Hello everyone, I live in Mount Prospect, a burb of Chicago and I'm just getting started into the hobby with my kids who are 3 and 7. This is a huge chance from their wooden train table, but my Son is really taking to it and being very careful handling the pieces. We picked up a Bachmann HO RTR Set and some extra freight cars which have been a blast so far. I'm now knee deep reading up on HO and N scale because I'm on the fence which direction to continue down due to the allotment of space in my basement. This board is loaded with lots of great information from everyone and pictures to give me a great idea of what is possible in my space. Thanks for reading and see you all around the forum in the future. Trey T.
Welcome aboard. Yeah, it can be a tough decision to pick which scale sometimes. Maybe it would be helpful to make a list of pros and cons for each to figure out which way to go.
Welcome aboard, from one with ties to Pullman and Evergreen! I'd say one of your considerations will be the youngsters ability to handle the equipment, which may lead towards the larger scale right now. You may also want to visit a couple of hobby shops and look at some of it side by side to see what grabs you. The overriding question, though, may be what kind of layout and trains you want. N lends itself better to bigger scenes (as in the scenery being a larger part) and/or longer trains, while HO can be better for detailing and actually seeing the work you've done. Plus, as I said, it's a little easier on smaller hands (especially if you can have Daddy's trains and kid's trains)
Welcome to TrainBoard! Glad to see that you are reading. Doing so will save you from wasting time, money and help avoid any possible frustrations.
Hey Trey, welcome. Choosing a scale can be confusing. HO is more sturdy than N. HO was perfect when my boys were your kids' ages because they could handle the larger equipment with their "unskilled" fingers. Now I'm in N-Scale and my great-grandkids have damaged some equipment even though they try to be careful. N-Scale equipment is more delicate than HO equipment. Kids like to run trains around cheap plastic houses and tunnels, not build beautiful scenery.
Welcome to Trainboard, Trey! We're happy to have you aboard. Consider that HO gauge track can also be used for ON30 so the little ones to handle larger items of rolling stock. After they grow you can then run HO scale on it ... but I'd limit the amount of space you might run the ON30 stuff until then. Just a little food for thought.
Welcome aboard, Trey. It's great that you have the kids involved. Hmmm, way back when I was that age I once laid O gauge track down a staircase and let one car after another run down, powered by gravity.
Welcome to TrainBoard. I was 7 years old when I "graduated" from Lionel's O27 to HO. The 4' x 8' HO layout was a good fit at that age. When we lived in the Chicago area, I would patronize Des Plaines Hobbies for my hobby needs. They had a large selection of trains and a knowledgeable staff to give you ideas (along with their opinions). No matter which scale you choose, remember to have fun.
We've decided to go with HO scale, mostly due to the kids handling of the rolling stock, the N cars were too small for them to get on a track easily and even the HO stuff causes a few challenges, but they are not insurmountable. I've got a 4x8 plywood (actually cut in half to 4x4's due to basement entrance tightness) that I'm using to build our layout table today. I'm also going to the Des Plaines Hobby shot as I only live a few miles and they are open today which is great to pick up some more rolling stock and maybe a few starter buildings for the kids to enjoy. We're looking forward to lots of fun for the future!
