Designing My HO-Scale Room Layout

[ocalicreek]

My "dream" layout would be an o-scale standard gauge layout so it might be helpful to get some practice now.

If that's your dream, then why aren't you buying up O scale equipment and stashing it away? I know, you have the HO stuff now so do something with what you have is good advice I'd offer anyone. But why not get rid of the HO and go On30? Many folks seem quite happy to do just that.

IF that's your dream then On30 makes the most sense. Sell the HO stuff you've got now and invest in a nice Atlas O starter set or On30 equipment. On30 will fit your space, sure, if you have room for HO then most On30 stuff will take up relatively the same space - however - structures and scenery will take up FOUR TIMES the space as their HO counterparts, structure for structure and tree for tree.

O scale standard gauge is EXPENSIVE stuff that takes up alot of room if you want it to be comparable to what you can do in the same space in HO. That's why On30 has been so popular. But On30 is not modern Miami industrial switching. Maybe 1920's Everglades sugar cane industry with a dual gauge interchange freight house in Miami, but that's a major change to contemplate.

Bruce Chubb built the original Sunset Valley in sections in his father-in-law's garage for six or seven years before he and his wife found a suitable basement with a home attached. They collected what they liked from train shows and hobby shops and built models on the kitchen table. But even in those early days he had a vision for what he wanted his layout to be. Then when he had the space it was a matter of connecting the components. That layout lasted a few decades, was the inspiration for countless articles and technological developments, and was satisfying until the last op session. Now he's taken the concept into a new home and is at it again. The best stories are timeless just like the best layout ideas carry on from place to place through all stages of our lives.

The layouts I built before I went off to college did not carry over through my post-grad work or into my career and family life. But the concepts I developed after college have carried through and every layout I have worked on since then has been a variation on a theme. Not every modeler thinks this way, but many do and it's worth paying attention to.

Galen