Model Railroading > N Scale vs. HO Scale

How is the detail on N scale when comparred to HO. I am talking about w/ top off the line stuff like w/ Proto2000 and so on..... Its hard to tell in pictures.

Thanks,
Tim K.

For one thing, unless you use Z-scale couplers, N-scale\'s are much too large, although detail has come a long way in the past few years. I model HO-scale because there is a much better selection of rolling stock than N-scale.

Sadly there is a lack of detail in N-scale but it has improved dramatically over the last couple of years. As the last poster pointed out the couplers used are oversized. It\'s the scale ratio of train to scenery that everyone loves. I model in N-Scale at home and HO at a local Club. The N-Scale gives me long trains with the scenery towering above it. While at the club I can detail a locomotive to no end.

Just my two cents worth.

Bn6480
Mike

One of the problems with N scale compared to HO is the lack of cheap and reliable locomotives, particularly steam. Even some of the more expensive stuff isn\'t any good. My shop received a Con-Crap Daylight that, out of the box, it didn\'t roll - it waddled. Even at low speed the side-to-side movement was so bad that it threw its self off the tracks.

CP9102

Handrails are too thick, too. But really, the oversize couplers and handrails are most apparent only in photography. Your eyes can look at it less critically -- especially after your eyes reach age 40.

The plusses: You can build 4 times as much railroad in the same area as you can with HO, the better locos run ALMOST as well as HO, and (as mentioned above) LONG trains look great in LOTS of scenery.

Details in HO scale is better than N scale because of the size. N scale is improving but there\'s only so much you can see without useing a magnify glass or have your nose to the model. N scale specializes more on the "overall effect" on a layout.