N Gauge Trains - It's Their Size That's So Engaging!
N gauge trains are the smallest of the three most popular sizes and by some accounts, second only in popularity to HO gauge. N gauge trains are built to a scale of 1:160, that is, one one hundred and sixtieth the size of the real locomotive or coach being depicted. The trains run on diminutive tracks that are spaced nine millimeters apart, hence the name N - for nine. If O gauge is the granddaddy of model railroading, N is the new kid on the block. Bachmann, the world's biggest manufacturer of model train equipment has an extensive range of American N gauge locomotives and rolling stock.
Cute - but what's the real appeal for the serious modeler?
N gauge trains are half the size of their HO brothers, so whatever you can do in HO in a given space, you can achieve double that with N. This obviously has appeal for the serious hobbyist who has only limited space to give to the railroad empire. It is no coincidence that Japan, with its small apartments and restricted living spaces is also one of the major producers of N gauge equipment for the domestic and export markets.
But there is another, more subtle advantage to choosing N. Somehow, the relationship of the trains to the miniature worlds they run in looks particularly "right" in N gauge. You can model the mountains bigger, the canyons and gulches deeper, the forests denser. And finally, a mainline express loco, with nine to ten coaches behind, all too often just looks wrong in HO, unless you are lucky enough to have yards of relatively straight mainline track in your basement. With an N gauge train, you can get away with it on a much more modest sized length of trackbed.
But so much detail is lost when you shrink it that much.
Yes, and O gauge modelers say exactly the same thing about HO; live-steamers the same about O gauge. The real issue is to look at how much detail the manufacturers are managing to incorporate. Bachmann's EMD DD40AX (with Digital Command Control) or if steam is your thing, Bachmann's big 4-8-4s, available for a number of different roads, are pretty much the state of the miniature injection-molding art. Do you want to really spoil yourself? Just take a look at the articulated C & O 2-6-6-2 in Bachmann's Spectrum range. And of course, if money's not an object, finally, the brass loco makers have turned their attention to the burgeoning N gauge train market. N gauge brass is still rarer than HO, but that's changing.
Smaller...and cheaper?
Well, no. Cost is about the same as HO. That being said, there are some wonderfully inexpensive N gauge train sets out there. Bachmann has plenty of starter sets as well as individual locomotives and rolling stock that won't blow the household budget. The very nice Thunder Valley set, headed by the classic EMD GP40, with two cars, track and powerpack, all there in the box, is below $100.00. A personal favorite of mine is the Yard Boss: two cars, caboose, track, powerpack and saving the best until last, Bachmann's tough little 0-6-0 Yard Switcher and tender. Yes, I'm a die-hard steam fan and it's that little slope-back tender that gets my pulse racing.
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