Train Scales

I was recently embarassed by being asked how rr scales originated - HO, O, OO, N, e.g. Although I am acquainted with the varying track widths of each I have no idea how these designations originated. Any help will spare me from further embarassment. Cheers, Duane Ellison

Reply to
Duane Ellison
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Lots of stuff in the rmr faq on this, have a read. Keith

Make friends in the hobby. Visit Garratt photos for the big steam lovers.

Reply to
Keith Norgrove

To confuse you even further, some scales run on different gauges of track(HO, HOn3, HOn2 1/2, etc), and some gauges of track support different model scales (O gauge supports O scale models, also American Flyer made 3/16" scale trains for O gauge track).

Rob

Reply to
trainfan1

Duane=A0Ellison wrote: I was recently embarassed by being asked how rr scales originated - HO, O, OO, N, e.g. Although I am acquainted with the varying track widths of each I have no idea how these designations originated. Any help will spare me from further embarassment. Cheers,

------------------------------------------------------ These might help:

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Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:
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History of N Scale:
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Railroad Bookstore:
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's Books and Toy Trains:
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to 1,000 sites:
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Reply to
Bill

Maerklin made the leap from selling non-expandable train sets to railway systems in 1891. The gauges were 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. from smallest to largest. In 1900 they released "0" gauge. At that time the gauges were measured rail center to rail center with the rail head being 3mm(1/8") wide, so 0 gauge was 35mm and later 32mm between the rails.

Because Ma hadn't allowed for notation of even smaller gauges, each new one since has had to have a snappy title which may or may not have any meaning.

HO is of course Half 0, TT is Table Top, N is nine (millimeters) in most European languages, Z is the last letter of the alphabet.

Regards, Greg.P.

Reply to
Gregory Procter

originated -

track

originated. Any

Too bad O gauge is excluded. :(

Reply to
Scall5

Uh, made to 3/16" scale, but hardly scale models it would seem.

Reply to
Steve Caple

... and of course OO is smaller than O, but not the same scale as HO.

Strangely, O (alphabetic) should really be 0 (zero) but seems never to be used that way these days! Similarly OO (alpha) should be 00 (zero-zero).

Jeff Law New Zealand

Reply to
Jeff Law

Perhaps not in English-speaking countries but in parts of Europe 0 (zero, null or nul) is used (France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway).

Reply to
Erik Olsen

Its not excluded, the info is there, in the 'Scales and Gauges' section on this page

Keith

Make friends in the hobby. Visit Garratt photos for the big steam lovers.

Reply to
Keith Norgrove

They switched track gauges, from 3 rail "O" to 2 rail "S", after WWII to bring the track more in line with the scale...

Rob

Reply to
trainfan1

G is from the G in LGB, also Garden.

L is for Lego scale. Apparently this scale is to be officially recognised by the NMRA at the 2005 convention.

Reply to
Ken Rice

"Ken Rice"

Not "Garden", that's an "Americanism".

The "G" comes from Lehmann Gross Bahn

Gross = big.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway (Site now back up and working)

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Reply to
Roger T.

That is what I said. G for Garden came later.

Reply to
Ken Rice

G is of course not a scale but only #1 gauge running assorted norrow gauge prototypes.

I didn't know that one!

Reply to
Gregory Procter

If you look at the US usage of standard gauge prototypes in

1:29th scale on G narrow gauge track, it is definitely "GROSS".

Regards, Greg.P.

Reply to
Gregory Procter

Here are some links to sites that might help you: a short history of mrring:

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Germany in english;
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the US:
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site is in German but contains links to mrr org.s that have set standards from around the world:
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from the US:
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Reply to
jimmyfc

I've got nothing against Lego trains -- I have a few acquaintances (actually my 20yo son's adult friends) who are into it, and regularly take modules to train shows -- but I'd hardly call it a "scale". Seems more in the toy train category (not that there's anything

*wrong* with toy trains, says he quickly, trying to appear all liberal and broad-minded ;-).

My guess is the NMRA sees Lego as a way to get youngsters interested in the hobby, so that it doesn't die out c.2050.

-- Kizhe

Reply to
Lt. Kizhe Catson

I guess I should have said L-gauge, not L-scale.

As for being "toy trains" consider the creations on the web sites below:

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And always remember, the real world is made out of bricks.

Reply to
Ken Rice

The toy train designations began as _track gauges_ and in some cases are still used that way. Today the designations are generally thought of as _scales_ by modellers and sales tools by manufacturers.

Regards, Greg.P.

Reply to
Gregory Procter

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