Any else here seriously considering moving to a larger scale due to vision issues?


malletman

malletman

Alcohaulic
I am considering this very topic very hard right now. I got really frustrated to the point of an autistic meltdown the other night as to enjoy HO scale, when viewing close up, I have to remove my glasses for them to be in focus as it exceeds what my bifocals can cope with. Then when I want to look across the layout as the train keeps moving, I have to put my glasses back on. Same for working on them/detailing them and building kits in HO scale. I never considered N scale as even as a teen, my eyes were to bad to enjoy that small of a train. Two years ago at the Indianapolis O scale meet, I picked up a couple old All Nation diecast metal locomotive kits. It was refreshing to be able to see them while I started building them. Then that scale stalled as I wasn't working at that time. But now with the frustration with HO, I dug out the kits, stripped the poor attempt at a Monon passenger scheme off the F3 and ran the NW2 back and forth on a short piece of track. As I am cursed with a small train room, a shelf set up around the room is about my only option in 2 rail O. Along with shorter wheel base diesels or steam. My thoughts are the later years of the CGW with a small elevator still using box cars for grain service, and the simplified "lucky strike" scheme on the F units and NW2. I can manage painting that on my own. The drive design on the older All Nation engines can cope with tight curves and #4 turnouts I would have to use. The big bonus is I can see things again in this scale and older kits are not really any more expensive than HO scale anymore. Anybody else at a crossroads where you could step away from one scale and move up and are on the fence? Mike the Aspie
 
Mike,

I haven't considered it but may see a need to do that in the future. There are times myself where the multi-focal lenses don't do enough. My issue is I'm far sighted unlike most of the rest of the family, which is near-sighted. The grandson just glasses a few months back and he's farsighted. I guess it skips a generation.

If the enjoyment of running and modeling trains means you need to step up in scale, you should embrace it. I'd be interested in seeing what you come up with!
 
Right now I am dealing with cataract issues, especially in my left eye, which will probably need to be taken care of in the next few months. My distance vision has been 20/20, but since age 40, my accommodation has decreased to where I use reading glasses (NOT multifocus lenses). I have the most difficulty trying to re-rail rolling stock, even with my reading glasses. I might be tempted to switch to O-scale, but I have 65 years worth of HO rolling stock, and at age 77+ doubt that I would tear up my 14' x 14' layout to go to the larger scale. For detail work, I can put on a magnifying head gear, and using more light helps greatly. Best of luck with your decision.
 
We need more light as we age. That's because our pupils won't dilate like they did when we were in our teens. With smaller apertures out front, fewer photons get to the macula and fovea in the retina. That means less definition seen, but the smaller aperture also means less resolving power...the ability to split two small things very close together.

Macular degeneration, macular holes, cataracts, age-related changes that everyone gets....sometimes knowing if one has any of these, and then how to stave them off or slow them down, is far cheaper than spending thousands on a larger scale of hobby stuff. A few bright light fixtures over the train set might really help as well.
 
No - I will stay with HO.
About age 60, I started using magnifying glasses on a regular basis for detail work. If I need extra magnification, I use my Opti-Visor which has several different strength lenses.
Last year, I replaced all my fluorescent fixtures with twice the light LEDs.

The combination of magnifying and the extra white light - I don't have any problem seeing detail work.
 
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Like Max, I'll stay with HO even though I'm 70 years old. Last year I had cataract surgery on both eyes and now after the surgery one eye is 20/20 and the other eye is 20/40. However, I wear "cheaters" when working on the railroad.

I have some difficulty re-railing rolling stock, but the built in LED flashlight on my Digitrax DT 402 throttle sure helps.

Best of luck.

Greg
 
Already did that. I was in N scale back in the late 70's and early 80's and switched to HO scale because the locomotives of the time were what I would say were crude to be polite and didn't run well at all like they do today. Now when I see N scale trains I can't believe that I was working with such a small scale. I am fortunate to have a decent size room in the basement for trains.
 
I never considered N gauge -- too small from the get-go.

At 70, I can see (with different pairs of glasses) "well-enough" so that HO still works for me.

If it gets to where I can see HO any more, than it will be time to sell off the trains and let it go, I reckon...
 
Actually did it from the beginning. Before I started the first serious layout in the late 80's, I really looked at N scale hard. After talking to several "experienced modelers", they convinced me that my eyesight would deteriorate and that I should start in HO. So I did. My eyesight has not perceptibly deteriorated, but my ability to handle small parts did, so I am very glad that I took their advice. At that age I normally did not take advice of elders..
 
My parents started me with a Lionel set at a very young age. When I turned about 8, they got me a HO Varney set (maybe from Korvettes) as they said that the Lionel trains took up too much room, although I never got rid of them. About 10 years ago, when I got married, my wife mentioned that she liked the larger scale trains. As I bought a piece here and there, I found that for the rolling stock and locos, it wasn't much more expensive than what HO had become. the track and switches are still much more expensive than HO, but they are available. HO seems to have struggled the last decade or two, in terms of manufacturing in Asia. At this point, I have some HO, and some O, straddling the fence. I plan to pare down the HO a bit, but also don't necessarily see myself getting rid of the O, as I like the size and sounds of the larger trains. I could see myself getting out of HO down the road, if I was able to acquire just what I wanted in O. Then I'd sell most of the HO stuff, except for a few select pieces, and not look back.
 
Not so much vision issues as grasp issues. I gave my N scale stuff to my nephew in MD about 5-6 years ago, when I went back to HO.
 
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