Hey guys and Gals,
I was looking at the 101 track plans book, and it said that Nscale is half the size HO,scale, then I hear that Nscale is not really half of HO scale, Which one is it??? Help!!!
Trainsrme1
HO scale is 1:87, N is 1:144. Half is what it is usually thought of.
Technically, HO is 1:87. N scale is 1:160. So no, by s technicality, N scale is not half HO.
BUTm wgeb figuing trackplans, halving the size is a good rough measuremnet as to if it will work for you or not, and it really isn’t enough of a difference to argue the point.
It’s like saying HO is Half-O
More information can be found in this thread, which goes into some detail about the relative sizes of HO and N.
But HO is - 3.5mm vs 7mm.
Halving HO to see if N scale will fit is common, but slightly misleading, as N is slightly more than half the size, plus certain things do not scale - such as your body. So you can’t cut aisle widths in half. bRather than try to cram double the railroad in a given space with N scale instead of HO, it’s probably better to only cram in 50 to 75% more and use the extra space to make wider curves and allow for more scenery and less spaghetti bowl trackage.
–Randy
That’s British practice. In the U.S. O is 1/4" or 1:48 (vice 1:43.5) which is not twice the size of HO at 1:87.1.
Again for rough estimates you say HO is half of O.
Enjoy
Paul
As above the track planning is about half the size. However. if you are building a large layout with asiles, the asiles do not change size. Thus the whole layout is not half the size. In other words, a layout plan in HO for a 10x12 room cannot be reduced to an N scale layout in a 5x 6 room. That’s why when talking layouts rather than equipment size, there is quite a difference.
Have fun,
Richard
Hello? HO scale is 1:87.1 (3.5mm = 1 foot);
N-scale is in 1:160 (1.9mm = 1 foot );
N gauge is 9 mm. (As a side note, N gauge is approximately 0.1mm wider than scale.)
HO scale is 1.837 times larger than N scale.
Do this. Take an HO track plan, and build it exactly to the dimensions of the plan, only use N scale track. This maximizes the benefit of N scale, which is more railroad per square foot without looking cramped and screwy. Imagine actually having sidings that accommodate a decent size train! Imagine having an industrial building BIGGER than the boxcar parked next to it! Imagine putting a 20 stall roundhouse in the space you’d have for three stall diesel shop!
Just sayin’ …[8D]