Can the On30 scale run on HO scale track?
Thanks, Gary
I don’t think so. If I remember right you can use HO track for Sn3, I could be wrong but I think that’s what my grandfather told me many years ago.
Brad
Yes. On30 is exactly that. O scale (1/4" : 1’) that runs on HO track, which represents a gauge of 30", (not 3’-0" which was the common narrow gauge).
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On30
Regards
Ed
OK, so is HOn3, HO scale running on N scale track? And is HOn30 the same thing? Wiki says it runs on 10.5mm. Is that N scale?
Yes, but remember, the ties should still be full scale. The rails are the right distance apart, but the those HO ties will look tiny on the Sn3 layout and they’ll be the wrong length. Same goes for the other scales. N scale ties don’t look like HOn3 ties at all.
(Oh, am I rivet counting? Shame on me!)
Wrong-O 1:87 Breath…
N scale track is 9 mm between the rails. HOn3 is 10.15 mm. You cannot use N scale track for HOn3. Micro Engineering, and I’m sure a few others, make narrow gauge track with HO ties that’s very nice. Not sure about turnouts.
Lee
HO scale on 9mm gauge track is HOn30, or HOe, and is used to model 762mm (30 inch) gauge - which is a very common gauge used in a lot of places around the world. Likewise, On30 is exactly that, 30 inch gauge. Model manufacturers have confused the issue by building three foot gauge prototype locos and cars with 30 inch gauge wheelsets, rather like the HO/OO mess in the British Isles.
My situation is the reverse. My prototypes are 3’6" and 2’6" gauge, which Japanese model manufacturers matched to HO (16.5mm) and HOn3 (10.5mm) gauges. The scale is 1:80, and both model gauges are too wide for the scale. However, since I’m not one to obsess about things over which I had no control (and have no desire to turn micro-machinist and narrow the gauge of a thousand or so wheelsets) I simply live with the mis-match and press on.
One thing about using commercial HO track under a 1:48 scale model is that the ties look too light and there are too many of them - rather like track laid on toothpicks. Some modelers will prefer to re-lay the rails on more accurate ties (or use On30 track, which is available in limited quantities.) Others will bury the ties in ballast, dirt and undergrowth and pretend that the track is in dire need of maintenance. Both approaches are valid.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Let’s ask this a different way. Is there a scale where HO size equipment will run on standard N scale track? (I know about the tie size issue)
Yes. HOn30. HOn30 is not the same as HOn3.
Thanks Dave!
Crossover scales/tracks that I know of that are currently being done:
HOn30 using N scale track
Sn2 using HOn3 track - I think Europe has some doing it with N track
Sn3.5 using HO track - popular in places like New Zealand that had 42" gauge trains
On30 using HO track
Gn15 using HO track
Nn3 using Z track
7/8n2 using G track
I’m sure there are others
Enjoy
Paul
Long ago (well thirty years or so anyway) there was some imported European narrow gauge mining equipment that called itself IIRC “HOn9” referring to the trains being HO scale but running on N track. As I recall there wasn’t much available, just a four wheel diesel and some four wheel side dump ore cars.
Thats what On30 is, O-Scale engineered to run on HO-Scale standard gauge track which is 16.5mm/.65 inch. That equates to 31.2 inches in O-Scale so actually On30 should be On31.2; lest you believe that you can simply lay an On30 layout using HO-Scale standard gauge track keep in mind that the tie spacing will be about 12 inches and therefore you are going to have to remove every other tie to get a more prototypical tie spacing . . . . . but does it really matter?
HOn30 is engineered to run on N-Scale standard gauge track which is 9mm/.354 inches - that 9mm, by the way, is what gave N-Scale its name. That equates to 30.83 inches in HO-Scale so actually HOn30 should be HOn30.83; as with On30 the same tie spacing condition must be taken into consideration here also . . . . . but does it really matter?
The case of Nn3 is just a little different than the previous two; Nn3 modelers use Z-Scale standard gauge track to represent narrow gauge; Z-Scale standard gauge track is 6.5mm/.26 inches. This equates to almost 41 inches in N-Scale so Nn3 should more appropriately be called Nn41 or Nn3.5. Theoretically one could model gauge correct narrow gauge in N-Scale but this would require hand laying all track and, in addition, the running gear under all locomotives and trucks and wheels for all rolling stock would have to be hand crafted.
By an anomaly Z-Scale standard gauge track lends itself well for modeling either HOn2 or TTn2 - but in over forty years I don’t recall anyone ever modeling any narrow gauge in TT-Scale . . . . . but does it really matter?