Is modelling in N gauge cheaper than OO gauge?

Although N gauge is very popular (and for good reason), it can't be denied that the most popular gauge on the UK market today is 00, therefore manufacturers produce and sell a significantly higher volume of 00 gauge products than N gauge, this, in turn, should mean that 00 gauge is cheaper than N gauge but to find out we decided to put it to the test and conducted a price comparison.

We compared several products from the following categories:

• Ready to run engines 
• Scenery and signals
• Tracks and points
• The second-hand market

The results showed that on average 00 gauge was 22% cheaper than N gauge for steam locomotives whilst N gauge was 14% cheaper than 00 gauge for diesels.

N gauge scenery won the battle for value, weighing in at 23% cheaper for an equivalent purchase and track/points worked out about even between the two gauges once we factored in a significant range of products.

The second-hand market is hugely competitive for 00 gauge used engines, so it's not surprising that prices were generally 6% cheaper than N gauge on like for like purchases. What is surprising, is that N gauge scenery was found to be as much as 45% cheaper than its larger counterpart!

So which gauge is cheapest overall? Well, that depends on several factors. Firstly, what you are buying and in what quantity. Secondly, although it was an intriguing experiment to conduct, the variables are endless, for a definitive answer every product would need to be compared and not just a mainstream selection, finally, the results on the day reflected the deals of the day, and they change, daily! Overall, you can expect to spend the same amount of money in all gauges, but you will spend it on different items.

The comparison was never meant to be taken seriously because what gauge one decides to model in is unlikely to bear any relation to the product's price and the results were always going to be a mere snapshot of a much bigger picture, but a very interesting outcome nonetheless.