Would you go back?

[TommyD]

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?)

[Mustermark]

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.

[railsquid]

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.

[Northman]

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!

[andy.t.south]

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!!!!!!!

[port perran]

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.

[d-a-n]

If I had the space and money, I'd skip OO and go straight to O gauge

[NeMo]

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

[Ditape]

If space and money were no object it would be O gauge but as I live in a small flat n it is.

[daveg]

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

[Topcat]

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

[TommyD]

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.

[talisman56]

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...

[austinbob]

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

[Komata]

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....')   

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.   

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...) 

As I said, it's an interesting question.