Getting Started with O Gauge Model Trains

I would be exhausted, too, if I put together that web page. Nice of you to do that.

I enjoyed your youtube videos displaying your venture into that era.

Everyone has opinions (as it is said) and like the line from the movie Roadhouse "opinions vary".

You have covered enough to create provide information to fuel an interest in model trains for a reader. I would have enjoyed a preamble of how you became interested and acquired the knowledge. Again, personal preference and opinion.

Keep working on it and improving it as your knowledge grows.

Great work!

Your guide should be a good helper for someone looking into O gauge.  Nice work.

Alan

The "guide" part is ok, but it reads like you're biased against Lionel and stating things as fact rather than opinion.

For instance, you say, " The second biggest name in O-gauge trains - and which in many ways is superior to Lionel - is MTH."

You also state that MTH's remote control operation is better "integrated" than the "hodge-podge" of remote control options currently offered by Lionel."

I have both Lionel and MTH products and like MTH/DCS products as much as anyone else, but I also know an awful lot of people who would disagree with those statements and their implication. I would think that those kinds of statements should either be left out of an independent guide to railroading or clearly characterized as opinions of the author rather than fact.

The "Which Brand to Buy?" category is bizarre at best. It seems like it jumps between a discussion of the history of each manufacture and a compassion of track systems. These are two fundamentally different discussions. I could see how this almost could lead someone to think they have to pick only 1 brand of track and only buy trains from that brand.

Edit: sorry if my wording is harsh.

Our hobby has become more technically complex with many more choices regarding track, control systems, engines, cars, power supplies, etc, so a "one size fits all" approach is virtually impossible! Nice try though!

You also forgot to mention the best train store on Long Island....Nassau Hobby !!

One thing MTH claims is that with the correct accessories, their DCS system can run Lionel TMCC locomotives. Unfortunately the Lionel LCS can ONLY run Lionel locomotives in remote control.

From the MTH ProtoSound website:

Does Proto-Sound 2.0 with DCS really allow me to control Lionel® Trainmaster® engines?

Yes. Proto-Sound 2.0 with DCS is the first fully compatible train control system on the O Gauge market. When you connect a Lionel® Command Base into the DCS TIU you can operate DCS locomotives in Command Mode, Trainmaster® locomotives in Command Mode, and Conventional locomotives on the same track at the same time, all with a single DCS Remote. You will be able to operate all current TMCC® features with our DCS remote.

That does not, however, mean that our new features, such as Proto-Speed Control, will function in non-Proto-Sound 2.0 engines that are being operated by our DCS remote. You will be able to use only the features that are included in each individual locomotive.

Our system will control other manufacturers' Conventional operating systems and other sound systems (QSI, Ott, etc.), as well.

Lionel's Cab One® will not control DCS Command features, but it will run our engines in Conventional mode.

There is a structure problem in the first sentence...

"...built to played with..."

Also, the die cast locos are not steel.

"G" is not a gauge, but is a scale, one of a few that run on Gauge 1 track.

Henry:

I appreciate all your hard work and effort.  I know firsthand how much effort it takes to build entire Webpages as I have done it as well.

I very respectfully disagree with your assertion that: "Cost: an O-gauge starter set or layout is at least twice the cost of an HO gauge layout of the same (scale) size and quality."  I've personally seen O scale sets that were virtually given away at shows and after-Christmas sales.

I have put together a massive basement fill layout that has appeared in two professional videos, has its own YouTube channel and has appeared in three professional publications--The Glacier Line.

If you are a good shopper and bargain hunter, you may attain high-quality O scale pieces for the same if not cheaper than HO stuff which does not hold its value like O scale stuff.  My benchwork, backdrops, paint, wire cost no more than an identical layout in HO.  I have picked up Korber and 2 MTH buildings that cost (Korber) $170 new and (MTH $60+ new each) for $75 total.  I have a small fleet of Atlas O cabooses that tops I paid $44 for one, the others were much cheaper--in$30s--new these are $80 bucks each.

The price of new HO stuff has reached new heights and as soon as you buy it the value plummets!  I have purchased highly detailed and new priced expensive O stuff for $20 some odd dollars a car.  And my these cars are still worth what I paid because I got them so inexpensively.

While I would concur that generally speaking, piece for piece, brand new price that yes probably most O scale stuff probably would cost more, building an O layout might not cost more if you know what you are doing and are fortunate.  Stating that it would cost double is an assumption.

OFF TOPIC: I don't like the assertion either that O scale takes more space.  It all depends.  I have an O scale layout currently.  I had HO scale layouts for years.  ANY track arrangement that you can put on an 8 by 4 board in HO, you can duplicate in O scale.  I have 12 radius curves, 24 diameter, on my O layout in places which is sharper than any manufacturer made standard HO curve.

I believe that too many folks get discouraged from getting into O thinking that they will pay double which isn't necessarily true. 

Thanks for all the comments, I will be updating the page to take them all into account!

ADCX Rob posted:

"G" is not a gauge, but is a scale, one of a few that run on Gauge 1 track.

It sure isn’t as simple as that. Granted all “G” is run on 45mm gauge track and LGB originally claimed 1:22.5 as G-scale. Being “G” is best suited for modeling railroading outdoors, it has become known as Garden Railroading, which most all Americans refer as “G-gauge”.

45mm track accommodates multiple scales of trains:

• Gauge One, 1:32
• A-scale, 1:29
• G-scale, 1:22.5
• H-scale, 1:24
• F-scale, 1:20.3
• among a few more...

In an effort to address all garden railroading that uses 45 mm gauge track, at least here in America, most call the track G-gauge.