A dumb question from a novice- a scale inch in the real world = ?

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I’m a novice modeler so bare with me about my ignorance.

As I read and enjoy Model Railroader, I am, many times, perplexed when the magazine describes a tested scale locomotive or rolling stock (pick the scale) as being off by a scale 1" here or there, or some aspect pushed a scale inch this way or that. So here is my question.

Does a HO scale foot = 0.138" in the real world?

Does a HO scale inch = 0.012" in the real world?

Let me know if I’m right or off by a scale mile.

This question applies to all of the standard scales that are hosted within the pages of Model Railroader.

Road Fan

to

2

HO is 1/87 of full size. Therefore, 1 scale foot equals (1/87) X 1 foot equals 0.0115 feet.

1 scale foot (in inches) equals (1/87) X 12 inches equals 0.138 inches.

1 scale inch (in inches) equals (1/87) X 1 inch equals 0.0115 inch.

I say you’re correct, or at least close enough.

(the real question I have is how did you manage to get three posts on the same topic?)

3

Concerning the 3 posts…beats me.

Road Fan

4

try this online calculator… http://www.printmini.com/calc.shtml

5

I don’t know if they’re still being made, but I have a dial caliper that measures in HO scale dimensions, so you don’t need to convert from full size to scale. I suspect many guys doing reviews use one of them to get such accurate measurements.

6

As a rough estimate, I use 1/8" per foot as HO scale, for my scratchbuilt structures and roadways. Bob Hahn

7

I use the KISS principle. Keep a calculator nearby and multiply or divide by 87 for HO scale… For other scales, look at the below links.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ned=us&q=model+railroad+scales&btnmeta%3Dsearch%3Dsearch=Search+the+Web

Rich