Why is called HO?

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (daniel peterman) wrote in news:519-456B1E50-1798 @storefull-3235.bay.webtv.net:

Modellers can still work in HO when Hung Over unlike N or Z, which require finer motor skills. (Btw, N stands for "No way" and "Z" stands for "You're better off sleeping.")

;-)

Puckdropper

"Half O".

-- Cheers

Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

Back in 1891 Maerklin exhibited the first standardized track systems which would be extendable, as opposed to trainsets which came in a box with no add-ons available. Those were gauges 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 (48mm).

5, 4, and 2, are long forgotten by most people. In 1900 Ma introduced the smaller again 0 gauge (35mm).

As you can perhaps see, they had rather cornered themselves (and the rest of us) for further size reductions.

The next step was "00", which was applied by various manufacturers to any gauge smaller than "0"

"H0" (letter H, number 0) was applied to 16-16.5mm gauge which was about exactly half 0 gauge.

"TT" was a US gauge refering to "Table Top". "000" was the logical/illogical next reduction from "00" and perhaps should have been H00, being half 00 scale. In the US it was named "HHH" but the first commercial models were N scale from Europe.

The "N" scale name was coined in Europe, "N" being shorthand for Nine/Neuf/etc as 9 starts with N in most European languages.

"Z" came from Maerklin aiming to make the smallest practical working scale/gauge.

Since WWII the terms have slowly morphed from refering to gauge to refering to scale, except for in Britain and with LGB.

Every once in a while someone will suggest we have a more rational scale/gauge system such as I gauge being called "(1:)32/45mm" and H0 "87/16.5" etc but of course humans aren't rational creatures.

Regards, Greg.P.

Greg Procter spake thus:

Where do you get this "Maerklin"? Nobody spells it that way; it's "Märklin".

If you don't have an umlaut on your keyboard, and as an umlaut isn't used in English, then it is replaced with an "e". So "Maerklin" is a 'correct' English spelling.

-- Cheers

Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

The "a" with umlaut equates to "ae" in English. Therefore "Märklin" equates to "Maerklin" in English.

Regards, Greg.P.

Depending upon one's computer settings the "a with umlaut" often comes up on other computer monitors as a nonsensical string. I often find that messages from US posters give me that non-sensical string and they complain that my umlauted letters do likewise. "ae" always seems to get through.

Regards, Greg.P.

You spell it "Maerklin" if your keyboard can't do the a with the li'l dots on top. Standard German orthography.

HTH

Greg Procter wrote: [...]

That's 'cuz they use "Windows computers." Micro-soft decided that it wouldn't use ASCII codes as standard for its plain text characters.

"Wolf K" <

That's (roughly) what I said. :-)

-- Cheers

Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

Or you spell it Marklin and assume (or hope) that the reader is able to understand the Americanization of spelling it without the umlaut and not get all anal and bent out of shape over it.

Wolf K spake thus:

Not true as a blanket statement: all accented characters, including the umlauted a in Märklin, show up just fine in my Windows computer, thank you very much.

Greg Procter spake thus:

Everyone else I know just turns the "ä" into a regular "a" and is done with it; hence Marklin (which is what you'll find on eBay, among other places). No need to distort the spelling.

Wolf K spake thus:

Yes, but not standard English orthography (which would be to simply turn the "ä" into a regular "a"). We're speaking English here, not German.

"David Nebenzahl"

It's not distorted spelling, it's the correct English language way of spell the word.

"Marklin" is a misspelling, no matter how often it is used. :-)

In the 1970s, I worked for Höchst AG, the name of the company in English was spelt Hoechst. No umlaut, add and "e".

-- Cheers

Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

Then in that case, you add an "e" as in "Maerklin".

But no more discussion, you can't argue with non believers in the English language.

I'm happy knowing I'm correct and you're not. :-)

-- Cheers

Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

Actually, HO stands for "Horribly Oversized" whereas N stands for "Normal".....

Franz T.

Originally, it was called Ho Ho Ho. Sadly, Santa Claus went out and hired some former Union Pacific employees who decided to sue over the obvious trademark infringement.. After many years of repeated legal wrangling it was shortened to the familiar "HO". Hope this helps.

N scale also means "in scale," as opposed to "out of scale." Likewise, N gauge means "in gauge," as opposed to "out of gauge."