims and fingers appreciate even larger sized detail parts? I've never gotten into the "my scale is better than your scale" stuff.
Ralph
 

sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
I've been HO primarily since I first started, but have built in other scales for other models.
One of my favorite projects was the designing, and then building in 1/64 th scale, a 40' gaff headed cutter, as a plank on frame model.
The railroad modeling added HOn3, about 18 years ago, and within the last two years, I've added N, and On30.
The club I belong to, is HO, as is the modular group, and HO, 1:87.1 will probably remain the dominant modeling scale.
 

spitfire

Active Member
I'm like Ralph in that I don't get into the my scale is better stuff either. Heck I just love models, any kind of models - ships, military, you name it.

Since I'm easily as interested in scenery and stuctures as I am in running trains, I'm modelling in HO. I find it an almost ideal trade-off between detail and space requirements.

BUT, if I were more interested in running long trains, or accurately modelling yards, or passenger ops, I would go with N-scale. Also, I've always wanted to have a coffee table that contains an N-scale layout.

Another thing that appeals to me are the drop-dead gorgeous trolley models in O scale, so if I were ever to build a trolley layout, I would go with O.

cheers
Val
 

Roger Wellman

New Member
When I was young (too many years ago to mention!) there was an American Flyer under the Christmas tree ... and that was the first "bug". Years later, I saw some HO trains in a toy store, and felt that was my next step. Since that time, I have worked with just HO and find items available and the size is about right for my eyesight, and I really enjoy working with scenery. I often wonder ... if that toy store had "N" scale or "G" scale, would my layout would be smaller or larger today ... hmmm? I am glad I took the next step with HO and learned from books (and you folks) and am working on a large layout (will it ever be done??? probably not!).
 
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