Right now I'm looking at HOn3, just to make sure I'm not overlooking this size/gauge and the reason for this is something I had been overlooking and that is that all of my HO structures would be usable in HOn3. The cost of structures and the time it takes to build them, I can not overlook! I was 38 years old when I started my present HO layout and that was 31 years ago! It's a known fact (in my estimation) that I will never re-coup the costs of anything I have in HO and the best that can be hoped for, would be that selling many items would maybe allow the purchase of items in a new scale; or, gauge. How many items it will take, is the question. There are many variables and questions that need to be answered before simply starting over. Some questions take a while to surface, so the process of musing over what will occur is a very good thing! Given how slowly I tend to build things and my enthusiasm for taking my time and enjoying the process, makes me wonder about the wisdom of starting over, no matter what Scale/Gauge I start over in.
To go on even further, I wonder about the wisdom of staying in Model Railroading, as the focus (for me) of this hobby has changed from what it was when I started. That is, that I am a Model Builder! I want to build my models, not buy them ready made from a manufacturer, as it appears those in the hobby today seem to want to do! I was involved with Radio Control Model Airplanes for more years than I have been interested in Model Railroading. I left that hobby for the same reasons I am considering leaving Model Railroading and that is that the building of models lost out to the almost ready to Fly; or, ready to fly type of models! There are very few kits available anymore. Maybe I could find a hobby where honing the skills of model building is more the focus and more popular!
This entire forum thread is my musings over the future of my participation in the Model Railroading Hobby. It started with: "Where I to start over again today, I would model in Sn3 and I would model the Rio Grande Southern". When they were suggesting Scales in this Scale Specific Discussion forum, I feel it is unfortunate that S Scale was overlooked. American Flyer S Scale was fairly popular back in the 50s and 60s. I think there are quite a few Sn3 modelers out there. PBL is a business catering to the Sn3 modeler. Sn3 is a builders scale, similar to how HO used to be!