Hey all,
Ive seen that there are some "why did you choose N" threads on here,
Personally i chose N only because of space,
My question is for those who chose it for the same reason, Would you go to a larger scale if you had the space or are you firmly grounded in N?
Interested in hearing your thoughts, ive just acquired a large shed and was considering OO but the pull of N is still too much! (does OO look like a toy?)
(http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff318/tomnewdelhi/Layout/IMAG0188_zps0e980558.jpg) (http://s242.photobucket.com/user/tomnewdelhi/media/Layout/IMAG0188_zps0e980558.jpg.html)
I would stick with N if the choice was OO. However much space i had, i would still want to use so much for scenery (and other layouts/hobbies) that N would have the 'space' appeal. It also has the appeal of seeing the much grander view - when you look at the layout you get a better sense of the whole town with the station nestling in between the buildings. I love the tiny size of the rolling stock and vehicles, and have since i had my OO when i was 10... I always used to looked at the N in the model shop and just all loved the tiny stuff.
I have a handful of OO gauge 'static' models, but no urge to see them in action.
If i had enough space, the other gauge i would love to run is O gauge... It would be awesome to see my O gauge Western Fusilier pulling a rake of MkIs around.
I grew up with OO; I went with N for space reasons and because I'm in Japan, where N is dominant. HO is available, but at eye-watering prices, and having got used to N, OO/HO seems freakishly big. I'd certainly stay with N because the technology/level of detail is certainly more than satisfactory (things have advanced a lot in the last quarter century it seems) and even if I had more space / money available, I'd stick with N for the additional space it provides. Or put another way, I find N more manageable - even if the space were available, redoing my current (planned) layout in OO/HO would mutate from a project I can manage at arm's length to major construction work.
yes - I would go for OO if lots more space was available.
OO simply because there is just so much kit available which is not made in N.
There is a trend into N and long may it continue!
I chose N gauge due to room limitations, but I have always admired from afar for many years so when the opportunity came to indulge it was N and given a mansion I would still be a N die hard, however given said mansion I could be tempted with live stream in the grounds!!!!!!!
I went for N due to space limitations but would have gone 00 if I had the space.
Now, however, I would stick with N I think even if I had lots of room.
If I had the space and money, I'd skip OO and go straight to O gauge
Quote from: port perran on October 05, 2014, 02:24:57 PM
I went for N due to space limitations but would have gone 00 if I had the space.
Now, however, I would stick with N I think even if I had lots of room.
Indeed. If I had more space, I'd probably make something "mainline sized" in N like a proper terminus station, which even in 00 is difficult to manage without taking over an entire loft!
Alternatively, I'd switch to O. I've started making wagons for O, so that as/when the time comes, I'll have some rolling stock ready. It's a lovely scale to work with when it comes to kit building. Even the small bits are quite big!
So while 00 is a compromise between N and O, I'd rather have layouts at those two sizes that get the best from each (long trains in N, more detail in O).
Cheers, NeMo
If space and money were no object it would be O gauge but as I live in a small flat n it is.
I had a 00 train set as a kid but that had disappeared by the time I was 10.
My first N gauge was back in the 1970s when Mintrix and Wrenn/Lima were the main players, in my neck of the woods, at least.
Back then I had a big bedroom up in the attic of my parents place so enjoyed a layout of around 20' x 2' 6". Powered by an H&M Duette plus a couple of panel mounted single controllers. Wonder where that much-loved Britannia is now?
A very long gap before my current venture back into model railways a couple of years ago but I automatically went for N. Wouldn't change that for anything and looking forward to lots more space in the 'new' house - if we ever get there!
Dave G
I too had 00 set when I was a kid as much as I wanted N, my dad resolved the issue by having 00. When I see a 00 loco now it looks enormous, N is the right size for sure.
Tc
some interesting replies so far,
I started out wanting OO and had a bucket load of it but i ended up splitting with the ex and moving out of hte house. I then lived in a flat and bought an N trainset and went from there.
Im still tempted by OO but the sole reason for that is the variety of choice, nothing else, N loco's look more model than OO as my OP picture shows i think OO looks massive now!
i have the space 17x7 but im torn, N would look awesome in that space, even if it was 15x3. I did like Littlewood in N.
Started in N when I was 15 and never thought of changing - my 'dream' layout for a dedicated railway room (or shed) is an OO plan with a few changes and additions because of the extra space available - but the Lotto hasn't coughed up my numbers yet...
I spent years collecting 4mm kits for Locos, coaches, wagons, buildings etc. with a plan to build an EM Gauge layout when I retired. I loved building the 4mm loco and rolling stock kits which were my main interest in the railway modelling hobby originally. I had worked out a plan to build a layout in a spare bedroom - would have worked I'm sure - but only room for 3 coach trains. Doesn't look right with an A3 or A4!
Come my retirement I went through all my layout designs again, confirmed they would work ok but decided if I built all these kits I had accumulated and I wanted to run the trains they wouldn't look right at all.
Looked for other solutions - all painful!!
Eventually I decided N gauge would be a better option for a layout running more prototypical trains but that my kit building would be confined to buildings and scenery initially. So I bit the bullet, sold all my unbuilt 4mm kits at a huge loss and invested the cash in N gauge stuff.
Very impressed with the look and feel of ready to run N gauge locos and rolling stock. Not so impressed with the way locos (Dapol and Farish) run out of the box or their reliability.
I have built all the baseboards and the frames to support them and have built a small test track to run the N gauge locos and rolling stock I have spent my cash on over the last couple of years. I am totally addicted to the look and feel of N gauge and I am very happy with the decision I have made to go with N gauge.
I do miss the building of 4mm gauge kits - particularly locos - but N gauge has opened up new challenges and I don't think I will go back to 4mm any time soon.
I use to build O gauge locos... Maybe I'll build one or two for display to keep my loco building skills satisfied.
Bob Austin
An interesting question, thanks for posing it.
FWIW, I became an N-scaler via .009 (a story in itself) and although tempted occasionally to return to that scale, find that what I can do with NZN)Freelance (as exemplified by Te Kereru Mining and Investment Co. Ltd. in my gallery images) actually gives me a greater freedom than .009 would. it also means that I can 'do my own thing' without some 'rivet counter' from the NG world tapping me on the shoulder and saying 'Oi, you can't do that because....') :unimpressed:
However, before that, and in pursuit of what I perceived as being my 'perfect' modelling scale (ie, the one I could actually make to run and that wasn't going to cause me too much grief) I also 'experimented' with TTn31/2 (aka NZ120) but the experience was less than satisfactory (everyone was leaving the scale, while I was trying to enter it), and as well, 'dabbled' and exhibited in HOn3. Unfortunately, that too was not what I expected, so no, these are not scales I would return to. :no: :no:
As a result of all this, I am now a 'dedicated' N-scaler, and until I have very good reasons for 'abandoning' the scale (for reasons of eyesight or something similar), this situation is likely to remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.
(But then again...) :hmmm:
As I said, it's an interesting question.
When we lived in North Wales we had a large outside rear garden around which I ran an "00" model railway, as well as a smaller "00" table top one that sat on top of our 7' by 4' Pool table.
I now only live in an Apartment in Tenerife - and the extensive outside garden area is "communal" property part owned by everyone who purchased an apartment on site.
If I lived in a private Villa with it's own grounds I would probably put a "00" sized layout in it again as I still have quite a number of "00" engines, but for any indoor layout I am now a committed "N" gauge fan no matter how much space I had to play with.
An old YouTube video I did of our former home shows the large garden we used to have and if you look closely you can just see snatches of the "00" track that ran round it, and I have included below a still image of one part of the garden railway, plus the video referred to which features more the Pool Table top layout.
What became of the garden railway I don't know as we left it for the new house owners to decide what to do with it, but I advertised and sold the indoor layout.
(http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo231/Tdmak/Model%20Railway/33Bz.jpg) (http://s379.photobucket.com/user/Tdmak/media/Model%20Railway/33Bz.jpg.html)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L09xLyK6c74 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L09xLyK6c74)
if i was totally loaded I would probably start O gauge in the garden and OO / HO gauge in a double garage too...!!! but I'd continue with n gauge as well...
when you see all the different liveries and the super detail in new OO these days it is very tempting, but n gauge has got a lot better too, but less available...
tim
Quote from: bluedepot on October 05, 2014, 07:34:45 PM
when you see all the different liveries and the super detail in new OO these days it is very tempting, but n gauge has got a lot better too, but less available...
tim
This is my dilemma!!! :hmmm:
I like the way N gauge allows you to set the railway in a landscape, even if you don't have a lot of space. To get that same effect in 4mm you need to have a lot more space and also to stand much further back from the layout. So even though modelling in N is a lot more difficult than the larger scales in some respects (for example, achieving reliable operation) I'll stick with it as long as my eyesight is good enough to see what I am doing.
If I had a space 60' x 20' for a layout I'd still be working in N, I'd model Riccarton Junction and its approaches. From a 'trains in landscape' point of view, it would be awesome.
Quote from: TommyD on October 05, 2014, 07:58:40 PM
Quote from: bluedepot on October 05, 2014, 07:34:45 PM
when you see all the different liveries and the super detail in new OO these days it is very tempting, but n gauge has got a lot better too, but less available...
tim
This is my dilemma!!! :hmmm:
OO gauge now has incredible detail... but, so has N gauge to a much greater extent than in the past.
It is easy to see the detail on OO gauge and it adds a lot to the attraction of the scale.
N gauge also has incredible detail and looks as good as OO, at a distance. It looks real...
I think that is the crux of the matter. If it looks convincingly real to a normal human being with normal eyesight then it must be good... Yes?? If you are an old f**t like me whose eye sight is struggling to see if its a steam or diesel loco then N gauge is truelly wonderful.
Bob Austin
I would not go back (although I do have an oval of Kato HO to run a Pendolino and my late father's Blue Pullman on)
OO would be a lot more work and cost for me :thumbsdown: I like modern buildings and sky scrapers and express trains like ICE and Eurostar. The amount of space that I would need to replicate my layout design on OO would be too much for me to manage and the layout would also become very much taller.
I also think that OO requires a higher level of detail than N. For example, in OO, I would want to put passengers in the trains but in N, particularly those trains with darkened glass, I can just about get away with it. Similarly with buildings. Plus with OO stronger materials are needed to support the buildings if using Scalescenes.
I'd like a little more space, so that I can run 20 car Eurostars and have more main lines but not too much space that it becomes unmanageable.
I am experimenting with T but it is a hard scale to work with. Trying to put an eight car ICE3 on the track is very difficult :goggleeyes: So N is the best scale for me :thumbsup:
Well, your question implies we all did leave, and from what has been said I think you can safely say some of us never did ! I'm certainly in that camp.
My N incursion is by far eclipsed by my (& SWMBO's) collection of OO - and will likely remain that way; not because I don't like N (I wouldn't be here if I didn't ::)) but because of the very specific layout I'm (very slowly :() making. There just isn't that much extra I need (or want, come to that ...), and what there is tends not to be produced.
OTOH, it must be said that I have a lot more "real layout" in N than in OO !! But that's because it's a damn sight easier to relocate an N layout when you move than a OO one ...
I started "playing trains" with a Hornby O gauge, then went OO because they were more realistic at a price I could afford. When we moved to Suffolk from Derby modelling went on hold, because I was working all hours, then as things calmed down I only had space for N, first with U.S. outline then as British models started to get better and more of them I changed to my first love, B.R. Eastern.Three years ago we moved to a bungalow and I was allowed to join the garage to the house and with a space of 18ft X 8ft to use was tempted to return to OO. This gave me pause for thought and I sat & thunk what I really wanted from a model railway. I decided that, apart from the modelling side what I really liked was to sit back and watch the trains go by so I decided to stick with N as even this space was not enough to run full length trains in OO. That said, if space was limitless and money too I would probably go back to O or even Gauge 1 and run live steam, however we have to live in the real world and do what we can with what suits our circumstances.
Quote from: TommyD on October 05, 2014, 01:33:28 PM
Hey all,
Ive seen that there are some "why did you choose N" threads on here,
Personally i chose N only because of space,
My question is for those who chose it for the same reason, Would you go to a larger scale if you had the space or are you firmly grounded in N?
Interested in hearing your thoughts, ive just acquired a large shed and was considering OO but the pull of N is still too much! (does OO look like a toy?)
(http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff318/tomnewdelhi/Layout/IMAG0188_zps0e980558.jpg) (http://s242.photobucket.com/user/tomnewdelhi/media/Layout/IMAG0188_zps0e980558.jpg.html)
I've only recently been introduced to N Gauge, I personally don't like the larger scales, so I'm sticking with it.
:ngauge:
I've modelled in N and OO concurrently for many years, however I moved a year or so ago and my new flat has less room to store a layout in OO so have been concentrating on N.
However there's more choice in OO of pursuing my aim of a collection of named locos after places where my family and I lived over the years, because quite a lot of the named locos, or in some cases loco classes, aren't available in the smaller scale, also there's less choice of nameplates available in N.
I've whittled down non-core larger scale stock in favour of workaday N scale locos and units.
When we looked at buying this place in 1999 as a holiday home to be retired to, I had 1 x minitrix 9F and a 00 western with 4 coaches oh and a "00" 9F weathered (my pride and joy from the 70's). This place had / has a 14 footish square foot store room. I remembered my teen years, loco 6 coaches wow and that was in a loft space over 18 foot long.......
NO CONTEST just ran a 21 coach train, it looked wrong but it still took 3 minutes to go around.
HOWEVER IF I had the cash I would be tempted to the BIG stuff. my fantasy of an "O" gauge 08 dragging a cold beer on a lowmac from a hidden fridge in the summer persists.
Jerry
Iam very much rooted in N gauge with owning two layouts and collecting locos for over 25 years. This is down to my father getting me involved at this scale. I also very much still love this scale however I DO Dabble in OO gauge owning x6 locos.
This is a recent fascination with me. I wish to get these locos 'chipped' and sound fitted, the reason is because I cannot do this with N as my collection is too large and converting from my DC to DCC would make me bankrupt.
Instead I can get/make a decent sized shelf layout in OO and get a couple of
Locos running DCC with sound all for a few quid thus quenching my thirst for sound chipped DCC locomotives.
I can have the best of both worlds!!
Pengi: you got an old Triang Blue Pullman? :drool: You kept that quiet!
Jerry: 08 with a beer... :thumbsup:
Like Komata, I moved into N from 009. Now I'm sticking with it as I have too much invested in the gauge.
Plus, as I've said before on this forum, and to fellow members when I briefly met them in Wigan, 00 models just look like plasticky toys to me. They just do, even when weathered.
Bealman
Oz-N or 'the usual suspects'?
Quote from: Bealman on October 06, 2014, 11:17:42 PMLike Komata, I moved into N from 009.
I had to look that up, I thought maybe it was some kind of secret agent scale ;)
Quote from: Bealman on October 06, 2014, 11:17:42 PMPlus, as I've said before on this forum, and to fellow members when I briefly met them in Wigan, 00 models just look like plasticky toys to me. They just do, even when weathered.
THe HO Japanese Shinkansen models I've seen at exhibitions certainly look plasticky (though seeing one with 16 cars going flat out is impressive if you don't look too close). There are some very nice Japanese HO models which look like they're made of metal (but I didn't look too closely because I was hyperventilating at the price).
As one does. ;D I must admit that the Japanese have produced exquisite brass models in HO for a long time, even from the 1950's. But, as you say, hyperventilation time. :thumbsup:
Quote from: Bealman on October 06, 2014, 11:17:42 PM
Pengi: you got an old Triang Blue Pullman? :drool: You kept that quiet!
I had a OO blue pullman until I sold it to go N. But mine was the "Rosebut Kitmaster" version. All 8 cars in "midland" . I didn't know any better when I built it!
A Kitmaster Pullman?!! Cool!
I had a prototype Deltic from same stable. Wonderful kits that stand the test of time. :thumbsup:
Quote from: Bealman on October 07, 2014, 10:27:30 AM
A Kitmaster Pullman?!! Cool!
I had a prototype Deltic from same stable. Wonderful kits that stand the test of time. :thumbsup:
They certainly were. I had built most , including a Garrett which I motorised using two Mogul chassis and I also had the motorised box van. Wouldn't one of those be useful in N to increase the haulage of some modern locos.
i would go back to 00 but only if i could still have the n
00 would be a second layout as said before 00 seems massive every time i show people the n layout they all say isnt it tiny
but i would like to do g scale in the garden
Last time I had 00 I was about eight years old, can just remember it now and it's been N gauge ever since ;)
Wouldn't mind having a go at a 00 garden layout though :)
Paul
Thinking about this a bit more, if I was more into the kettle end of things I might be happier with OO. Having said that my first puffy puffy steamy thing is on order so we'll see how that goes.
Quote from: Bealman on October 07, 2014, 10:27:30 AM
A Kitmaster Pullman?!! Cool!
I had a prototype Deltic from same stable. Wonderful kits that stand the test of time. :thumbsup:
real plastic not re-cycled stuff they use to-day .
as for going back ... I haven't left :D
alan
As I have layouts in OO,n and t gauge and the bits and pieces for a shunting layout in O :help: :-[ :-\ I would say I have never left but if I had House with a garden and not a flat I would love to go to gauge 1 in the garden, but at the moment my main focus is n.
Space made me change to N about 8 years ago do not think i would go back as the stuff you get today is so good cost is about the same and if you build something i know it takes time and care but when you do a show and people ask where you got it from you have the pleasure of saying i built it
kevin141
I dabbled in Z gauge a couple of years ago and would love to have carried on with it but availability and cost showed me that it was out of my price range.
If I won the Lotto and had space and money I would certainly explore it further
I have both having succumbed to the lure of DCC sound in OO but My preference is still N. It's just cuter! :bounce:
C.
In my youth I used have an OO layout :doh: - I would go back and point out the error of my ways. :thumbsup:
:NGaugersRule: