Why Lima O Gauge?

A couple of years ago I toyed with the idea of a 00 Gauge garden railway, but after some thought decided that there were just too many obstacles. 00 Gauge coaches and wagons are light, and I thought the wind would be an big issue, and just a single leaf on the line would cause derailments galore. I don't think O Gauge is immune to these problems, however the wind/weight issue shouldn't be as much of a problem, and hopefully the average leaf will simply be brushed aside. So, I settled on the O Gauge plan, which meant a little research into what was available. Bachmann produce some fantastic O Gauge models in their ever growing Brassworks range, and Heljan are rapidly gaining a foothold in the O Gauge diesel market. But, having been horrified at the prices I've resorted to the budget option, and the company that have served me well through my 00 Gauge days, Lima. Now the finescale modellers out there will no doubt be appalled, but I am bearing in mind that these items of rolling stock are going to be subjected to the great outdoors on a regular basis, so need to be fairly robust, and not the sort of price where I'll cry if they crash! So Lima it is for the time being. They also produce a reasonable range of rolling stock, with the class 33 and the mark 1 carriages ideal for my purposes. I might even be tempted by a 4F at some point, despite being a dedicated D&E era modeller. But the decision to stick with Lima doesn't mean I'm not sorely tempted by the other manufacturers current offerings - at last look the the current (and forthcoming) range of diesel classes suitable for my timeframe covers 03 / 04 / 08 / 20 / 24 / 25 / 33 / 37 / 40 / 47 from Bachmann, Heljan and Skytrex. And that's not to mention the kit building options (so I won't...).