Many track plans make mention of sidings that are “12 cars long”, or switch leads able to handle “a loco and three cars”. Is there a consensus on how many inches equates to a 40 or 50 foot car in this context, or what is assumed for a “yard switcher” or “road switcher” when doing track planning?
(Clearly they aren’t just using 40 x 12 / 87.1 for HO because that doesn’t account for the real length of a model car when you look at couplers, outside vs. inside dimensions, nominal lengths, and so forth.)
I’ve always used 7" for older equipment (40’-50’ standard boxcars) and 9" for modern cars (50’-60’ boxcars) Large diesels can run upwards of 9.5", and switchers that I’ve seen typically run about 6-7".
At least that’s how I figure when I’m measuring car capacity for sidings and spurs.
Kurt… Hope this helps…[:)]
All measurments from coupler to coupler. Plus or minus 1/8"
40’ Box car 6.0 inches
50’ Box car 7.5 inches
54’ Covered Hopper 8.0 inches
When laying out a track, or s siding… dont forget to add room on the spur to clear the other track. For instance, you need room 48" of room for your cars. Plan on around 54" of track. I goofed on that on my first layout. I couldnt all the cars on otherwise the passing engine would clip the boxcar stickign out.
This is the same formula I’ve used since I read about it in a Model Railroader mag more years ago than I care to remember. Using these measurement plus some extra refinements (maybe add an inch or two) to have room for modern equipment, yoiu shouldn’t go wrong.
I always use actual models to see. It lets me play with my trains before the track is down. Besides, covered hoppers are different lengths then boxcars.