Wresting with "Scale" going forward


afleetcommand

afleetcommand

Well-Known Member
Have an O-27 focused layout, NOT going to drop the Lionel 200 series ALCO FA's as my primary interest. That's where I started in 1962, and where I'll end. It's the other things of interest as we evolve and discover more. AND the "Williams" revolution is of interest to me. The introduction of oriental sourced vertical can over diecast, metal gear trucks. That pretty much obsoleted every other powered truck design concept. SO I've acquired a pile of Scale "O" Williams.

 
Welcome to the wonderful world of 3-rail O-gauge trains. Where everything is manufactured to scale. Trouble is, we're not always sure just WHAT scale it has been built to, but rest assured - it's to some sort of scale or other!

I like to divide 3-rail O-gauge trains into 3 general categories............................
  1. O27-size being the smallest category, and could be considered almost S-scale (1/64 scale) in size.
  2. Traditional-size trains is the next category, and based on Lionel 6464 postwar boxcars, tends to be around 1/53 scale. Not sure why. It just is.
  3. 1/4" Scale is the third category, and is pretty much 1/48 scale size. Although length can be occasionally compressed due to the tighter curve radii and lack of huge layout space that haunts the 3-rail O-gauge world.
A general rule of thumb I use to figure out what size we're talking about for each category is to measure the actual width of your O-gauge train car or loco. From 1-3/4" wide to about 2" wide is generally in the O27 category. From 2" wide to 2-5/16" wide is about what most traditional-sized trains measure. And from 2-3/8" wide to 2-9/16" wide puts us right in the 1/4" scale-sized category. Of course, these are not hard and fast figures, and there's going to be a few exceptions here and there, but this is what I've noticed on most of my O-gauge collection. And I like to run my trains based on the proper size category, because they just don't look right to my eye if I mix them together.

This is just the tip of the iceberg on my theories and musings about the scale sizes of 3-rail O-gauge trains, but I'll save that novel for another time!
Hope this helps in understanding 3-rail O-gauge trains a little bit better, if that's at all possible. 🤪👍
 
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I use your third category as my guide. It doesn't always hit the mark, but when trying to decide how tall to make something or how long, I look up how tall an average whatever happens to be or how long an average railcar is, and convert to 1/4 scale. Where it didn't work out so well was when I built a water tower. I looked up how tall is an average water tower and one google match said, 120 feet. Converted to scale, and I'm guessing the average height, I needed to build a 3 foot tall tower to make it to scale. I decided to fudge it and build it shorter to fit my layout.
 
Redrider said:
I use your third category as my guide. It doesn't always hit the mark, but when trying to decide how tall to make something or how long, I look up how tall an average whatever happens to be or how long an average railcar is, and convert to 1/4 scale. Where it didn't work out so well was when I built a water tower. I looked up how tall is an average water tower and one google match said, 120 feet. Converted to scale, and I'm guessing the average height, I needed to build a 3 foot tall tower to make it to scale. I decided to fudge it and build it shorter to fit my layout.
Click to expand...
"Selective Compression" becomes ever so much more meaningful in O-gauge/O-scale. 👍
 
It certainly does if you don't want a 36 inch tall statue standing in the middle of the layout. I've noticed some of the more professional layouts skipping the whole "scale" thing and using whatever works for them. The Colorado Railroad Museum has that massive layout that goes on for 20 minutes to every far reaching corner of the building. I watched the YouTube video from the cab cam and in one spot they have cars and trucks that are almost as big as the Locomotive sitting in strategic spots to make it look like an active lumber yard.
 
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