I don’t know if this subject was brought up. But in what category would On30/On2.5 fall under. Is it under toy trains due to it’s near proportions to O? It it scale because they can run on HO gauge track? In category by itself? or I shouldn’t be bringing this up in this forum at all?
It has come up before and not sure exactly what all but if I remember correctly it was basicly stated that it shoul;d be over in ho but if you go there bet they woould say O so I’m thinking you might be right as an area of its own ( are you listening BOB) most O don’t want on30 as from what I’ve seen its not really the same size and yes I understand it is supose to be narrow gauge and its bigger than s I believe but for suport not sure how much is in here good question overall.
Most here are 1 of 3 catagories O and this acually breaks down into 3 or 4 catagories but they do over lap) , S, and Standard ( very few at that due to finding it and affording it)
It generally falls under “Scale” modeling. There is another thread about this somewhere around here. The equipment is true O scale, remember these can be diminutive locos and cars, but most narrow gauge stuff was. The closest to US standards would be On3 (36" gauge) as the majority of US narrow gauge lines were gauged at 36", but On30 (30" gauge) is more popular because it happens to “run” on HO track. The correct scale track for On3 really isnt HO, as there are way to many ties per foot. Scale track is made for it however.
I should have added, that modeling a spur line coming in from a narrow gauge railway to your full size O scale interchange adds some real interest to a layout IMHO. Either a logging concern or perhaps a mining train with a little string of tipple cars.
It’s strange you should mention that. One of my ideas is to have an upper level narrow gauge branch that would interchange with my O gauge on the lower level . A switchback or a large curved ramp will be needed. Just have to work out the logistics.
I have always felt that Classic Toy Trains refers to 3 rail O gauge, 3 rail standard gauge, and 2 rail American Flyer plus the compatibles. But it gets a little murky with several manufacturers offering both scale and toy train versions - Atlas, S Helper, American Models, MTH, etc.
I think it fits more in the Model Railroad forum, and I think you’ll get more responses there. But I’m not rigid about it.
Enjoy
Paul
The On30 stuff mainly falls into the Model Railroader realm, rather than ours. We have received a few items for publicity which I’ve run in Product News, but I’d be hard pressed to say anyone has sent us images where they’ve worked an On30 element into a three-rail layout.
Now, I have bought a few pieces of On30, but I have an idea of sticking in an On30 industrial line into a brewery I’m planning. It wouldn’t interface with the three-tail, though.
I was considering a loop of On30 on my O layout until K-line came out with the Porter and used that instead with some ore cars. My main reason was local availability. Anything On30 would need to be ordered. After building a tender, kitbashing a toy bobber caboose for use and weathering everything it serves my needs better than I expected. If I recall correctly the Porter was also available in On30 when first introduced.
As to where it belongs, articles can be included in both CTT and MR, unless y’all plan on a new magazine.
I agree … why it is ever put in O guage is beyond me ! No way is it even near or
close to size … and we have to skip all of them on ebay to check our O guage out … I think some get it confused with On3 … which it is not .
On30 is O scale and does belong on any O gauge layout if you want to model narrow gauge. Many of the Bachmann offerings can be regauged for On3. The models are built to 1/48 unlike much of what is sold for three rail which can be anything from 1/43 to 1/64. Pete
In my opinion … if it runs on HO track … it’s HO .
I would have to second that veiw. I have seen On30 at my local hobby shop and it looks closer in size to S gauge than it does O gauge. It runs on regular H.O. tracks so to me it is H.O!
One thing about H.O. and that is they are generally heigth consistant among differant companies that produce the cars and engines.
I can agree that some of the stuff in O gauge can varry in size, I think that the companies who make the trains do this so it will fit the O gauge track regardless how it looks next to another piece of rolling stock or another engine. Maybe there needs to be better standards set out so that something in O gauge has the same heigth that another car of the same kind has-like two 40 foot boxcars or two 50 foot gondolas, or two GP-38’s by two differant companies will be differant heigths and widths.
Lee F.
Yes, On30 is scale model railroading but so is hi rail O scale. It works into a hi rail layout nicely so it fits both categories.
O scale narrow gauge equipment is smaller than O scale standard gauge equipment because the real stuff is smaller.
It’s close enough that some folks put S gauge trucks on them especially the passenger cars and run them on S layouts.
Enjoy
Paul
The stuff is O scale (aka 1/48), the GAUGE of the track shouldn’t matter. The fact that it’s slightly off shouldn’t matter either since O GAUGE isn’t scaled properly either (real train tracks are gauged at 4’ 8.5", not 5’ which is what O GAUGE works out to).
Here is an interchange platform between the 3 rail O and On30 lines on my railroad.
Bachmann originally chose some of the smallest prototype narrow gauge equipment to model their On30 line after. This accounts for a drastic difference in size compared to standard gauge equipment.
Some of their latest motive power is more obviously O scale being modeled after larger prototypes. Also a purist would complain that most of the prototypes they selected actually ran on 3 ft gauge not 30 inch gauge railroads. But all are true O scale 1:48 models. The only thing they have in common with HO is the gauge of the rails not the scale.
Jim
Very nice. The boxcar does look like a 3ft gauge car. But when dealing with the mass RTR market, the practicallity of HO gauge track makes it appealing.
The reason for this is that within O Gauge, there is more than one SCALE of equipment being offered.
Lionel has “Traditional” sized equipment, which is not built to an actual “SCALE” but rather it is SELECTIVELY COMPRESSED, an art at which Lionel has become very talented. They also have some “Semi-Scale” pieces, such as the LionMaster" series Locomotives, then they also produce “Standard O” (not to be confused with “Standard Gauge”) which is built to near 1;48 scale proportions.
K Line offered three different sizes in O-Gauge, 027, Classic and Scale, all ran on O-Gauge track, but each class were proportioned differently. Oh, and K Line also produced some 1:64 scale, which is the scale that S Scale is built to, that runs on O-Gauge track, that K Line LITTLE BOY ( 1:64 Big Boy) has really nice detail, but park it next to a Scale or Semi-Scale model, and it sure looks small
Here is a Good example of that, on the right side of this display shelf, the top 4 Locomotives are all models of Union Pacific’s Big Boy. The Top Model is a Scale size model by Lionel. The second model from the top, is a Lionel LionMaster series Semi-Scale Big Boy. Below that is an MTH RailKing Big Boy, with the K Line Little Boy below it. Below that is a Lionel LionMaster Challenger and a Lionel Scale size Southern Pacific AC-9, on the bottom row.
Doug
Speaking as a scale model railroader, I consider 1:48 scale models of 2-foot and 3-foot gauge prototype rolling stock running on a track gauge half way between to be TOYS.
There are real 30 inch gauge prototypes from all over the world that could properly be modeled in 1:48 scale and run on 16.5mm (HO standard) gauge track. Unfortunately, not many ran in the United States.
OTOH, it is entirely possible to ‘operate’ in prototype fashion with rolling stock manufactured as toys. Proof of statement? I run a lot of rolling stock manufactured as toys, little tin boxes with wheels on each corner, in a prototypical manner, car cards, waybills, operating to the prototype’s timetable… The cars themselves are pure tinplate!
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with Japanese tinplate rolling stock)