It’s not common to hear N

It’s not common to hear N scale referred to as a larger scale! 

I’ve changed directions (and scales) several times.  What seems to happen for me is once I know I want a change, I spend less time operating and working on the current layout, sort of loosing interest in it.  I tried to refocus and keep going on my O scale layout for a while, for example, but in the end my heart just wasn’t in it anymore.  I was thinking about bigger industries, so I moved to a much smaller scale - N scale.  And now (after a few years) a move has forced another rethink and I’m shifting to HO scale.

I don’t think there’s much point continuing with the old stuff once you start thinking about the new stuff.  If your heart isn’t in it, it becomes more of a chore and less of a hobby.  And this is supposed to be a hobby.  Work is where you finish projects, stick to plans, etc.  Hobbies are where you should be free to do whatever the heck you want.

So my advice is go for it, once you’re sure it’s what you want to do.

Interesting questions

Interesting questions Anthony. I for one could not model what I want to in N  scale let alone Z. Those are just too small for me to work with. I tip my hat to you for being able to build a model railroad in a scale that small. That tip of the hat goes to the rest of you that model in those tiny scales. For me HO is about as small as I can go. With that being said I would lean toward the larger of the scales that I could build what would fit in the space I have.

If that is not possible I would go larger and model less of what I wanted in the space I have.

"Being able to avoid all the

   DCC sound engines ready to run would be the clincher for me. There's plenty of N scale equipment available so it shouldn't take long to get An N scale layout up and running. Kato unitrack goes together fast and is very reliable if you really wanted to minimize the track laying task. I'd guess there's a secondary market for Z scale stuff where you could sell stuff to get new N stuff? Starting over to me is always an interesting time with new things to look forward to so I don't mind taking down old layouts .....DaveB 

I resisted changing scales

I changed from being a long time N-scale modeler to HO a few years back. It was something I felt I had to do because of eyesight, shaky hands from medication and general all around nerves. The smallest detail is still the smallest detail, there are still some awfully small details in HO but it's a lot easier to assemble couplers and such.

The longer I resisted, the less I worked on my pike. I'm glad I finally made the change and I haven't looked back. Selling off N scale trackage after not even looking at it for awhile has made me realize how small it is and has me wondering how I ever dealt with it in the first place! YMMV.

You're Right Ken

My wife has likened this dilemma to boyfriends she dated back into the day; once she started thinking about maybe breaking up with them her actions from that point on inevitably lead to exactly that.

I'm pretty certain I won't finish this Z scale layout the way I first envisioned but I still might give it a couple more years but concentrate more on getting the locos running regularly so I can some fruits of my labor and in the meantime try to come up with that "winner" of an N scale layout plan that I can then start on. We'll see. 

Thanks for your input!

Interesting Questions

You know Rob we " Z scalers" do't get a lot love from the overall model railroad community. HO is always king, N scale is treated like HO's little brother who gets to play with the big kids now and then as long as he doesn't get in the way and I think a lot of guys who are fascinated with others' O scale layouts are mainly curious how big their house is to hold such a creature.

Z scale is presumed to be too small to ever look realistic or that it's notoriously unreliable. I haven't been in it that long per se but I can tell you it CAN be very reliable if you keep up with track/loco maintenance which are two things that are true for every scale; Z scale doesn't own the rights to that concept.

If you look at closeups of some of the Z scale layouts folks have built over the years sometimes you could hardly tell what scale you are looking at. Does it take sharp eyes? Perhaps but you still need hobby glasses in just a about any scale. Steady hands? Depends on what you're working on. The real trick to Z scale is patience. Take your time while you solder or paint or change couplers and it's really not hard. Patience; another scale-less virtue that we all benefit from.

The real icing on the cake with Z scale is how much property you can produce say on a 8'x4'. Plus, in such a small scale, most people will never see the tiny details so you don't spend your time on them. Simple weathering on a piece of Z scale rolling stock can look just as good as one of Mike Confalone's HO rolling stock projects. You just use small brushes and only put the details people will actual see. The best scenery out there isn't the stuff that matches a particular place exactly, it's scenery with diversity like in real life . Different textures and colors are what bring a scene alive and make it look real not perfectly matching the local fauna and flora and adding every twig.

Our eyes take in a lot of details at once when we look at a layout. The trick is to keep giving them something new to look at before they focus too much on the fact you splashed a little brown acrylic on a box car wheel.

I'm more of a detail guy when it comes to what I like about a layout. I'm mainly a railfan but still want to control a little of what's happening as if I lived in that little world. The details like the kid and his dad fishing for trout downstream of that one small rock you can just see are what bring a layout alive in my opinion. With this current layout I started with the idea of basically doing a  little of everything all the time. If I get bored painting rocks I'll solder some wires. Third if staying in the basement, I'll come upstairs, put on some music and build a structure. With a new layout I would probably get most of the trackbed laid and working before moving on to too much scenery which is why I need to have a definitive plan in place before I start doing anything.

Yes Dave and...

Minitrix has their own line of track which look pretty decent and show up on mot track planning software. There definitely is a secondary market for Z scale as I have been a part of it for five or six years now I would probably sell most of what I have but keep a few choice locos and rolling stock with track in case I ever want (or have extra space for) an second smaller layout.

I also love Marklin Z scale catenary. Having grown up in the 80's and having had  a HO layout of sorts since the 70's the idea of locos running off of the overhead wire really excites me. I'm told part of the fun is watching the pantographs moving up and down as the loco moves along and every now and then you get small spark from them just like in real life. My current layout is basically two layouts in one; DCC steam/diesels with both freight and passenger service and a DC layout using the electric trains with the catenary mostly passenger. I have the tracks laid in a way that it's hard to tell they don't cross or share lines somewhere even in my small completely unprototypical rail yard