Hi,
I have noticed that there is a slight difference in the appearance between farish N gauge MKI and Minitrix MKI coaches. I was informed that this may be due to the scale they were produced in (not sure, but I think its either 1:148 or 1:160 ??) - so which manufacture has a correct scale for British outline N gauge MKI's ??
Cheers
Malcolm
"Malcolm" wrote
Farish. Both Minitrix and Lima seemed incapable of working to standard British N-gauge/scale ratio.
John.
Farish likely to be nearer to correct for British N. Minitrix coaches were not too bad in their day (which means designed 30+ years ago), though the deep window mouldings are visually very poor compared to the flush printed Farish items.
The real nasty ones were the Lima Mk1's, which if anything, were 1:160 in some directions, and could look very comical when behind a Lima 4F which was something like 1:120 scale in at least two dimensions. Though getting a 4F to pull much was an achievement in itself for such a horrid toy.
- Nigel
"Nigel Cliffe" wrote
I think at the time Lima were undertaking a course in incompetence; absolutely none of their N-gauge locos appeared to anything like correct scale, with unsatisfactory appearance only matched by useless performance.
John.
Weren't the "Minitrix" coaches originally made by Peco?
-- Steve
Now then, let's be fair. At least it ran nearly as good as the old Lone Star Treble-O items. At the time I thought I was being really hip by trying to build an N gauge modern image layout. For rolling stock I could have Peco MkI carriages or bulk grain wagons. For locos I was really spoiled for choice. There was the Lima AL6 and the Minitrix BRCW diesel. I think Farish had just announced the Pannier. Peco had their Jubilee, but you couldn't get it, even if you could afford it.
The Lima model was exquisitely detailed, even if underscale - I assumed it was 160 scale. It ran fine, as long as you sellotaped a house brick on top of the loco to give it some adhesion, and didn't try anything too avant garde like pulling a train.
On the other hand, the Minitrix model was well-weighted, smooth, and powerful. Only problem was, it actually *looked* like a house brick.
By golly, our beloved model railway manufacturers really do know how to kick-start and nurture a new market, don't they? And nothing has changed in
40 years, as far as I can see.Cheers, Steve
"Steve" wrote
No, they were marketed by them (and appeared in the Peco catalogue branded as Peco) but were always sourced from Minitrix.
John.
"Steve W" wrote
I should hope so, most of the Lone Star range was unpowered. ;-)
John.
Umm, handpowered actually, by little children ;-). My original late
1950's version had all metal die-cast track; still have my original trains and track, if somewhat battered and without original packaging, in a box.Alex.
he he... Take a look at minitrix's 47 - it just looks wrong - whenevr I see these things I have to study them to see if I can conclusde exactly what is is - nasty... and then there is the stupid "class 27"
- very bad conversion using a german chassis.
They always seem too course. The relief on the coaches makes things way to "hard" looking.
Thanks for all those who commented on this subject.
I must admit I quite liked the relief of the windows on the Minitrix coaches, although they are somewhat "thick" window frames :) - looks like I'll be selling the 4 minitrix coaches in the near future then, and replacing them with Farish ones !
Malcolm
"Alexr" wrote
Some did have rubber band drive from an electric motor!!!
John.
"Malcolm" wrote
The latest Bachmann/Farish Mk1s seem really nice.
John.
Isn't it what you like that matters? Not what someone else likes.
(kim)
Kim,
Good point, but if you are trying to model something in true scale, then fitting something that is over or under scale just won't look right (more so when you know its wrong) especially if the two items are side by side.
I always preferred the look of Peco and Minitrix as IMO the metal wheels on Farish products always looked "toyish" and un-realistic.
Malcolm
kim wrote:
Their main market was Europe - European modellers might want a British train on their layout so the scale should be 1:160.
Greg.P.
On the other hand, their motor was a constant size!
"Greg Procter" wrote
Hmm, maybe not if they wanted to sell them to the British. :-)
John.
"Greg Procter" wrote
That's true, but it didn't work particularly well whatever it was fitted into.
John.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N scale (or N gauge) is a popular model railway standard, allowing hobbyists to build layouts that take up less space than HO scale, or pack longer runs containing more detail into a similar amount of space. The name is an abbreviation for Nine millimetres. It is also sometimes called "2 mm to the foot," (1:160) in reference to its scale. Another early N scale was also known as "OOO" or "Treble-O" in reference to O and OO scales and was 1:152.
N scale uses 9 mm gauge track ("N gauge'), and a scale of 1:160 for most of the world. In the United Kingdom where a scale of 1:148 is used because of problems early on in fitting mechanisms into smaller British trains. In Japan 1:150 is used for most trains and trams, to proportion the trains correctly for Japan's 3'6" track gauge, while 1:160 is used for standard gauge Shinkansen (Bullet Train) models.
Although trains and accessories of similar gauge and/or scale existed as early as 1927, modern N scale appeared in 1962. Unlike other scales and gauges, which were de facto standards at best, within two years N scale defined the gauge, voltage, and polarity of track, as well as the height and type of couplers. Electrically N scale uses the same voltage and power levels as HO scale, that is 12v dc for train control and 16v ac for accessories such as point motors. The standard coupling is known as a 'Rapido' coupler and supports automatic coupling and uncoupling. American modellers are increasingly using a different coupler system by Microtrains which also permits delayed uncoupling.
N scale is second only to HO scale in popularity as a modelling scale worldwide. In Japan where space in homes is more limited N scale is the most popular scale and HO scale is considered large. A typical small N scale model railway occupies about 2' x 3' with a layout capable of handling large realistic train lengths occupying about 6' x 2'.
N gauge track and components are also used with larger scales, in particular HOe and 009 scale for modelling narrow gauge railways.
2 mm scale A fair number of modellers in the United Kingdom use 2 mm scale, an older standard than N scale. 2 mm scale, as the name implies, is scaled at 2 mm to the foot (1.152) with a 9.42 mm track gauge. Exact scale track and wheels are used rather than the somewhat coarser N gauge standards. [edit] OOO models In 1961 Lone Star introduced some of the very first (1:160) N scale models branded as Treble-O (OOO) into the United Kingdom. The original models were push along but electrified models followed shortly afterwards. These used a different coupling based on a shrunken OO scale coupling. The OOO couplings and specifications have long since been replaced by N scale. [edit] External Links a.. The N Gauge Society b.. The Modern Area Group of the N Gauge Society c.. The 2mm Scale Association d.. Ntrak Society [edit] Groups a.. N gauge discussion group mainly interested in modeling British outline b.. discussion group mainly interested in modeling modern British outline Retrieved from "PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.