In designing my layout, I’m trying to figure out the lengths of locomotives.
I know a 50-ft boxcar is 50ft, plus the couplers.
How long are Diesel Locomotives? Standard 4 axle, 6 axle, etc. locomotives?
Does anyone have this info handy?
Thanks.
An SD40-2 is 9.25 inchs plus couplers, X 87 for HO divide by 12 for feet is actual length in feet. Should be 67’ ish.
Ken.
RE: Lengths of Diesel Locomotives in actual inches ?
(Your request) answer: Number of ft. X 12.
Better answer: Each model diesel has different dimension’s. (1)The only standard is width between the wheel’s - and that varies country to country.(2) modern engines have gotten longer over the year’ - compared to the early one’s- and it keep’s changing.
If you are trying to figure out an AVERAGE for a model layout, I’d suggest 9" which also happens to be the length of a piece of atlas snap track. SUGGESTION: Buy 2 of the most popular diesel’s - one 4 wheeled and one 6 wheeled, and strike a happy medium. FAR more important is the curveture a 4 wheeled truck will take compared to a 6 wheel. With a small layout, you will be happier with engine’s having 4 wheeled truck’s, and for an 8’ X2.5’ I can think of nothing better than a Stewart. ‘Baldwin’ type.
I have two.
Thanks guys - no problem here on the scale conversion - just don’t know the lengths of the actual locomotives (my question was worded poorly - sorry about that). So actually, prototype size or scale size would be fine - either works for me.
That 9-9.25" number will do quite nicely. Give it 9.5" or 10", and I’ll know I’ll be good!
Thanks for your help!
I must be lazy.
I just dug up some old MR articles I’d savee - one of a GP39-2. It’s 710 inches long, so in HO it’s 8.16" Long - to the ends of the couplers.
Alright, I also remembered I own “diesel spotter’s guide”, and I’m guessing it may have the lengths in there. Time to find all my boxed up books in the garage…
There isn’t a standardized length for locomotives–so there really isn’t a “set length.” When designing a layout, generally a good idea is to find the length of the longest engine you think that you will use, and add an inch or two.
A 50 foot boxcar isn’t 50 ft long. That’s the INSIDE dimension. The cars are longer than that depending on how its equipped. It could be anywhere from 55 to 60 ft long over the couplers.
Dave H.
You can also “google” an engine and should come up with all kinds of answers, the length should be in one of them. I’ve done this with prototype and also models and gotten a real education, wether I wanted it or not. LOL