Need Help Choosing between N and OO

[Seanem44]

I am at a crossroads.  While I had thought I wanted to do a Minehead-esque GWR terminus in OO, I am waffling big time.

 

So here is what I've got...   A 14 foot wall to add a layout that is 2.5 to 3 feet deep.  I can add an L section to an adjacent wall giving me another 8 feet.  If its N guague, I can add a different branch or locale and station.  If its OO, that's my fiddle yard.

 

My OO stock consists of A few tanks, a few small 0-6-0s and a few larger engines.  These are split between SR and GWR. I have maybe 10 wagons and maybe 6 coaches.

 

In N Gauge I have much more stock than that.  All ex LMS and LNER.  I have at least 15 coaches, dozens of wagons, and buildings that I have amassed over the years.  I collected Lyddle End buildings and as a result, if I want, could to a GCR station, a Station similar to Goathland, or an S&C station.  All this was collected and sadly never used.  A waste, I know.

 

So what would you do?  If I were to do N, I'm thinking Settle to Carlisle.  I rather run trains than operate trains. I feel the S&C is a great venue for just watching trains roll by. I think 14 feet is ample length for some nice scenery.  Maybe even a small viaduct. 

 

OO gives me point to point.  But for a first serious layout, I don't know if it will be any easier to work with.

 

I am just so lost right now.  I continue to waffle, second guess, and as a result, I don't build anything.  I am in perpetual planning, amassing models that my wife asks why I even have.

 

 

[PaulWarb]

Do you mind me asking how old you are - I'll explain in my next message!!

[njee20]

You won't really get any objective answers, because it's a wholly personal decision.

 

For me... N all day long. That's a nice space for N, you can have a really good sized layout depicting (if you're so inclined) a busy main line, running scale length trains, and a good bit of landscape to lose the railway into.

 

For OO it'll all be a lot more cramped, and you won't get as much in without it being dominated by track. That's completely moot, however, if you want a OO gauge branchline terminus.

 

I'm going to hazard a guess that Paul is going to suggest that if you're older that OO is more suitable, but I don't really subscribe to that. The limit is how small you can make things, and in OO that limit is the same. So detail which is moulded in N is separate in OO. I don't really think N is inherently more fiddly.

Edited January 31, 2018 by njee20

[Joseph_Pestell]

From what you have said, N looks like the better choice. Noting your interest in the S&C, a 14' wall is just about long enough for you to model one of the stations as part of a continuous run layout with hidden sidings behind.

 

But ultimately, you could have both, the continuous run in N and an end-to-end 00 "shelf" above.

[DCB]

Try a good old British compromise  go TT gauge. 

Otherwise you can get a decent main line layout into 14 X 2.5 in N  or a middling branch line terminus or Minories in 00.    Generally the cost of N is 00 squared as the prices are similar but you can get 4 limes as much N stuff into any given area!

[Seanem44]

Do you mind me asking how old you are - I'll explain in my next message!!

Not at all.  36.  So I can still see n gauge somewhat well   Though excel at work is slowly killing my vision.

[NWJ]

Another thing to consider is how you feel about train lengths. I model in N and do so because I have found that I cannot compromise with a large express loco pulling a 4-coach express. 14 foot is a good length in either scale, but in OO it would probably realistically allow 6 carriages + loco into the Minehead based station, which would allow for pointwork into the station, run-round and a little bit of space to run the train in. In N, an equivalent length train would be 12 carriages + loco and would allow space again for the train to run beyond the ends of the platforms.

 

In the end, it is really your call - both scales work well, there is far more available in OO but N can give more space for the trains to run in.

 

Neil

[rob D2]

N gauge has a rather more limited selection of stuff.

 

Also regardless of what they say, once you get down low with it and the normal couplings, rails it looks pretty coarse to me.

 

OO all day for ease of use and variety

[njee20]

Obviously it depends on your exact area of interest, but n isn’t that much more limited.

 

Also regardless of what they say, when you stand back, you can’t overlook the fact that OO all looks a bit crammed in

Edited February 1, 2018 by njee20

[Zomboid]

What you really want is HO. The most popular scale in the world, so plenty of choice in what you model, and the rails are the right distance apart

 

Really only you can decide. In 14 feet, OO (or indeed HO) is good for a sightly compressed zoom in on one feature. In N you could have a trains in the landscape thing. In O you could model a light railway BLT (or an industry, or a small goods yard...).

 

Pick the subject you want to model and choose the scale accordingly is what I would do.

[Seanem44]

Spent last night pouring through backissues of BRM, MR, Hornby and MRM. I came (back) across Dentdale and am truly inspired. I could have something very similar by dropping one of the two viaducts they have. I would move the station to the right of the layout due to the flow of my room, but I am starting to really lean towards N. Again, watching trains go around in circles is therapeutic for me. I think a continuous run is a necessity.

[Nearholmer]

00 is too small, and N far too small: you’ve got the space for 0, or even Gauge 1.

 

(I don’t know how to do emoticons, so please imagine a small graphic of a mischevious imp jumping about)

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Have you tried running the UK N gauge items you own? A 'roundy-roundy trains go by' plays to N's strengths, and I would use N for just this reason - and I have 30 x 10 feet as my playroom - but the RTR steam loco models available were not mechanically up to it in reliability and endurance when asked to do a lot of running, when I was making my decision. Whereas OO did it easily.

[Seanem44]

Have you tried running the UK N gauge items you own? A 'roundy-roundy trains go by' plays to N's strengths, and I would use N for just this reason - and I have 30 x 10 feet as my playroom - but the RTR steam loco models available were not mechanically up to it in reliability and endurance when asked to do a lot of running, when I was making my decision. Whereas OO did it easily.

I have and do occasionally, albeit on a small oval of Kato unitrack.

 

I have found that the engines I have are all very smooth runners for the most part, being post 2008 Dapol and Graham Farish engines.  I'm tired of being a collector though, and having moved into a house that I have space, it is time. 

 

I have also considered building both, slowly, with the N gauge layout on a hollow core door and the OO layout against the wall.  Perhaps the N gauge layout to learn the skills needed to move on to the larger OO layout.

 

I just don't know. 

Edited February 1, 2018 by Seanem44

[Harlequin]

Is your house of timber frame construction?

 

What is behind the 14ft long wall? (And how much leeway would the other members of the household give you in knocking a few holes in walls? ;-)

 

Could you post some photos of the room? Someone here might be able to see some possibilities you haven't considered yet.

[Seanem44]

Is your house of timber frame construction?

 

What is behind the 14ft long wall? (And how much leeway would the other members of the household give you in knocking a few holes in walls? ;-)

 

Could you post some photos of the room? Someone here might be able to see some possibilities you haven't considered yet.

 

The wall is in my man cave in the basement.  Behind the wall would likely be wood frame followed by cement and dirt.  My wife would likely be 100% dead set against knocking holes in the wall as the only expansion would lead into the main part of the basement where we have a TV area.  That is a 100% no go.  I had planned on not mounting the layout to the wall, though I could.  Instead, I would opt for classic bench work.  The OO layout you created with my vision is just to awesome to give up on...  but I also just have so much stock in N gauge that not using that seems a waste as well.

[Harlequin]

I understand. OO doesn't give you the continuous circuit that you want.

 

I imagined sending OO track through an internal wall (clearly not your external basement wall) and back again to get the circuit. On the other side of the wall a very simple fiddle yard, maybe just a couple of passing loops, would be invisible to normal view. It would be housed inside one level of a beautiful built-in display cabinet that showed off the household treasures... Do you think that sort of idea would swing it? :-)

 

Could you find a way to run a circuit all round your man cave? Some photos would still be useful...

 

(As someone said above, N gauge could be more expensive than OO because of more scale area to cover - but doing both would be even more expensive!)

Edited February 1, 2018 by Harlequin

[Seanem44]

I understand. OO doesn't give you the continuous circuit that you want.

 

I imagined sending OO track through an internal wall (clearly not your external basement wall) and back again to get the circuit. On the other side of the wall a very simple fiddle yard, maybe just a couple of passing loops, would be invisible to normal view. It would be housed inside one level of a beautiful built-in display cabinet that showed off the household treasures... Do you think that sort of idea would swing it? :-)

 

Could you find a way to run a circuit all round your man cave? Some photos would still be useful...

 

(As someone said above, N gauge could be more expensive than OO because of more scale area to cover - but doing both would be even more expensive!)

I've tried.  Believe me, I've tried.  Happy wife, happy life.

[PannierTanker14]

OO is a good scale for a small layout, because you don't need much to have a good set. N scale is good for large scale places eg if you were to put together a massive station like king's cross.

Personally I choose OO scale because it's a decent size and not too costly for a few engines and wagons.

 

I don't know if this helps but I hope it does.

[Kris]

N gauge every time.

 

A roundy roundy can very much be a serious layout.  

[brianusa]

At your age OO would be fine.  N is too small and fiddly in the long run no matter how much more you can cram in.  Been there as well as larger sizes but as Nearholmer remarks, try O; Gauge 1 is hard to find rolling stock and accessories at an affordable price.  O can be pricey but once you've tried it, scale or tinplate, you'd never go back to the smaller sizes.  Especially as you get older as they grow more difficult to see with each passing year!

 

Brian.

[F-UnitMad]

At your age OO would be fine.  N is too small and fiddly in the long run no matter how much more you can cram in.  Been there as well as larger sizes but as Nearholmer remarks, try O; Gauge 1 is hard to find rolling stock and accessories at an affordable price.  O can be pricey but once you've tried it, scale or tinplate, you'd never go back to the smaller sizes.  Especially as you get older as they grow more difficult to see with each passing year!

 

Brian.

Agree with Brian. Your descision is being further hampered by "Impulse Shopping-itus" prices of N & OO are really pretty much the same per item these days, & still low enough for people to buy things they just like the look of, rather than want to model. Sell it all & buy some O Scale; prices aren't that bad these days, but still high enough to make you stop & ask if model XYZ is a "really need" or "just want" model. Then go & shunt a yard layout like a real Railway, with sprung buffers & 3-link couplings (assuming British outline).

If you still want a roundy-roundy, I believe 3-rail O Gauge can go round square corners & though I'm not much of a fan myself, there's no denying that it has an 'atmosphere' all of it's own. Follow the link in Nearholmer's signature above for details.

[LBRJ]

After reading the OP seems to answer  its own question.

 Its N for you from what I read, or at least from what i think you mean

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...I have also considered building both, slowly, with the N gauge layout on a hollow core door and the OO layout against the wall.  Perhaps the N gauge layout to learn the skills needed to move on to the larger OO layout.

 

I just don't know. 

With respect, wrong way around, easier to acquire and practice the skills in the larger scale. Building the essential 'bones' of any working layout (track support structure, track planned and laid, wiring, preparation and maintenance of locos and stock) so that it thereafter operates reliably every time you walk up to it and put the power on, is a long walk from test running some locos on a temporary set track system. Start with an OO layout in a fairly small way. If you can make that work really reliably, then put into practise what you have learned in N.

 

A layout that is intended to run a lot to provide the relaxation therapy you appear to me to be after, has to be very reliable. That's a very large part of what I want from my layout too, and the success factor is to be uncompromising in what standards you must maintain to deliver that. These you have to discover by doing, as it is dependent on your craft skill. That's the cure for not knowing too: draw up a layout plan that appeals and start building it. It will be fun, just in case that all read as rather to earnest!