Why did you tranistion from HO to O?

you mean HO-fobia 

For the digital operation in HO you have only two choices (2-rail DCC and 3-rail MFX) but in O you have four choices (2-rail DCC and 3-rail TMCC, DCS, Legacy).

I was in HO when i was 10 years old and took my layout down do to i had to work on the track all the time and the engines and cars would derail. I got into N scale few years later and in 2002 got into O scale haven't looked back but i am doing n scale some. 

I had some third hand Lionel trains when I was a kid, but I forgot all about them when I received an N scale train set for Christmas one year.

N scale was it for me for a long time, but then I got a good deal on a Kemtron Wabash 2-6-0, and I started playing around with O 2-R.

Then I became a hopeless rubber scaler. I've had G scale, HO, I went through a hot and heavy S scale phase...I even accumulated some TT scale. I've literally switched scales 3 times in one week (And if that isn't a cry for help... )

Right at the moment I'm mainly playing around with On30, which I like a lot. I really like O scale buildings because in my imagination i can see myself scratch building an O scale building with a minimal amount of blubbering (the idea of building structures is terrifying for some reason...) and I LOVE the Woodland Scenics line of built up O scale structures.

Jeff C

I actually moved from HO to N in the 1980's. I was originally very much into detail and scale everything in HO but N offered much more railroad in any given space and the amount of detail out of the box was "good enough" for me. Also I have had far fewer problems with derailments in N even though the track and wheels are smaller. When we bought the house we live in now I decided to start running my Lionel again and built a L-shaped layout in what was previously the family room. I've never abandoned N scale, I'm just not active with it right now. And of course I've accumulated other brands of O gauge trains besides good ol' Lionel.

I transitioned from N to O. Why? The eyes! I was going to do S but my LHS talked me out of it.

HO doesn't quite fall into this category, but I've heard that the old O gauger once said he got out of Z scale because by the time you get close enough to see it, your nose knocks it off the track.

TJ

Yes, "Presbyopia" is our friend, fellow O gaugers.  We get a lot of converts to O that way. It is a good thing for them and us!

I can identify with almost all these responses.  From nit pickers to operations enthusiasts, not keeping the trains on the track to reverse loop wiring, larger size to more detail, availibility to friends, easy control to smoke and sound.  But I think the biggest reason was, I couldn't see the drive rods chugging along any more.  What's a steam locomotive without being able to see the action??

S scale has always seemed like the ideal scale to me, I'm surprised it hasn't really caught on and remained a small market. What didn't you LHS like about it?

Just seems like it has a lot going for it, 2 rail for the scale modelers, big enough to see yet small enough to be able to have a reasonable sized layout in a smaller space than O gauge, not as delicate as HO or N and probably a few more. I considered it my self, but the selection of items available was just too small for me at this time, O gauge offered a lot more variety of available items.  

I had collection of about 135 HO locomotives and I moved in 2002. When I unpacked them many had broken detail parts. I got sick and tired of using tweezers to put back details such as mu hoses and coupler lift rings that never wanted to go in the tiny holes in the first place. What finally sent me over to O scale was seeing the MTH Southern Railway Kanawha on ebay,I had in the past unsuccessfully sent requests to Bachmann and Rivarossi to do that one in HO. I knew I was in O scale for life when MTH did the Southern Railway Royal Hudson. These two engines when I was a kid are what made me a railfan.

I actually transitioned from G-Gauge to O-Gauge because of price.  At the time and still to this day O-gauge equipment price is bargain compared to G-Gauge like LGB.  I did think about going to HO and later to N Gauge but they were just to small and it seemed like it would be alot tougher to wire a layout.

I haven't made the transition from HO to O, never will.  For me, three rail is nothing but a pleasant occasional diversion.

Regards,

GNNPNUT

quote:

If you are still running both O and HO, what am I missing?

Missing?  Not much, just a command control system that is compatible across the board regardless of manufacturer, the ability to have more than twice the layout in the same given space, excellent DCC/Sound equipped engines at a fraction of the cost to comparable O scale engines (IF there is a comparable O scale engine), nearly infinite options on rolling stock, the ability to have scale sized rail RTR from a variety of mfg'ers, more structure kit options than you'd ever build in four lifetimes. There's much more... but this is a few for starters. 

Unfortunately, the last of my 3 rail is on shaky ground.  A return to HO is the culprit.

I wanted a big trains but my mother could not aford it.I got stuck with tyco ho trains.Any train was better than no train at all.I had a small bulding for my ho layout.Well I could never run a long train with out it derailing.After one bad night trying run the trains.I had a headace that was so bad.That was the last straw for me.I brought 1 lionel 736 berkshire and later some boxcars.While looking in a magzine I saw a ad for mth trains.It was a erie berkshire railking that caught mt eye.Got it and its pulling power was impressed me.I had 25 boxcars and pulled no sign of any strugle ether.There was another this was c&o berkshire.After that I was off and runing no looking back or going back for me.Anyway I have always had prombles with my eye sight.And this is so much easyer on my eyes to.No I am not sorry for switching from ho to O.Oh one other thing they don,t derail at every little bump.

Well, my "carpet central" layout is on the basement floor -- none of the places we've ever lived have had enough spare space for a proper benchwork layout.  So I started laying FasTrack on the floor (just try that with HO or N), and, although I still wish I had more space, it works fine.  3R is very forgiving about trackwork.

I have both 3-rail scale and PW Lionel (though I never run them together).  I have no interest whatever in any kind of DCC, and run only Conventional.

As others have mentioned, I like the size and mass of the O trains and rolling stock.  Adding detail is a lot easier, too.  And when you do, people can actually see it!

I was at a train show talking to one of the guys in the N Scale club I'm in and he was talking about this building he head just built and how the shingles on side were exactly like the real building and the more he talked the more excited he got and he went on and on about his tiny little representation of reality. I started looking at all the other guys in the club and most of them are exactly the same way which is nothing like me, I just like to play trains so I decided to switch to something more fun and I started buying 3rail

Mark, That is also my goal. I am trying to keep it somewhat believable. My layout is set in the near future. It is nice having fewer restrictions but at the same time I do not want it to be a joke. Most people model the 1950s I heard. I wonder how many model the 2020s.

Dan the train man. 

NEVER HAD TO TRANSITION

Dan,

That is a good question.  When looking at the near future, much of what is today can stay, but the sky's the limit as to your creativity to make some changes as you envision them.  Thought provoking.

You now that I think about it, O or S was always king until I made a permanent layout.

I remember as a kid HO was so frustrating:

1) Brass track that never conducted electricity

2) Horn Hook couplers that could frustrate the Pope!

3) plastic wheels

4) plastic gear sets in those Tyco Night Glo sets that lasted a few minutes.

5) No way to set up a set on the carpet w/o the track separating. @#$* track joiners.

6) Switches that just caused everything to stall on and their electric throw machines that would catch fire.

7) adding more than 10 cars on would tip the whole train over.

8) Very few animation accessories that would actually work

9) Nothing was durable

10) The carpet fuzz just got in everywhere!

Those were all valid in the 1960's and into the 70 maybe.....

1. NS took over long ago with the cheap sets going steel.

2. Those are gone in 95% of sets and individual cars and locos today thank goodness!

3. Still on a few cheapish cars but nice metal wheels even on Model Powers last cars.

4. Cheap Tyco sets says it all!!!

5. Again 99% of sets have EZ track or a like system. A big improvement for sure!

6. Still again.....today's are a 100% improvement. big design changes. I never had an   issue with Atlas so......

7. Fixed via #5

8. That's a O-27 thing....HO was never a scale for working gate men.

9. Cheap sets yes.....good stuff as or more durable than O. (mainly a electronics thing)

10. Fixed via #5 too.

My FIRST train was a Lionel Standard gauge  electric engine(318) with three passenger cars which I still have after  77 years, then I got my 1947 Scout.  We had an HO Marklin as a Xmas  train which my son now has and I got big in to brass HO and HOn3. The old eyes couldn't see all the little thingys in HO any more so sold all 100 engines and the cars. Dabbled in LGB G scale outdoors but in Pa, the weather wasn't decent enough so I resurrected my O pre-war with Post-war now which I thoroughly enjoy. Just jumped in to S scale a few months ago which I like too. My scenery is mostly Lionel accessories and tin plate buildings but love to see th fully sceniced layouts.

Agreed. All the smaller scales work much more smoothly today. N scale with dcc is very smooth running, HO too. 

1. I liked the idea that the train would stay on the track while running
2. Like everyone, detailing in HO got to be more of a challenge as my eyes got older
3. I loved TMCC
4. Unlike HO, I rarely lose a box in the trunk. Harder to sneak in though.
5. My favorite colors are orange and purple, though you'd never know it with all of the blue boxes around here
6. I liked peoples' reaction when they feel how heavy the engines are
7. The availability of vehicles and people that you can actually see on the layout
8. Mrs Muffin likes it