Hello from Nederland!

N is very small indeed

maybe take a look at 0n30 or 0n3 (narrow gauge) , and think about a small switching layout

are you familiair with this dutch forum : http://www.amerikaanse-treinen...dex.php?action=forum

myself i am building a layout in on3 with the rio grande and the RGS as companies

Cor (also living in the low lands )

HO has the benefit of being widely available all over the world. Or this is what appears to me to be true.

Our "aging eyes" can even give some problems with "O". But "O" size buildings are much easier to make. A "small" (mine is 5x8) layout in "O" can hold a lot of scenics as long as you don't try to squeeze in too much track. If you decide to get into "N" or "HO", make sure you buy top quality motive power, track, etc. made by a company like Kato.

My wife and I toured the Netherlands a few years ago via a Viking River Cruise, and loved it. 

Thanks for the suggestions all!

Cor, I did *not* know about that forum. Thank you very much for telling me about it! I do not have much interest in narrow gauge, sadly. Beautiful models, just not my "thing". I grew up in rust belt Ohio, so I guess I am just more familiar with the setting. 

Severn, indeed HO is more widely available. I still have to import most of what I buy, and customs fees get expensive. That's actually part of my thought behind 0... I simply need less models for a given amount of space. The fact I am the sort of person who likes brake hoses, wire grabs, and so on is of course, the lion's share of my thoughts.

Joe, do you model that 5x8 in 3 2 rail? I'd love to see a layout plan, sometime, if one is here on the forum? I have several Kato and Atlas locomotives now in N, and they are jewels. I also have a Key brass NYC H10, and covet more NYC brass.  I even have 2 Bachmann Spectrum (Spectrum is dominating the N scale steam market) that I like very much too. My track is Kato Unitrack and Peco, and my rolling stock is all Micro Trains, Atlas, Bachmann, or Red Caboose. Good little trains!

And yeps! The Netherlands is a wonderful country. I miss home terribly, but this is home now, too, and I've no plans to leave!

Amanda, have you given any thought to S Scale? Larger than HO but smaller than O 2rail. 

You can do an O scale switching layout in the space available to you. The depth of 18" to 24" impacts your ability to use full-sized buildings.  These two aren't my designs.

These are my designs using MTH ScaleTrax, but you can substitute 2-rail track..

Prior to O Gauge (Lionel 3-rail)-  I had four HO scale model railroads.  I always found HO to be more "fiddly"- more sensitive to needing better trackwork, etc.  Also- as O Gauge weighs about 6 times what a comparable HO weighs, and countless times what an N Scale car weighs- that means more reliable electrical contact between the wheels, and the rails, and more reliable tracking/ less derailments.  And, in three-rail (AC), there is no problem with reverse loop wiring.

And- (I got into a friendly debate with our local hobby shop over this question)- which scale COSTS more- N or O??  Making the assumption that a person builds a model railroad to fill the space he/she has available- say 5 X 8 ft., then the HO would need 4 times as much in the way of buildings and scenery- and the price is NOT four times.  

I don't know about availability and cost of three-rail and American models in Europe, though,

I've been to the Netherlands and loved all the bike paths. And the waffles ... they kind  go together if you ride long enough. Sorry, off topic!

Interestingly, the first plan Matt shows above is for an O scale Cleveland Flats layout.  It represents the Flats Industrial Railroad, which is located along the Cuyahoga, several bends in from the lake.  The real railroad isn't much bigger than the model one drawn above.   You can find a thread on the layout on the Model Railroad Hobbyist site.

Jim

Sort of off the wall, but you could consider S Scale.    There is quite a bit of equipment available though not nearly the variety of the other scales. 

In O I think  you would have to stick with small locos, say like the Atlas SW9 or an SS 44 tonner or both and lean toward an earlier era where there mostly 40 ft cars.     then you can use #4 switches which will save you a lot of length.    a # 6 takes about 2 feet to get from one track to 2 parallel. tracks.   

And whatever plan, include a run around track and perhaps a removable/potable fiddlle yard/staging track.

If you use building facias instead of whole buildings the width should be fine.

If a 13-foot by 18-inch space is what you have available, Amanda, you could still get creative with an O scale switching layout using motive power such as the 44-ton switcher or the boxcab diesel-electric switcher recently released by MTH. One of each and you would be good to go! Both are available in B&O and Penssy, just to name a couple of candidates for a transplanted Ohio resident.

something cool to model in that small a space would be the West Side Cowboys as they ran up and down 10th Ave In New York City.....you say you have interest in the NYC anyways, that would be a neat small space layout, you could do building fronts along the walls ...like the Nabisco factory and what not....lots of opportunity to kitbash the locomotives that ran up and down those streets!.....that would neat!......plenty of switching opportunities!....heck! you can go up too...and get part of the high line! 

Greetings Amanda, and welcome to the 2 rail forum.

2R O is your best bet, and you can do some nice switching in the area you describe. I suggest using all your space for track, with most of your scenery along/on the wall, either as building flats or painted scenes. You can even buy stick on scenic backgrounds. Maybe a  few strategically placed scenery items, just to set things off. 

Everything you need is readily available if you look a bit. Not sure what you can get locally, but there is that well known auction for starters. There are also several chat groups and an "O Scale Yard Sale" with buy/sell listings and of course the OGR Buy/Sell forum.

S would be OK for size, but you will have a really DIFFICULT time finding stuff!

Simon

Welcome to the wonderful world of O. 

Dave

Here's something that looks interesting, hosted in the netherlands this year -- http://www.eurospoor.nl/en/

i think maybe 5 to 10% will be o gauge

the other stuf you will find is N and H0

take a look at this ,

https://www.spoorwegmuseum.nl/...xpo/on-traxs-english

not much more O but the events in past where nice, more layouts and a higher level

Cor

Hi all. Thanks for all the replies! I'd like to at least be able to run 4 axle road locos like RS2/3, GP9s, or at least an S4. Small steam, like a 2-6-0 or an 0-8-0, would be great too. I will get a track plan and see if i can manage to do something that lets me have 4 or 5 industries (background ones are just fine!) and enough room to switch at least 1 (much rather 2) cars about at a time behind an RS-3 or GP9. If I can manage that, I think, I will give O a real try =)

John, I have read much about proto 48, and I want to model in it very much. The only thing stopping me is the expense. Trucks are expensive, wheels are expensive, of getting locomotives converted is expensive. I'd love to at least be able to run a light Mikado sometime - NKP or NYC, both are good for me! - and I know steam P48 conversions are really expensive. Add in the fact I'd have to ship even more stuff over from the US, and that would get beyond my means, I fear.

Amanda

Hi Amanda,

Reading your last post, I think your best bet might be to start out small with maybe a 2-8-0 or 0-6-0 and see how it goes. One engine and a few cars will be a good test to see how you like it. The smaller the engines you use, the larger your layout will seem.

As for P48:  

the difference between 'standard' O gauge (1.25") vs. P48 gauge (1.17") is .08" or 3/32", which means each side gets adjusted in 3/64" to achieve P48 gauge.

In my opinion, it's not worth the hassle, but it's your choice.

I have embedded a link to a You Tube video of  2R O Scale, with both P48 and standard O. You be the judge. Note: to P48 steam requires machining.

Simon

Enjoy:

https://video.search.yahoo.com...794&action=click

(Takes a sec for the video to start)