After seeing how Harold Minkowitz plays around with different scale/gauge combinations, it occurred to me that we need to really start thinking outside the box.
To date, all scale model railroading has involved models that are smaller than their 1:1 counterparts. That’s for wimps. Now is the time to strike boldly and in that vein, here’s my proposal:
2P Scale , a scale in which everything is LARGER than the prototype rather than smaller. In this case, 2P scale is twice as large as the prototype (you wouldn’t even want to consider 87P scale).
2P standard gauge would be 9’ 5" (113"). 2Pn3 would be the same as the original 6’ Erie gauge of the 19th Century. 2Pn2.5 would be the same as the 5’ gauge in Russia and Finland.
New manufacturing methods would have to be invented to build such large models (a 2P Southern Pacific GS-4 would have 160 inch drivers and 50x64 inch cylinders), but that could light a fire under the economic recovery. It’s even practical, at least for diesels. Those enormous marine diesel engines used to power VLCC’s (Very Large Crude Carriers) are much bigger than would be necessary for even an SD70ACe or GEVO unit, so manufacturing a 2P diesel prime mover would be a piece of cake.
Since there is, as yet, no commercial support for the scale, the sky’s the limt for scratchbuilders, especially those who have access to marine diesel builders and the capability of handling enormous pieces of steel. If you own a shipyard, you’re in on the ground floor. You could become the Athearn of 2P scale.
There are even large scale mills that one can purchase for a song now that are not in use and use those to derive the wheel masters to make the drivers for them as well----
Think of how that’ll increase production here-----[:-^]
Does this mean that someone will begin a new scale after 2P Scale that will become known as H2P Scale? Then everything for H2P Scale could be built at 50% size of the 2P Scale.
No. H2P scale already exists. It’s P scale ( 2P / 2 = P). Ask Warren Buffett. He just bought a P scale layout. He’s not a real modeler, however, since he bought everything not only RTR, but completely scenicked.
Sometimes I wonder. I remember a kid when I was in high school who read Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and thought it was really awful that Swift would advocate eating babies, Irish or otherwise.
Then there was the guy in the theater way back when I was much younger who didn’t understand that “Dr. Strangelove” was a satire.
They both probably come from the same clan that thinks MR’s annual April Fool joke is actually serious.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a basement to pressurize.
While doing some research last night, I came across an article in the “Timewaster’s Journal” circa 1925.
It seems that Werner Heisenberg was an early model railroader. Not only that, but he wanted to model the entire DRG (Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft) of the mid 20’s without any selective compression. What he discovered is that he would have to model on the sub-atomic level. While difficult, Heisenberg thought the project would be doable. Unfortunately, in the process of building his layout he discovered when he ran his first train that he could either determine where his train was, but not its speed and direction or he could determine the train’s speed and direction but hadn’t a clue as to where it was on the layout.
Interestingly enough, Heisenberg’s principle can also be found on a macro scale. Ask anyone who has hidden staging or a helix of more than 1.5 turns.
Too bad he couldn’t use a “Heisenburg Compensator” like on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I did consider when planning out my “P.B. & B. Lumber Co.” equipment of using an On30 engine on HO track to represent an engine built for the company owner to use, but never did do it. The proportions would be reasonably close…
If somebody wanted to build over-scale, he could go 1:1 in Fuhrer scale - 3 meter gauge…
Still too small. If you’re going to go over-scale, you might as well go whole hog and create a scale where a model is so massive that it collapses in upon itself and creates a black hole.
That way, you’ll always know where your train is. The down side is that you really aren’t going to want to try and retrieve it.
If you’re an Ops guy, of course, the boundary of the black hole will be referred to as the “non-event horizon”.
