[Going Loco]

Hello Everyone

I am new here, having just registered and am hoping for some advice please.

I want to build a layout and have a space available of 9.5ft by 7.5ft in my shed (10ft by 8ft but had it lined and insulated). I like both OO and N gauge and have collected a few locos and sets in both gauges. My dilemma is that I cannot decide between OO and N for the layout and would like some advice. I have a track plan for both scales (or gauges) and would like to ultimately go for DCC operation. I like the N option as it gives the ability to run reasonably long trains, but I prefer the detail of OO locos. I am mainly interested in GWR Steam but I also like some of the diesels that are being made.

I don't want to mix the two different scales (as has been suggested) as I am really looking to rule one out of the equation - so which one do I go for?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Going Loco

 

[dwb]

That's a tough one. I model OO, I like the extra detail and I prefer long (6 coaches is long?) trains but I have plenty of length in the loft to do so. You can have a perfectly enjoyable OO layout in the size you have available. You just need to decide what really matters to you, so draw up a list of features and order them in priority. If long trains and graceful curves come near the top of the list I think you're looking at N gauge.

David

 

[goedel]

QUOTE (Going Loco @ 30 May 2007, 19:00) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I want to build a layout and have a space available of 9.5ft by 7.5ft in my shed (10ft by 8ft but had it lined and insulated). I like both OO and N gauge and have collected a few locos and sets in both gauges. My dilemma is that I cannot decide between OO and N for the layout and would like some advice. I have a track plan for both scales (or gauges) and would like to ultimately go for DCC operation. I like the N option as it gives the ability to run reasonably long trains, but I prefer the detail of OO locos. I am mainly interested in GWR Steam but I also like some of the diesels that are being made.
Hello Going Loco,

I suppose that it depends on what sort of a modeller you are. If detail is very important then go for OO as British N probably doesn't have such sufficient detail but if you are more interested in having a complete layout with sweeping scenery and countryside/hills etc. then N would be the way to go, with as you say prototypical length trains and the real feeling of an entire railway network transporting stuff from A to B. Some people have a layout just to be a showcase for their wonderful repaints and detailing efforts and are better off in OO. That said the area you have should be fine for an extensive OO layout too - how big is your imagination?

Regarding DCC, it's a pain to try and fit decoders to older N gauge stock because there is little space and the horrible live chassis style used but can be done if you have enough (too much?) patience. I think OO is closer to that golden ideal of plug and play, although it certainly isn't there yet...

Incidentally people seem to occasionally give up N because of their "poor eyesight" (at least according to eBay descriptions) but I would have thought - "just wear some glasses you buffoon!" was a good solution, however if you feel your eyes are about to fall out then OO it should be...

As a European N modeller I can enjoy OO detail at 1:160 scale which is the best of both worlds, arbeit at a higher price! So my views are probably divergent from those who know all about British stuff in commendably nauseous detail. I hope I haven't muddied the mud further!

Final thought, and perhaps an usual one; how big are your hands? Smaller or thinner and longer fingers are more suitable for handling smaller objects obviously - how dextrous are you?

Goedel

 

[Colombo]

Going Loco,

Do you want to a model railway or a train set? I shall assume that you want a model railway.

If you build an oval in 00 without unreasonably tight curves, say 33" minimum radius, you would only have about 3 feet of straight track on each side which is not enough to be interesting. You would have to duck under a baseboard or provide a lifting section to get in which is anti-social for visitors.

In 00 scale you could just about manage to fit in a reasonable and rather classic GWR fiddle yard to branch line terminus layout.
With a terminus you get 6 feet of straight track leading up to a platform with a run round loop for three or four short carriages at the most. You can get a couple of sidings with a goods shed and a head shunt in in front of the platform and a bay for vans behind. You may even have room for a single road engine shed. There would be about 4 sidings in your fiddle yard. There would even be room in the shed for a visitor.

You could use small tender locos and tank engines.

Such layouts can provide a lot of interest and be very satisfying which is why people build them.

Columbo

 

[7113]

I have to agree with dwb, it's a toughie, I think I personally would go for OO (out of the two) on the grounds there is a much wider choice of stock available. Of course if you are modelling the GWR then there is no problem with running LMS (Bristol area for example) or Southern (Yeovil etc). Keep us posted on the outcome.

Regards

John

 

[Going Loco]

QUOTE (dwb @ 30 May 2007, 19:58) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>That's a tough one. I model OO, I like the extra detail and I prefer long (6 coaches is long?) trains but I have plenty of length in the loft to do so. You can have a perfectly enjoyable OO layout in the size you have available. You just need to decide what really matters to you, so draw up a list of features and order them in priority. If long trains and graceful curves come near the top of the list I think you're looking at N gauge.

David

Thanks for your reply David. I do like the idea of long trains, but some of the N gauge offerings on the steam side of things are a bit short of the mark. OO does seem to offer a more detailed choice.

As N gauge is getting better all the time though, do you think that it will eventually overtake OO in detail?

Cheers

Going Loco

 

[Edwin]

QUOTE (Going Loco @ 31 May 2007, 23:26) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Thanks for your reply David. I do like the idea of long trains, but some of the N gauge offerings on the steam side of things are a bit short of the mark. OO does seem to offer a more detailed choice.

As N gauge is getting better all the time though, do you think that it will eventually overtake OO in detail?

I can't imagine so, simply because detail is always going to be easier to do and easier to see (so more worth doing) in the larger scale.

Most of the old Farish is fairly poor though the latest diesels and rolling stock are probably as good as their OO equivalents in terms of general appearance and visible detail. The 'narrow gauge' effect is also less in N than in OO (British N gauge is only 7.5% overscale for its track, OO is 14%).

Steam locos are harder to do well in the smaller scales as the wheels are almost always prominent and inevitably overscale. There haven't been any new steam locos from Farish yet, but Dapol's GWR locos seem to have been well received and the Peco Collett will appear at some stage.

 

[SPROGman]

QUOTE (Going Loco @ 30 May 2007, 19:00) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>My dilemma is that I cannot decide between OO and N for the layout and would like some advice. I have a track plan for both scales (or gauges) and would like to ultimately go for DCC operation. I like the N option as it gives the ability to run reasonably long trains, but I prefer the detail of OO locos.

N every time for me. Just dont be tempted to put twice as much track in just because you are working at half the scale (roughly). Use your 00 track plan but build it N. Stretch it out a little here and there for longer trains and use the same radius curves as you would in 00 so that the scale radius is doubled. Use the rest of the space for scenery so that you can truly model the railway in the landscape.

N is getting better (and more expensive!) all the time. Don't let anyone tell you DCC is a problem in N. It isn't with the likes of the Zimo MX620 and Lenz mini decoders. Insulated bushes are available from Digitrains and Gerry Spencer (Google) for Farish steam chassis. More and more N locos are designed to make decoder fitting easier, if not truly "DCC ready". The new Peco loco with DCC built in starts shipping next month.

Andrew

 

[dwb]

>N is getting better (and more expensive!) all the time.
I can't help feeling that as houses get smaller and the loft comes ready fitted as essential living space, the inevitable consequence is that most people will only have room for an N gauge layout and this will drive an increase in product availability.

David

 

[Edwin]

QUOTE (dwb @ 1 Jun 2007, 17:57) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>>N is getting better (and more expensive!) all the time.
I can't help feeling that as houses get smaller and the loft comes ready fitted as essential living space, the inevitable consequence is that most people will only have room for an N gauge layout and this will drive an increase in product availability.

David
N allows a decent main line layout, with near-scale train lengths and generous curve radii, in a normal garage. This makes it much more likely to survive a house move!

 

[Peter_Harvey]

Going Loco

Why not build a Preserved Layout in OO and have an N gauge Layout /narrow gauge attraction at the main station that would make an interesting detail to a OO layout you could have figures rinding on both trains?

Pete