N Scale Buyers Guide

[GRUSS444]

Anybody know if there are any printed N scale buyers guides or reference lists available ?

[btrain]

Spookshow has a great list of locomotives and cars. I'm not sure if prices are included in the descriptions, but some do include the MSRP. http://www.spookshow.net/

[MetroRedLine]

Anybody know if there are any printed N scale buyers guides or reference lists available ?

There's the Walthers catalog, but it hasn't been relevant for years...decades even. And given Walthers' pathetic record with N scale and the fact that the catalog is no longer a comprehensive representation of model railroad products due to competing distributors out there these days, I guess the answer is no.

The hobby has also changed these days, not only with online selling but online marketing -- some companies' release schedules are not predictable, or some companies, like Jacksonville Terminal Co. don't even formally announce products until they're ready to ship. So either way, a printed guide would not suffice.

[ncbqguy]

There were several in the early days of N Scale.
 
The TROVESTAR data base is a resource as well as the online sites already mentioned.

B.C. (Before Computers) when N Scale was primarily Arnold Rapido, AHM, Atlas, Bachmann, Con-Cor, Life-Like, Lima, and Mini-Trix I used to keep track of freight cars with pencil spreadsheets. 

Today with the proliferation of manufacturers and more frequent smaller production runs a complete all-time list would be massive!

Charlie VLK

[learmoia]

N scale Magazine produced one back in the mid 1990s.. I don't recall anything comprehensive since then..

And there is this..
https://www.nscaleenthusiast.com/NSE_Pages/NSE_Guides.htm

I agree with others.. between Spookshow and Trovestar, 'Guide Books' are outdated

~Ian

[randgust]

Not only that, but the only person I've seen that keeps up with the 'reruns, improvements and variations' on different mechanisms is Mark (Spookshow).  N scale seems particularly subject to the same shell with radically different mechanisms under it between runs.  Some of the original ones are real turkeys and the second or third or fourth attempts much better

Back 'in the day' Model Railroader used to do product reviews, and Mark will use excerpts from those as needed, but bluntly, the comment that they got softballed when there were horrible, terrible issues with products would be an understatement.  Pretty obvious they didn't want to offend advertisers.   Mark has no such reservations, a turkey is a turkey and gets a big ol' "F".
http://www.spookshow.net/loco/yugosd45.html

[JMaurer1]

Since you specifically asked for 'printed', the answer here is there aren't any at all. Walthers catalogue once upon a time was fairly good for HO scale, but never for N scale even on the best of days. The big problem here is vendors (especially in N scale) come out with new cars and/or road names every month...take MT for an example. They come out with about a dozen cars a month with no 'pre-release' announcements (not a complaint at all, I enjoy looking forward to their new releases) that if a printed resource was available, it would be out of date in a month. Lot's of other MFR's try to do the same so it would be impossible to keep a 'printed' reference current...heck, there really isn't a good online reference (other than those already mentioned and with so many things that have been released in N scale, they may not be entirely correct themselves).

So the short answer is: no. 

[Mark5]

Anybody know if there are any printed N scale buyers guides or reference lists available ?

There is the printed "Armstrong Guide" (NSE calls it "N Scale Reference Guide for Collectors", mentioned above) which is a bit dated (2018 the most recent?) but fairly comprehensive (so I've heard - I've never actually seen one!  ). I don't know if anyone still has these available:

https://www.nscaleenthusiast.com/NSE_Pages/NSE_Guides.htm

Boss Hogg shows them as sold out: https://hogtrainz.com/NARMSTRONG.htm

Spookshow's site is fantastic, but there is not much info in terms of roadnames/releases if that's the type of info you want.

Trovestar has "holes" in that some things simply aren't there.

Personally, I have kept various catalogs over the years (going back to the Concor years) - the most recent one I have is one of the Walther's N Scale Reference "book" from the early part of this century.

Mark

[learmoia]

The book I was referencing was the "N scale Product Guide" from Hundman Publishing
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I would say this was the best comprehensive guide for N scale products from the 1970s to the 1990s

There was also a 2 volume set released in the same time frame that features all Micro-Trains cars back to 1972 (I don't have this set)..

@Mark5 mentioned the JMC Source Books of the 1970s and early 1980s  those are also good.

A few items of note:
Micro-Trains maintains a historical spreadsheet of all releases back to 1972
https://www.micro-trains.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=13

Atlas keeps a Product History from about 2000 and beyond.
http://archive.atlasrr.com/

Intermountain does a pretty good job keeping a record of past models.
https://www.intermountain-railway.com/manufacturersn.htm

~Ian

[daniel_leavitt2000]

The book I was referencing was the "N scale Product Guide" from Hundman Publishing
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I would say this was the best comprehensive guide for N scale products from the 1970s to the 1990s

There was also a 2 volume set released in the same time frame that features all Micro-Trains cars back to 1972 (I don't have this set)..

@Mark5 mentioned the JMC Source Books of the 1970s and early 1980s  those are also good.

A few items of note:
Micro-Trains maintains a historical spreadsheet of all releases back to 1972
https://www.micro-trains.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=13

Atlas keeps a Product History from about 2000 and beyond.
http://archive.atlasrr.com/

Intermountain does a pretty good job keeping a record of past models.
https://www.intermountain-railway.com/manufacturersn.htm

~Ian

I think Pam explained the original idea was to make it as a binder with update packs that could be added in the future. There was supposed to be a volume II with structures, vehicles and track.

[bbussey]

There are way too many products released regularly these days for a printed reference guide to be viable.  Online references are the best option at this point.

[Chris333]

Buy N scale. No guide needed 

[ncbqguy]

I think Pam explained the original idea was to make it as a binder with update packs that could be added in the future. There was supposed to be a volume II with structures, vehicles and track.

IIRC Kirk Reddie did the guide while he was on staff at N Scale Magazine.   
Probably the best course would be to submit updates to Trovestar rather than starting from scratch.  I wouldn%u2019t buy a print guide as it is going to be out of date before the press starts to run.  Digital is easy to add/correct and there is a good start of photos on Trovestar.
I have not used it and have only a passing knowledge of the site. 
Charlie Vlk

[JMaurer1]

As a side note: Since EVERYTHING in N scale has become limited run, even Trovestar is just a list of the things you are not going to be able to find. There are still some cars that I'm looking for (and have been for YEARS) that I just can't find at any price... 

[spookshow]

I think the only official/printed buyer's guide was "Greenberg's Price Guide to 'N' Gauge Trains" (Dallas Mallerich, 1981). It was a fairly accurate and complete listing of every model made from the early 60's to the late 70's (IE, back in the days when you could literally own one of everything ever made in North American N scale).

-Mark