Cannonball said:
Due to space restrictions on suitable areas in my house to run trains, my layout went from the original 10x10 L shaped layout I had originally planned down to a 4x6 table. 4x6 just isn't enough to get serious with O gauge trains so I've been thinking of putting nostaglia back in it's box for now and converting to N gauge.
Since I don't have any experience with these little guys, where should I start?
- What are the good starter sets to look at? (I prefer steam but I may incoperate some diesel as well.)
- What are my cost differences using flex-track as compared to sectional track pieces? Whats the good and bad of each?
- How hard is it to bend flex track and get it "right?" I don't want to bend it too far only to find out I've kinked it or made my curves too sharp. What do I use to be sure my curves are right? Is it just an eyeball thing or is there some sort of way to measure them?
- I don't know if I want to go DCC just yet. What are the advantages of traditional running VS DCC? Are there N gauge sets out there that provide sound without DCC?
Thanks for any info.
What are the good starter sets to look at? (I prefer steam but I may incoperate some diesel as well.) There are really only two good starter sets in N scale, possibly three. Kato used to sell a set that included an F3, but its out of production now, although still available in many stores. They've replaced it with a much more expensive Amtrak Genesis set that includes a powerpack. For steam, the only starter set worth beans is the Bachmann Spectrum set. Generally though, in N scale, you're better off building your own "starter set" from quality components. If steam is your thing, then these are the generally available N scale steam engines you'll want to consider:
Kato 2-8-2 Mikado
Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0
Bachmann Spectrum 4-8-2
Make sure to test run both the Bachmann's before purchase, if possible. They are excellent locos, but the QC is spotty. The Bachmann's are
much easier to decoderize.
There are others that are good, but those three are the best out there currently.
What are my cost differences using flex-track as compared to sectional track pieces? Whats the good and bad of each? For regular non-roadbed track, the sectional is probably a little bit more expensive, but not much. Downsides to sectional is you'll have a lot of railjoiners, and each one presents a electrical connectivity risk. Upside is your curves will be consistent, except that again, each joint presents an alignment risk. Both of these factors are greatly mitigated if you go with Kato's Unitrack. If you do decide to go with a roadbed track, Kato's is the only one in N scale that's worth the money. It is much more expensive than flex and/or sectional, but after considering the cost of cork and ballast, plus the labor involved, you may figure its worth it.
How hard is it to bend flex track and get it "right?" I don't want to bend it too far only to find out I've kinked it or made my curves too sharp. What do I use to be sure my curves are right? Is it just an eyeball thing or is there some sort of way to measure them?
Its not very hard at all. Handle the track with care and you'll be fine. There are radius templates available (Walthers lists them from two different companies) that you can use, or you can eyeball it, or you can draw the trackplan onto the surface and just lay the cork on the lines, then lay the track on the cork.
I don't know if I want to go DCC just yet. What are the advantages of traditional running VS DCC? Are there N gauge sets out there that provide sound without DCC? For somebody entering the scale, "Traditional running" has no advantages over DCC except that you needn't worry about a decoder failing and sidelining an engine, you needn't learn anything about programming your engines, and analog costs less. If you can program your VCR, you can program an engine. Currently, the only way to get sound without DCC in N scale is to go with "off board" sound, i.e. speakers under the layout, a setup that MRC does.