Hi,
On a whim, I decided to take a prototypical "Oval" and find out what model scale would be most appropriate to model on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. To be honest, my goal was to prove that HO is the best. My results, unfortunately, do not agree with my hypothesis.
So for starters, assuming a 4x8 platform: How many acres of space does that provide for each of the main scales?
There are 43,560 square feet in an acre.
Z 220:1 4x8 = 880x1760 = 1,548,800 SqFt = 35.56 Acres
N 160:1 4x8 = 640x1280 = 819,200 SqFt = 18.81 Acres
HO 87:1 4x8 = 348x696 = 242,208 SqFt = 5.56 Acres
O 48:1 4x8 = 192x384 = 73,728 SqFt = 1.69 Acres
Now to find a real oval. There are a few, but the one I used is in Ardoch, North Dakota. You can find it on Google Maps just by searching for "Ardoch ND". The track oval is bigger than the town, so you can't miss it.
Using the Google Maps measuring utility, the real oval measured 1,900' x 3,100' or 5,890,000 SqFt = 135 acres.
So, not only is HO way off, but even the small Z scale would not accurately capture the vastness of a real oval.
Next step. How big would my HO layout need to be in order to match the relative size of the real oval? Using whole sheets of plywood, I would need 30 sheets arranged in a 5 sheet x 6 sheet layout measuring 20' x 48'. That would scale to 167 acres. Enough room to fit the oval, the pond in the middle, and the coal loading station
There ya have it.
Doug
On a whim, I decided to take a prototypical "Oval" and find out what model scale would be most appropriate to model on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. To be honest, my goal was to prove that HO is the best. My results, unfortunately, do not agree with my hypothesis.
So for starters, assuming a 4x8 platform: How many acres of space does that provide for each of the main scales?
There are 43,560 square feet in an acre.
Z 220:1 4x8 = 880x1760 = 1,548,800 SqFt = 35.56 Acres
N 160:1 4x8 = 640x1280 = 819,200 SqFt = 18.81 Acres
HO 87:1 4x8 = 348x696 = 242,208 SqFt = 5.56 Acres
O 48:1 4x8 = 192x384 = 73,728 SqFt = 1.69 Acres
Now to find a real oval. There are a few, but the one I used is in Ardoch, North Dakota. You can find it on Google Maps just by searching for "Ardoch ND". The track oval is bigger than the town, so you can't miss it.
Using the Google Maps measuring utility, the real oval measured 1,900' x 3,100' or 5,890,000 SqFt = 135 acres.
So, not only is HO way off, but even the small Z scale would not accurately capture the vastness of a real oval.
Next step. How big would my HO layout need to be in order to match the relative size of the real oval? Using whole sheets of plywood, I would need 30 sheets arranged in a 5 sheet x 6 sheet layout measuring 20' x 48'. That would scale to 167 acres. Enough room to fit the oval, the pond in the middle, and the coal loading station
There ya have it.
Doug
