Scales and gauges - again

Glad you added that bit.. I was starting to get really confused ;-)

Malcolm

Just as well we weren't talking about the width of the doors - whether they were 00, EM or P4 :-)

Jim.

Given you are all talking about door ways, perhaps a better comparison is against the size of figures you get for N. I don't know what the current N market is like (I model Z where so far all the commercial stuff is at 1:220 and even the finescale guys stick with

My Peco catalogue, (a 1997 version) mentions 2&1/16th as the scale for N in their general comparison chart, comparing it with 4 mm and 7 mm. They probably couldn't bring themselves to use decimal points. Nowhere do they say what scale they actually use for their models but the N scale wagon section claims that their couplers give an 'exact scale' distance between coupled wagons complete with an enlarged photo conclusively showing the nonsense of the claim.

The real puzzle is why on earth, when they concluded that 1:160 was too small for British stock they did not take the simple and already existing 2mm scale.

Keith

And don't forget the 'cement' shoes of the Airfix figures. The extra height must have added 6" to the models basic size.

Ahhh, Airfix, the shape of things to come................cuban heels, platform shoes..

-- Steve ;>)

I wouldn't of thought that there could ever be such a thing as 'exact distance', surely the distance would vary (ok maybe not by much) depending if the coupling on the full size train is in tension, such as going up a hill, or if the wagons are buffer to buffer when being slowed by the loco

Regards

Malcolm

Keith wrote: [...]

Because Peco Knows What's Best For You. Like Hornby. Like Marklin.

And like Hornby and Marklin, it takes them forever to recognise that they have to adapt to international standards. Look at how long it took them to build other than "universal" turnouts (which weren't -- I had to glue plastic strips along checkrails etc, and do other fiddling to get them to work.)

Of couse, buffers are nominally 18" long uncompressed, for unbraked stock as in the Peco example, so under heavy compression the distance buffer beam to buffer beam will be around 2ft 8in. The 3 link coupling has slack so the shunter can couple it, then the drawhooks are sprung so under full tension you will get a buffer beam to buffer beam distance of about 3ft 8in.

Pecos photo of their 'exact scale' distance is somewgere around 4ft

That's still an 'exact scale distance', so what's your problem? ;-)

Regards, Greg.P.