If you like N scale, this is the place to be. If you like HO there are other boards with more HO activity. There is something to be learned from modellers of any scale, but yes,Trainboard is a veritable den of N scale inequity.
I started in HO Scale with a Tyco trainset (The Royal Blue) and as others have stated...the quality was poo poo. But that did not deter me as I progressed allot in the hobby and expanded that layout ten fold. I was active in HO for about 11 years and then the hobby fizzled out as my high school years ate away my interest and time for such things. Post Marine Corps, I was getting interested in the hobby again and was fiddling around with my aging HO scale stuff. I then discovered the new quality level of N scale. I was given an N-scale train set from bachmann and tinkered heavily with it. In 1998 I made the decision to get back into the hobby and I chose N scale because the quality was great (Kato) and one could put so much more railroading into a given area. Truth be told, if a had a huge pole barn at the time, I would have stayed HO scale as that is where my comfort level was. As many know on this forum, my N scale empire plan of 1999-2000 never became a reality and I am still working out the issues today for the layout. I will build a layout in N-scale some day . There are some things I still prefer about HO Scale (details are easier to place and see), more availabilty of products. Locos have more bells and whistles (no pun intended) and are easier to install. But I enjoy N scale very much and like the idea of big yards and heavy traffic and long trains. Unless I win the lottery, I will never have a building large enough to achieve the "DREAM" in HO. And now that my comfor level is settling in on N scale (geting used to the smallness of everything) I think I would stick with N-scale even if I did win the lottery Now I just have to make myself content to build a stater layout in N scale and reserve the montster layout for a future date
My Dad was in HO when I was growing up (I have Model Railroader magazines going back to before I was born), and I was in HO for many years before I went off to college and out on my own, but... I was intrigued by the early N-scale stuff from Lone Star and others back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and finally made the plunge into N exclusively by 1980. I remember the old guys at my LHS, back about 30 years ago) saying N would never amount to anything, but I alsoremember my Dad saying that the even older guys used to tell him the same thing about HO back in the 1940s... N is more challenging than the larger scales in many ways (less selection, for example), but that is also what makes it more satisfying, doesn't it? I used to read and post on the N scale forum at atlassrr.com, but haven't been there for a while. I'm not sure why...
Coming from New England (NH) and coming from an English family, I choose N because it was all that would fit in our small house.I'm sure Allen can attest to our making due with space! My dad tried shoe horning a 16x4 HO layout in my room by making two 3x4 tables conected together by a 10 foot x18 inch straight. After a few years of having little room in my room for other things, it went out the door. The little N scale layout I had in NH was only 2x4 and had the same amount of track and running as a similar 4x8 HO layout. Once I moved to the prarie, I found I could easily run small trains of 4 units with 72 cars on N-Trak. Mopac3092 and I once combined our efforts and made a true frieght train with almost all of our Micro Trains rolling stock and eight Kato SD40-2's. I don't remember how big it was but it sure got noticed!
I used to post long pontifications on this subject. The fact is, I'm not sure. There are probably a few factors. The first is that the emergence of N Scale coincided with the emergence of a computer savvy generation. The second is that N Scalers are probably younger than HO Scalers. I consider myself an "Oldster" in N Scale, since I'm 58 and started in N Scale in 1972. I'd probably still be a youngster in HO. The third, and I think the most important, is that N Scalers formed a community on the Internet. I don't know how many people it takes to form a community. I'd hazard a guess that it takes 30 people. Once those 30 people are in place, the community blossoms. I really believe that the N scale community blossomed once this critical mass of 30 people got together and started to make things happen. They started to discuss things far beyond the ken of any single manufacturer. They started to prod; they complainedl; and they kept topics alive and in the forefront of the scale. I've looked at this from a lot of angles--it's the committed member of a community--whether the minumum of about 30 or the entire membership of 10,000 (or whatever)--that makes all of this worthwhile.
"N" scalers I think the reason N scale had to be the way to go for a lot of us is simply mass vs. available space. any fisherman can scrape funds for bait so scraping a few extra bucks for an indoor hobby that keeps the Mrs. in the loop if she so desires is a easy score. i've noticed a certain female full of smiles after running an engine i'd just gotten in the mail. made it a little easier to hang out with my buddy and not be afraid of the "what are you two up to?" and may have involved some artistic talent into the next layout so N scale gets us a little better accepted ie. not as big not as loud and were we can be found easily. Hey hun look at this cute little engine i paid way to much for seems to be easier than "dig this fat crawler im puttin on my hook." heh kinda makes me think for a minute,,we have more in my buddies basement than we have in his boat! and she's still a little bitter about the boat..:tb-tongue:
I think its important to mention that there are differences between the scales as to buying trends. N scale modelers seem to buy much more motive power than the ho counterparts/and run them in multiples more often than HO modelers. train lengths vary also, longer being in N than HO. I too agree that N might have a bigger market share than the manufacturers believe. I believe the manufacturers (some) are somewhat skittish about N as far as production difficulties, (smaller is harder to make, costs more) R
Including Women in Your Hobby I always include my serious female relationships in my trains. I usually start with giving them a series of paint schemes and locomotive types and solicit repsonces. Which do you like more? Once they home in on something then I make a point to include it. Usually it is brighter colors and maybe "cute little steam". I'll also do up graphics and include thier names on the sides of a passenger car such as: "Laura Lines Express". I might name an industry, mountian, or other feature after them. Inclusion is a wonderful thing. With any luck pictures of my lastest flame working on the layut will be posted here in a couple of weeks. N Scale Portion of the Market Percieved or Real The percieved does not matter. What is important is the actual dollar volume of purchases. I don't have any actual insider information but as long as HO out sells N you can be sure that there will be more available. Length of Trains - Percieved vs Actual (nit picking) "Longer trains" in N Scale does not mean physcially longer. it - usually - means more cars in the consist.
You are wise beyond your years Obi-Wan !! 'T.H.E Wife' visits THE layout often. She runs trains...she does make 'some decisions' (as far as I am willing to allow). :tb-wink: I actually LIKE her being involved...hmmmmm. As far as HO vs N...I started back into trains a few short years ago. The improvements and availiabilty of N scale 'stuff' has increased at an alarming rate in that short period of time. Alarming in the sense that if manufactures truely base their products on if..." HO out sells N you can be sure that there will be more available."....we N Scalers are in for some dang good times !!! N is growing...we are a force to be reckoned with !!!....yessssssssss ! Longer trains = more cars...yes. More cars in the same space as the old HO...Yessssss!! Aint "N" grand? !! :tb-cool: .
Just getting into N and love it I have dabbled with HO and N scale for several years but my main interest was Lionel 3 rail. However, the interest in O has been wanning in recent years and just recently I made the decision to sell of the O three rail trains and what little HO I had and have been buying N scale at a rapid clip. I enjoy reading the post here on the forum and even noticed another three rail poster on here. Must support the fact that the older we get the smarter we get. I don't intend to get into DCC but was wondering what power pack would be best for lashups of three or four diesels, a Kato or MRC. If MRC, which one is best suited. Thanks John:tb-biggrin:
"Must support the fact that the older we get the smarter we get." Now if I can convince my wife & kids of that..................
Must say that for an 8-year old thread (which I just found out about today), it's still very valid. I've been an HO scaler from1980 (I was just 9 years old then) to 2006. Something was always tugging at me to look at the smaller trains, but something else would turn me off, namely the price and the toy-like quality (back then). Nowadays, HO and N are pretty much the same pricewise and advancements in design and manufacturing (i.e. CAD, laser-cutting, smaller electronic compnents) have made N scale more appealing. Code 55, which (correct me if I'm wrong) was only introduced into the mass model railroad market in the 1990s changed the game forever. The fact that there are new companies that either do N exclusively or are N-centric (i.e. BLMA, DeLuxe, Intermountain/Red Caboose, Exactrail) is extremely encouraging.
Wow, this thread originated before even I got here! Over time, I believe most of the premises about N scale being a larger Internet phenomenon have proven true. N scale grew up just as the Internet was starting. N scalers thus had an Internet alternative to the local railroad club, which was usually HO. I thought about joining an HO club in the late 1970s, until I realized there were some serious time and money commitments. Paying off the clubhouse in the Boston area required serious monthly dues. The Internet clubhouse is a different beast entirely.
I'm young and let me tell you, dropping $100 on an engine is a big deal for me. I have to budget for my expenses. Prices are high for everything. Unless you want to go into debt, you budget what you spend and what you get. I tend to buy online when I can because the prices are lower. I realize I'm taking a sale away from a local hobby store but if I can save $30 online then I'll do it. For me every dollar counts. Why spend $110 on a N scale loco at a hobby store when I can get it for $75 online, $82 with shipping? By getting it at a LHS I get it right away but I can wait a few days if it means I can save $30.
I like N Scale for the simple reason that it takes up so much less space, and what all you can fit into that space. Years ago (92)when I first got into N Scale the offerings weren't up to HO, and the detail left much to be desired. But such an evolution has taken place where that is no longer the case. N Scale has just as much to offer as HO or just about, and the details ae quite equal. However I do notice that in growing older my eyesight and hand coordination isn't what it once was, So I'm leaning more toward HO here in the near future. But with that said I will always have a N Scale layout to play with in my Den. And I do involve my lady in my hobbies, and i participate in hers. Play together; stay together.:tb-wink:
