Relative popularity of the main modelling gauges

[Southerngooner]

While reading the post about the lack of an N gauge Wish list on RMWeb it did make me wonder how popular the various gauges are.

Im my mind I would say 00, then N, then 0, then maybe 009, with all the others as minnows. I've never seen it in any more detail, but the clear leader is 00. I'd say N has to be next due to what I see in model shops, at exhibition, and in magazines, with 0 as maybe half or a third of the popularity of N.

We moan about the perceived lack of attention being paid to our needs but how do the 0 and 009 guys feel. I suppose the latter are like pigs in clover at the moment, but the range of UK stock is small in real life so there's not a lot to do overall. Stuff is coming out in 0, and the new TT120, mainly because manufacturers see them as newish markets, but their ranges of RTR are a fraction of what we have in N.

I'm happy with what we have and am happy to build those things that are not likely to be made due to their limited range in time or place. There are still some gaps in the market, and if, as pointed out in the other Wishlist thread, 1948-1970's seems to account for 70% plus of modellers responses then mybe it's that era that needs attention. Revolution, Sonic and Rapido are doing their bit, so let's see what happens when Bachmann finally get their new designers working. I predict 2024 will be a year of feasting.......

Dave

[ntpntpntp]

There have been surveys in the past, yes generally here in the UK they come out as OO then N, then other stuff.

It does depend where in the world you are though.  Japan I think N comes top above HO.    In the old Eastern Bloc countries TT was more popular than N.

[Bigmac]

i think one reason 00 is more popular than N is the cost.
I worked for several seasons in the IW railway gift shop--it stocked a considerable range of 00 and N.  00 sales dominated by 10:1.

[Calnefoxile]

i think one reason 00 is more popular than N is the cost.
I worked for several seasons in the IW railway gift shop--it stocked a considerable range of 00 and N.  00 sales dominated by 10:1.

Sorry but I don't think Cost has anything to do with it.

I think the the biggest reason why OO is more popular than N is one word, HORNBY!!!!

You mention Railway modelling to anyone outside of hobby and they will say "Oh like the stuff Hornby does??" Where has anyone seen any advertising, outside of the Modelling World, by Bachmann or Dapol etc. You can buy Hornby sets from the like of Toymaster, Argos, etc. but not any products by Bachmann or Dapol.

SO, love them or hate them, Hornby are pretty much the main reason why OO is more popular then any other Gauge/Scale at the moment and they've done it, or rather hoping to do it, again with TT120.

Cheers

Neal.

[JasonBz]

For a long time there seems to have been some agreement that 00 / 4mm scale accounts for about 75% of the overall market, with N at about 15% and the rest all squeezed into the remainder.

I suspect that recently 0 gauge has increased its share of the market, but where that share has been taken from; or if it is mainly "an extra interest" I know not.

[GoesWhenReady]

Here in the states, the local hobby shops always stocked HO and N above everything else. The factors always seemed to boil down to the most ideal balance of detail and cost + many modelers not having as much room to excise on a layout. O still has its presence but it's nothing like what it used to be in the past. The days of every boy pining for an electric Lionel trainset are long gone.

[Nbodger]

In our interview with PECO for the virtual exhibition, they stated that N gauge was around 30% of OO volumes from their perspective

[Bigmac]

as i said earlier--cost is a major factor.

to the new entrant into the model railway hobby--seeing the vast choice of shiney plastic 00 locos and stock--then seeing the far fewer choice of tiny n gauge models--often at a higher price for what seems to be a similar model--its a no-brainer.

[Webbo]

Surely a lot of the reason OO is more popular has to do with what we were exposed to in our early days. In the 50s when I was a kid, N gauge didn't exist. Us, old folks now continue to hanker after our youth so many of us go for the modern versions of Hornby Dublo, Triang, and Trix Twin.

Webbo

[Bob G]

as i said earlier--cost is a major factor.

to the new entrant into the model railway hobby--seeing the vast choice of shiney plastic 00 locos and stock--then seeing the far fewer choice of tiny n gauge models--often at a higher price for what seems to be a similar model--its a no-brainer.

I think that N is not the dearer cousin you suggest it is. Many OO coaches cost more than their N gauge equivalents. OO class 47s are over £200 now. While OO gets better discounts for stock clearance items at the box shifters, in the high street model shops you refer to, I'd suggest N is not the expensive hobby it once was.

Bob

[joe cassidy]

The unit price of N gauge rolling stock may be similar to that of OO gauge but I imagine most N gauge modellers buy more stock than OO gaugers so the total cost is more ?

[Bigmac]

as i said earlier--cost is a major factor.

to the new entrant into the model railway hobby--seeing the vast choice of shiney plastic 00 locos and stock--then seeing the far fewer choice of tiny n gauge models--often at a higher price for what seems to be a similar model--its a no-brainer.

I think that N is not the dearer cousin you suggest it is. Many OO coaches cost more than their N gauge equivalents. OO class 47s are over £200 now. While OO gets better discounts for stock clearance items at the box shifters, in the high street model shops you refer to, I'd suggest N is not the expensive hobby it once was.

Bob

high street model shop ?? wheres that then ?

[Southerngooner]

Given Webbo's comments I'd be interested in seeing an age profile of this forum. I'm nearly 66 and have been modelling in N since 1972 after starting with Lone Star pushalong when I was 4 but moving onto Triang, until it all got sold for N. I certainly don't hanker after 00, but can see Webbo's point that if you are over 70, say, you wouldn't have really seen N as an option when a youngster.

Dave

[Ditape]

Over the last few years at the BMRG n gauge has moved from there being perhaps 2 members to now being the major scale/gauge modelled over 50% of the members actively model in n. that is in a membership of over 30.

[Bob G]

The unit price of N gauge rolling stock may be similar to that of OO gauge but I imagine most N gauge modellers buy more stock than OO gaugers so the total cost is more ?

I totally agree. In OO I have 4 coach trains. Short goods trains no more than 7 wagons long. Mostly 1 loco per class (apart from 33/42/71/73).
In N I run more prototypical rakes up to 8 coaches (my Fiddle Yard Capacity). I have multiple versions of individual loco classes. Goods trains 16 - 30 wagons long.
Generally more of everything 

Storage volume is a huge issue for me. You can store 8 times as much N as OO in the same space.
N gauge is happily in drawers in the model room. OO in crates in the garage or in display cases.

I have spent less than £6k on what looks like a substantial collection in OO, and dare not say how much on my N collection.

Bob