I went to a new train show today. It was the first one and I hope not the last. I was looking over an N scale club layout when I was attracted to a scratch-built factory. I was impressed at the detail and prototype look he had achieved, but what impressed me the most was the ability to construct the entire factory and only take up less then three feet. Something that is rarely done in HO. Being an HO girl, I was jealous. It was so impressive. Just saying.
That's how it starts, The Normal Scale beckons. :we2-idea: The Horribly Oversized scale starts to loose its grip.:eh-unsure:
Makes you realize how many building kits/prebuilts are condensed versions of the real thing, sometimes so shrunken down it says "toy" no matter the level of modeling craftsmanship. Take the Walthers steel mill complex, where some N guys converted the HO version because it better represented these truly massive structures. Did N scalers pump up the totals for HO sales and so depress N version sales enough to be significant? I wonder.
Candy,Here's the truth about N.. N scale has its share of short comings and such but,you can get a lot more in a given space. Heres two 1' x10' switching layout plans 1 HO and 1 N. First the HO. Not much operation there and very little room for scenery. Now the N Scale: You have more operation and room for scenery. Need I say more? As a warning N Scale is habit forming.. However.. I found you don't chose N Scale.N Scale chooses you! And in that light its harder for a N Scaler to change scales once he/she is firmly hook by N Scale.
Larry, those two track plans do say it all. I was thinking of joining an N scale club then I could do both!
Candy_Streeter has suggested that N provides opportunity to model the whole thing more often than the larger scale in personal layouts. Like that idea. And then there's Z-scale and others even tinier. I don't know why N-scale emerged many years ago, but it had to have something to do with technology and manufacturing. It became possible. (Why do we choose N over Z?) An aspect of N is that in one view you see more prototype operation in a personal layout than with bigger scales. This could lead to preference for modeling running trains over static details. (Don't think it has, though.) Another is that N perspectives seem to match my own eyes and brain processing to make the scenes feel real.
My expansion will have several modular spaces so i can swap out various scenes. One of them will be a a long rambling industrial complex with raw material coming in one end, getting processed and finished product coming out the other end. Modules will be stored under the layout, on shelves in my study or if thin enough on display over the layout. Guess what I'm saying is that, yes, an entire factory / mining operation / mountain or bridge can be created and stored in a surprisingly small area.
A few years ago I went to visit a friend who was in the hospital for a few days. She was on the eighth floor and her room overlooked a distant industral area. I could see an MP15 switching cars and from that height I could see every move it made. Needless to say, I visited her every day. When I was looking at that N scale layout's factory area, her hospital room came back to my mind. I think you know what I mean.
The ability to more accurately build whole scenes and true-to-life structures is the reason I'll never leave n scale. I've got several prototypical scenes on my home layout that couldn't be pulled off in HO in the space I have, but are do-able in n. And n gives more ability to do 'wide open-space' scenes . Long live n scale!
There is not a better scale to model large heavy industry and yet Walthers has neglected N scale to the point of being insulting. I could place 4-5 Hullett ore unloaders in the space of ONE HO scale one for example. Randy
By the way Candy - after reading this, and reading an old thread the other day about a certain factory you were building, the SickenTire, (I like to see what color schemes people use) just to let you know - that SickenTire is now available in good ole N Scale I am sure you might have know that, but it seemed like a fun thing to say, other than I enjoyed the way your bldg turned out. I sold all my HO stuff last quarter of 2011, and went over to N.
There is something to be said about a scale where the industries can be substantially larger than the railcars that are servicing it.
I'm quite happy with N gauge, but am definitely jealous that the small locos we use don't have room for DCC speakers on board.
I was in a hospital bed for 3 days in 1969 just for a diabetes test. I took an exacto knife, a grade-school ruler, some balsa wood and a tube of airplane cement with me, and on my hospital bed tray, I tried building a model of a house I had seen being torn down in a slum clearance project. My hospital work was a test of whether it would be possible to build in N. I painted the little house when I got out of the hospital, and added the scenery later, when I got "into" N scale. But it looks like whatever Candy does is great. Whatever scale...
Candy, When (I'm sure it will be a "when" rather than an "if") you get started in N, I look forward to reading about your progress! Maureen, I find this comment very interesting. I don't use DCC at all, but I'm sure I have read on this forum about people's experiences in installing sound decorders in N locomotives. Is the memory failing me again? Regards, Pete Davies
Oh yes, you can install sound decoders in N scale large locomotives. We're using small steamers. A 2-4-0 American is a large piece of equipment on our layout!
I too see the "not if, but when" for Candy. I'm envious of her talents in HO, and would hope to see some N Scale workmanship (workwomanship just doesn't even sound right) besides (spell check just went nuts). Anyway, with nothing but industry and urban buildings set in the early 50's in Detroit for my layout, each and every industrial building is it's own diorama and can be built almost to the exact dimensions as the real structure in N. 100' is only 7.5" I'm no rivet counter, but I do like the realism of N for building sizes. Can't imagine a building so small making Tires. (Sickens Tire Co) Just my $.02
