When I first entered the hobby my intention was to model S. The sales people there talked me out of it citing small offerings compared to HO, N, O and even G. I was also told that turning radii and prices for S compared to O were relatively similar. I bit, and went with O.
I have trains in all scales and gauges including G,O, S, On3, OO, HO, HON30, TT, N, Z, and T. My favorite to look at is the OO (American) It is between S and HO. It is too rare and hard for me to model. HO and below are too small for my eyes to fix, play with, and enjoy. G is too expensive and I lack indoor space. Given the space I would swallow the expense.
I will pick up some standard gauge. Fun to look at but again limited by space like G.
My layout is O and I have not been disappointed.
