WHAT SCALE SHOULD YOU MODEL?

Still feeling overwhelmed by the various railroad scales? Take this simple quiz to determine which one of the three major scales HO, N or O best fits your needs.

1. The space I have available for building a layout can be best described as:

A.  The shelf in my apartment.
B.  The corner of my basement or garage.
C.  The entire third wing to my house.

If you are not sure how to answer this question, keep these few points in mind. The larger the scale, the more room it takes for an extensive layout. If you can only devote a small area to model railroading, you should probably model in N scale. If you have more room to work with then you have the option of choosing HO or O scale.

A.  Perfect. I should have become an airline pilot.
B.  Good. I can read the time on my microwave across the kitchen.
C.  Pretty Good. I can still see, but the specs have gotten thicker over the years.

You might think this is a strange question, however you will enjoy your model trains more if you can see the detail on them. Choose a scale that is large enough for you to enjoy the neat features that make your trains authentic.

3. How important are detail and realism?

A.  It's important. I would like my layout to look authentic.                             B.  It's incredibly important. I want my layout to look close to a real railroad.  C. It's becoming more important, but I still like the size of the toy trains as a kid.

Model railroading, like most hobbies, has become much more advanced over the years. As such, most products today are offered ready-to-run and require little to no product assembly. In addition, the detail available on most scales is incredible and highly surpasses what was thought possible even five years ago.

YOUR QUESTIONER RESULTS!
If you chose, mostly A's, then you would most likely fit into the N scale category. If you chose mostly B's, HO scale would be best suited for you. Lastly, if you chose mostly O's, then O scale would probably be your scale of choice.

HO SCALE

• Great for switching layouts
• Widest range of products available
• Most popular scale

N SCALE

• Great scenery options
• Perfect for running long trains
• Just right for fitting much in a small space

O SCALE

• Great for sound enthusiasts
• Ideal for detail
• Wonderful operating accessories

Now, these are just BASIC guidelines. Obviously choosing your scale is dependent upon mainly your personal preference. Whatever scale you choose, Atlas has everything you need to get started on the right track!

Happy Railroading!