WELCOME!!!!!!

Welcome to the forum. You will really enjoy yourself here and there is so much information available from many great modelers.

How Good is Your Vision?

I set up this N scale layout on a door many years ago but as my reading vision worsened I found it difficult to see what I was doing. This will fit on a 3x6 sheet. After sitting unused for several years I finally sold it and switched to HO. If you can see clearly close-up and have not lost your finger coordination, N scale might work for you. Some of the guys on here do some amazing things with N scale.

Scale

First, I just switched to HO from N scale, mostly because my eyesight isn't getting better and the equipment I really wanted to run was much more readily available in HO.  However, N is still great in a number of circumstances, the biggest advantage being amount of layout in an available space.  If you don't have an issue with the size, it might be best to stay in N.

One thing I will say, though, is you should test out those older locos and see how well they run.  One thing I found with the older N scale stuff when I came back to the hobby (and even back when I did it) is that the older N scale locos are not nearly as reliable as the newer stuff and may cause even more frustration - or opportunity to tinker and make them better.  It comes down to what you like to do - do you just want to build a small layout and watch trains run around, or do you like to build and tweak and perfect things?

I appreciate the notes about

I appreciate the notes about close up vision.  Finger coordination is fine, but the having to use progressive glasses is another advantage of getting old.   That is one reason I was thinking of switching to HO. 

When I did have an N Scale layout in the mid 80s , I found the most frustrating part was cleaning the track.  I couldnt afford high end track, and used the cheapest Atlas track at the time.  Back then N scale seemed very sensitive to the slightest oxidation on the track.  I used to have to clean the track before each use.  HO friends never had that problem. 

If you have room

I'd consider HO just because it's easier to handle and see as one ages. I'm building an N scale shelf layout now but it's for the specific reason of displaying some N scale modern era equipment in a distant view scene and I'm aware of the difficulties in working with the small stuff. If you just want to run trains with the least amount of effort and frustrations a larger size would probably be preferable assuming you have the space......DaveB

DCC and N vs HO

If you expect to run DCC (and you should) then N scale decoders cost slightly more than HO.

I've seen fleet decoders for under $20 in HO often, but for N scale (because of space limitations) most of the time you replace the loco circuit board with a decoder that has the same form factor. Those typically run $30 or so.

Generally speaking, you can expect to pay about $10-$15 more for a loco decoder in N than you will in HO. If you expect to have more than a few DCC-equipped locos, this can start to add up.

Also, if you like DCC sound, it's more rare in N, and the small size makes good in-loco sound a challenge. That said, there's clever approaches to sound in N, like SurroundTraxx, but it does add to the complexity.

scale

I believe space,or the lack of it,trumps all in choosing scale.I model in N,I handlay my track,scratchbuild my structures,build some of my own rolling stock,install my decoders. I am 64. I use reading glasses and,at times, my hands do shake a bit. Any physical limitations I might have doing N scale I will still have doing HO. I think the main advantage of the larger scales is time. I think it takes a bit longer to do something in N scale than HO.

Take a look at M.C. Fujiwara 'Mt Coffin' in the March MRH. How many larger scale layouts present themselves better?

The big advantage of N scale

The big advantage of N scale is space.  If you want to model on a 3X6 you can do a lot with N scale including continuous operation.  It’s pretty hard to turn most HO with a 15 inch radius but all but a few brass N scale engines and cars not only run on it but look good doing so.  New N scale locomotives run much better than the old stuff from the 80’s, but those Arnold engines are quality equipment and a built as tough as a Panzer.  They can still run well after a clean-up.  Go take a look at: Spookshow.net

He has a great site and the N locomotive encyclopedia is an outstanding resource.  His logging layout could easily fit on 3X6 door.

Fifer Hobby has the Digitrax DZ125 for $19.49 so you can still find good N scale decoders for less than $20.   

Time & Money

After many years of armchair modeling, I am now starting to actually buy supplies to build a layout. The biggest thing I'm noticing is how much it costs. I'm not talking locomotives and cars, I'm talking track, wood, foam, and mostly tools. I've probably spent around $1000 in the last week, in order to build a small track to test my locomotives that I've had for years, but have never run.

Most of this money is for tools that will be used (hopefully) for many years, so I don't have a problem with spending the money. Still $30 for 72 feet or roadbed, another $30 for 18 feet of flex track, it adds up quickly. I'm working in HO scale, so there are a lot of supplies readily available.

I would say that if you've already got N scale equipment and track, use it to start your layout. If you are looking at a 3x6 foot area, the layout is by necessity going to be a simple oval of track, with a perhaps a few turnouts with spurs, or maybe another loop. In HO, you won't even be able to fit that into a space that size. 18 inch radius curves are going to require at least 4 feet to make a 180 degree turn.

Even in HO, some of the parts are extremely small. I was amazed at how hard it could be to get a screw into a coupler box on a kit I built. Even so, a pair of magnifiers and a little patience will go a long way toward fixing that.

My advice would be to build a small test track. That way you at least have something to run locomotives on. It can be separate from the layout, or it can be the first section of the new layout, or it can perform double duty as a track to test locos, and become a programming track for DCC locomotives.Wiring in a switch will allow you to use either DC or DCC, as you need.

Doing this will at least get you building something, and a place to run trains, even if just for short distances. I'm finding that nothing gets you motivated to do more, than not having the space you really want, to run trains. Once my test track as been completed, I can start work on the shelf layout, and buy that DCC command station and throttle. A little bit more track, and I've got a switching layout.

The eyesight question

I have progressive lenses and some meds I take tend to make my hands shake. I've been an N scaler most of my life but recently I made the painful decision to switch to HO. I'm not sorry I did it but I found out something I hadn't even thought of before the switch. In N scale what tend to be molded on details are details that you have to actually attach in HO. A good example is the door release mechanisms on an Accurail 55 ton USRA hopper. Those suckers are tiny and are as troublesome and fiddly as anything I've ever had to do in N. Another example is the Micro Engineering viaduct I am building right now. Because of the size, construction of the towers is much more involved than the counterpart kit in N scale. The N scale towers are just molded "lattice" but in HO you actually have to put together the tower bent framework and add the lattice. Not really a question of sight on that one but definitely more time consuming.

All that being said, I'd much rather deal with Kadee #5 couplers in HO now than to ever have to fiddle with Micro Trains N scale couplers ever again.

Michael

for the most part, I would

for the most part, I would sell off the Rivorossi and Arnold stuff and just but Atlas and Kato locos for the most part. They run great and will be smoother than what you have. Also, no new freight cars come with the old Rapido couplers.