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Thanks for the insight Harvey.
I can say I am in the camp you describe. I cut my teeth in model railroading as a child in the 80’s. O was dead and N was on the fringe. If you did trains you did it in HO. I never even knew anything larger than O existed. When I moved into our house I decided to get back into trains, I still didn’t even have a clue large scale existed. I considered my options for a small bedroom in my house and decided on N. It never really got of the ground, it just didn’t capture my passion. While messing with my N stuff, I went to a train show and discovered large scale. I instantly fell in love. They were big and beautiful and didn’t look like toys. After that I never could get motivated to finish the N it was just puny and anemic. I tried to make a come back in HO but eh still wasn’t going to be good enough. I still hadn’t made any decision to do large scale but knowing it was out there was really hindering my progress on getting excited about a smaller scale. I finally said why not, and here I am. I have never been more passionate about model railroading than I am now. Why, because they are big. They are just impressive. Like you said trains are supposed to be big. Funny thing is now that I am into large scale it has rekindled my desire to build a small HO FreeMo project.
Thanks for the post
I like it because I can actually SEE it.
And since it can be run outdoors, I have a lot more room outside to build a layout then I do indoors.
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I have noticed that also at train shows that people especially the kids gravitate toward the larger scales. There can be a highly detailed HO setup with trains zipping round and then a G scale oval with no scenery but the trains and people love it.
I guess bigger is better.
What I like about large scale is it can go outdoors, run in the heat of Summer or cold of Winter. I also like building my own structures and rolling stock which is easier to do then with the smaller scales. I also like how household items can be recycled onto the RR. I have 2 buildings that use the plastic caps off lanterns for example.
In the smaller scales everyone buys the same buildings but in large scale it is easy to build your won unique structure often out of junk.
Fun.
I am a scale guy. If it isn’t close to looking like the real thing, I pass. Lionel left me totally cold (even as a kid) because it was too 'toy-like" and the accessories, while being kind of cool, were also very unrealistic. I was into HO for quite a while with large layouts with super detailed scenery and structures. I never even considered Large Scale until Bachmann came out with their 1:20.3 Spectrum line (Accucraft was waaaay too expensive for me!). I loved the look. I got the Shays and the Connie and a K-27 even though I didn’t have room at the time for a decent layout. Now I have room for a layout, but I am nearing 75 years old and am disinclined to do all the heavy work a layout would require, and I live in Arizona where it’s scorching hot a lot of the year. I don’t want to have to play with my trains before 8 Am, or after 8 Pm to be able to stand the heat. I also don’t want to see my structures melt! I joined a local club, but had the same problem. I had to schlep my big stuff over to the club at 6 Am to get it on track before the sun came up, and then get only an hour or so of running before it got too hot. So now my super-detailed Locos and AMS rolling stock sits on shelves. I still love to look at them, but running is just not an easy proposition.
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One thing that Andrew mentions (too bad he lives in a furnace and can’t enjoy it more) is the clubs. I am having fun with large scale and I don’t have any track (yet). but the club atmosphere is nice because I know at anytime I want to run all I have to do is ask and people will share.
Ken Brunt said:
I like it because I can actually SEE it.
And since it can be run outdoors, I have a lot more room outside to build a layout then I do indoors.
Ken, I agree. I was tasked to scratch-build an N scale trestle for one of the clubs I belong to. It was fun, but really hard on my eyes.
Todd Haskins said:
What I like about large scale is it can go outdoors… I also like building my own structures and rolling stock which is easier to do then with the smaller scales. I also like how household items can be recycled onto the RR. I have 2 buildings that use the plastic caps off lanterns for example.
In the smaller scales everyone buys the same buildings but in large scale it is easy to build your won unique structure often out of junk.
Fun.
Todd, yes I like playing outside, in the nice weather. And I like building stuff, I just wish I had more time to do so.
I like the scale because I can run it outdoors. I found I get bored with indoor layouts after a while. Outdoors their is always something to do and the layout is always changing with the seasons and weather. Being able to run on warm spring day or in the snow. Running through real plants, real rock and real dirt. Even just sitting on my deck and looking at my creation watching the birds play in the waterfall, chipmunks scurry through, toads hop around, dragon flies landing on the flower’s all while trains are running. Something more magical in the large scales. You dont get that feel with the smaller scales.