HO Scale or N Scale? How to Decide Between the two.

HO is small but manageable. I think N is too small for much detail and is harder to build customs with

In my case Santa decided for me, N. My granpa did HO . But me with 5 brothers N

I love the availability of products for HO even though N scale products have picked up in the last 20 years. If you have impaired vision or your dexterity is limited, I would suggest HO. If you enjoy custom scratch building, there is plenty of that in N scale. On the basis that a lot of scenery products are not produced, so if you want it, you have to build it. Awesome video on the comparisons!

It was such a hard decision, so I decided to become a bi-scaler! I do N Scale and Ho Scale! Eventually I want to incorporate both scales, in a perspective railroad layout! I've already got matching Great Northern GP9s and Santa Fe F7s, in both scales! Eventually I want to custom paint a GP35 or GP40, to replicate the Puget Sound & Pacific engines, I see locally. (PS&P is owned by Genesee & Wyoming, so it shares paint schemes with Indiana & Ohio ((I&O)), San Diego & Imperial Valley ((SD&IV)), and at least one line in the New England area). I love cars, trains, planes, and ships!

Fairly new to model railroading, started with HO and built a 4x8 layout but quickly got bored as it felt like the train wasn’t going anywhere, just doing a figure 8. Hence have built an N scale layout at 12x6 and enjoy it much more due to the longer mainline and feeling as if the train is actually traveling to destinations across the layout going from the rural mountain side to the urban side. Also added a Kato bullet train line that can really get some speed in the bigger layout is great to see flying by the diesel industrial train to stations on each side. Energy drinks at the moment but need to cut back and switch to coffee :)

For me, I prefer N scale over HO. It is really about the space you have available. Imho, N scale rolling stock seems more detailed than HO.

For me it's my eyes, working on HO scale I still need clip on magnifying glass lenses to see what I'm doing, with N scale I could enjoy watching trains run but working on them would not work very well at all. That said grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, because some sets just are not affordable (due to rarity?) in HO scale, e.g. Hiawatha can be gotten fairly easily from Kato at N scale, but at HO I think only Walthers made it and it was a limited run and well whenever companies start doing that "limited" stuff it means it will get expensive if you don't notice it years later, and don't get me started on Shinkansen trains, Kato = great, plenty of options, somewhat affordable, only N-scale, HO-scale... well there's one or two uglier ones that again are really expensive because "Americans don't want that" or something.

Digital uncoupling is both available in N and HO scale... Switching operations are very good with digital uncouplers. Also, from my experience, uncoupler tracks (both remote and manual) work better with N scale compared to HO.

The main drawback of N scale is the cost... Overall it is way higher than HO scale. More and complex scenery = higher costs. Also, track layouts tend to be more expensive in N scale, at least from the European manufactures.

The main advantage of the N scale is the space.

Also N scale is more expensive than HO. Learned that the hard way.

On N scale you start to reduce more details. In H0 some modellers are weathering their rolling stock and buildings. N scalers do this less often. My preference would be H0 and I want to see all the bents and rust cars and locos do have after 15 years in service.

With N and HO what size of space would you recommend? Thank you for this it was so helpful!

The size factor is huge in your choice of scale. Back in the 1980's I tried N scale , for me it was just too small & difficult to work with . I'm happy with Ho scale but that's my own personal choice. N scale today has grown by leaps and bounds and I am thrilled to see that for the hobby in general . Each to their own and have fun with it

Simple: BOTH! Lionel O too😂

Seriously, I used to have an HO and a O scale at my previous house, but we moved, there’s not much room, and now, N

so glad HoN30 modellers dont have this issue

My dad and I chose N scale. While my mom chose HO.

<... loves trains, hates coffee lol

The amount of detail in HO scale is what led me to ultimately choose HO over N scale. I don't have that much space, but I love when model stuff has a lot of detail.

I am there myself, Marklin HO or Fleischmann/Trix N scale.

Assuming you have the room/budget the largest scal possible as you'll be able to see it when you're old.

What kind of coffee do I drink? Bud Ice. At night.

Ahhhh 😱 I wish they had a ripping your hair out emoji hahaha. I've watched sooo many videos and I still can't decided which scale (N or HO) to go with I love the size, train detail and building/vehicle detail of HO but I'm looking to do and 8x8 layout and I definitely want to do 2 or 3 switching industries along with mountains and a lake with a river that needs a bridge. So with all of that I feel like N scale would work better. BUTTTT the vehicles in N scale all look like cheap plastic toys and I'm really big in having them look current and realistic especially the semis (as I'm a semi driver so having them look real is important to me). If anyone see this rant I would love to hear some opinions on what direction to go and why. If you read all of that thanks for your time and any info you can share 😇.

N is for artists and O is for engineers, HO is for those who want to be both or can't make up their mind. You can leave off more detail off in N without it being noticed, say anything smaller than about 2" in reality (that's about 0.15mm in N).

Yes, but you are the i#$%t that spoke of 1:1 scale modeling so anything you you have to say is skeptical!

I know this video is older, but to anyone reading this N scale can also be used to test something in a small space you plan to build in a bigger space in the future. For me that is the PRR in1950s Cleveland. I'm going to do it in N and eventually in 3 rail O. Also I am drinking old reliable Folgers Classic Roast.

COST is a major disadvantage to both. Prices are insane compared to what they used to be. Thanks Joe...
I do BOTH, in addition to G scale. Not that I have huge layouts like John Armstrong or something...

Just found your channel and love it. I have been wanting to get into building a layout but can't seem to decide on what kind of layout. I am really drawn to passenger trains and was curious if there is a particular company that has a better selection of passenger trains and maybe even putting a subway or elevated line with it. I think I want to run N scale but HO is a close second. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

It seems incredibly difficult to find EMUs in OO or HO scale. I think I’d have to go N scale for that alone.

I wish that N scale came with as wide a variety of box cars as HO does.

I start off with O gauge but now I am switching over to Ho scale.

Something else to consider: I have vintage o scale, I can not run my trains at night due to the noise. This can be one of the biggest reasons you would go to n or ho. BTW: dunkin extra light with 1 sugar. Thanks for some great vids!

I model in ho scale

The deciding factor for me is the very limited space I have in a studio apartment.

neither. they are toys, not models. G and O scales are models.

N and Ho scale

I use HO for my main layout, but I use O scale to set up trains on my living room floor (yes, I'm a kid a heart).
Also, O scale is the only scale where you can get modern NYC subway trains.
Sorry, but I'm not a coffee drinker.

I had no choice but to go with N scale due to space limitations. But the truth is, I actually prefer N scale and always have since I was a ten year old kid back in the mid 1970s. Of course there's not nearly the variety in N scale as there is in HO but I have a great little 6X3 foot layout with two tracks with a mountain on one end and 1950s era town on the other with my favorite era being the transitional period between 1950 and 1960. Cheers!... 🚂🚃🚃🚃 😁

I found that on average, N Scale rolling stock and engines cost more than HO Scale. Same with the cost of track, switches, and accessories.

O scale for my ceiling with beautiful sights & sounds. I scratch build all my scenery for O scale.
N scale getting into for big beautiful layouts. I will buy pre made kits for all my n scale

I am switching from O to N, right off the bat price is much better. Just got a Kato big boy for $400.00, big boy in Lionel is way more. Meeting someone today to sell my O guage, selling cheap to move on, hope I’m happy with N guage!

Ho or N? How about neither, I'm starting to put together a small shunting layout and I've gone for a variation on TT scale known as NZ120 which is 1:120 scale but running on N gauge track to simulate New Zealand's 3f 6in gauge. In 120 scale the 9mm track of N works out to be 1080mm, pretty close to the 1067mm of NZ. The generally preferred scale for NZ modeling is S scale running on Ho gauge track but I do not have that kind of space.

great channel and informative although you should put captions on the videos so we know what we are looking at.... i couldn't tell if the videos were ho or n.

ok BUT
what obout Z scale?

Love your videos but I don't drink coffee lol. My wife does though! Dunkin with Cream and sugar.

One thing for me is in N scale the box cars don't look square enough. They feel like they are taller and skinnier then they should be.

I think that n scale is better because some trains only exist in n scale, and n scale has a lot of diesel engines but ho scale has a lot of steam engines, I'm building a layout with a modern theme so I prefer n scale because n scale has more diesel engines.

Sadly, NY apartment living doesn't allow for much with HO. And I love HO.