There are indeed very many scales and guages available. But the following information is based upon the most popular model railway scales and which are covered in the online newsletter publication ‘ModelRailXpress.com’. The three scales covered are 0, 00 and N gauges.
Based upon ‘full size’ railways there are two groups: The first is ‘standard gauge’ which is based upon 4ft 8.5” prototype. Narrow Gauge being any railway with a track gauge less than “standard gauge”.
There is a multitude of scales/gauges available to suit all model railway requirements; many produced by purists to improve the accuracy of previous scales/gauges. By far the most popular and most widely available are 00, HO and N. Many of the others require specialist support and are the province of scratch building modellers.
STANDARD GAUGE - Based on a 4ft 8.5in prototype.
00 Gauge 4mm to 1ft, 1:76 scale
16.5mm gauge (inside track width)
A British system, which is very well provided for, with a wide range of ready-to-run models, kits and accessories. Although it remains the most popular gauge, technically it suffers from a track gauge that is 15% under scale (18.3mm would be correct)
0 Gauge 7mm to 1ft, 1:43.5 scale
32mm gauge (inside track width)
Once seen to be the preserve of those with the engineering skills to scratch build. This scale has become more popular due to the availability of a large range of quality locomotive and rolling stock kits. Technically the inside track width of 32mm is 3% under scale, it should be 32.958mm.
http://fossie09.hobbyshop.hop.clickbank.net/
ScaleSeven 7mm to 1ft, 1:43.5 scale
32.95mm gauge (inside track width)
A new refinement using exact wheel profiles and an exact scale/gauge ratio, hence giving greater accuracy.
S Gauge 4.76mm to 1ft, 1:64 scale
22.2mm gauge (track width)
A near perfect scale/gauge ratio, falling between 0 and 00. Little commercial support outside the USA means scratch building or adapting almost everything.
EM Gauge 4mm to 1ft, 1:76 scale
18.2mm gauge (inside track width)
An attempt to make the 00 layout track gauge more realistic. At 18.2mm it still falls short of the ideal 18.83mm, but was felt by those involved to be near enough.
P4 Gauge 4mm to 1ft, 1:76 scale
18.83mm gauge (inside track width)
As EM is still slightly under scale, P4 was established. Locomotive and rolling stock kits are available with the option of an underframe plus wheels to fit this gauge.
HO Gauge 3.5mm to 1ft, 1:87 scale
16.5mm gauge (inside track width)
This is the major gauge used outside the UK. At 3.5mm to 1ft, the track gauge at 16.5mm is virtually exact to scale for the standard gauge. When using this gauge it must not be confused with 00 gauge, HO gauge is almost 15% smaller. One can run HO gauge rolling stock on 00 gauge layouts, the track gauges both being 16.5mm, but the difference in scale will be very obvious.
TT Gauge 3mm to 1ft, 1:101.6 scale
12mm gauge (inside track width)
This gauge originated in the USA, and was also produced at 2.5mm to 1ft, 1:120 scale. Enthusiasts using this scale need specialist support through the Three Millimetre Society.
N Gauge 2mm to 1ft, 1:148 scale in UK
9mm gauge (inside track width)
http://fossie09.hobbyshop.hop.clickbank.net/
This gauge is half the size of 00 and therefore you should in theory be able to lay four times as much track. This is becoming a very popular gauge with a full range of locomotives, rolling stock and accessories. In Europe and North America the scale of 1:160 is used for N gauge models, running on 9mm gauge track.
2mm Scale 2mm to 1ft, 1:152.3 scale
9.42mm gauge (inside track width)
The purists of N gauge developed this scale. It is slightly more accurate than the mainstream scale of 1:148.
NARROW GAUGE Any railway with a track gauge less than ‘standard' gauge.
SM32 16mm to 1ft scale
32mm (0) gauge track.
Mainly the domain of scratch-builders, who have the engineering skills to produce live-steam locomotives.
0-16.5 Gauge 7mm to 1ft, 1:43.5 scale
16.5mm gauge (inside track width)
An 00 track gauge for modelling rolling stock to be found on a 2ft 3in or 2ft 6in full size system.
00n3 4mm to 1ft, 1:76 scale
12mm gauge (inside track width)
Used for models of the Isle of Man railways and the Irish 3ft gauge systems.
HOm 3.5mm to 1ft, 1:87 scale
12mm gauge (inside track width)
Used for models of the Swiss metre gauge. Not quite to scale (11.5mm would be more accurate).
HOn3 3.5mm to 1ft, 1:87 scale
10.5mm gauge (inside track width)
Used in the USA for modelling 3ft gauge prototypes.
HO-9 4mm to 1ft, 1:76 scale
9mm gauge (inside track width)
Used by modellers that want to run 00 stock on N gauge track.”
http://fossie09.hobbyshop.hop.clickbank.net/
No comments:
Post a Comment