Scale size to life size?

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
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Hello too everyone:

Have a problem I can’t get through w/o some help. There is a website w/ a Model RR calculator on it. The link is as follows: http://www.csgnetwork.com/modrrscalecalc.html

The calculator says that 80’ in “N” scale is 6". Let’s say you already know the “N” scale size of 6". How would you calculate what the real life size should be. I’ve tried, now I’m blue in the face & need help. Is there one of these calculators that will do it the one from the link above? Thanks in advance for any help & everyone have a safe happy holiday season.

Regards, Vince

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80 ft = 960 inches N scale is 1:160 or 6 inches.

Or given 6 inches in N scale, real life is 160 x 6 or 960 inches

Alan

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I think he means that he wants something to be 6" in N scale, so how long should it be in real life?

Simple - divide by 160.

6 / 160 = 0.0375 of an inch.

4

Hmmm, wonder if he’s trying to make a naked man [}:)][:-^]

5

N-scale is !/160th real size… That is 1 real foot equals 160 N-scale feet. So if say a boxcar is 4inches long ,divide 160n-scale feet by 4real inches, you get 40 N-scale feet.It will take 160,40 foot N-scale boxcars lined up to equal the length of one real 40 foot boxcar. Capeesh? BILL

6

This is why you should have paid attention to your math teachers back in Jr High or High school.

This is a simple fraction or ratio problem.

The dimension of the prototype will be called real size. The physical size of the scale model will be called the model size.

First all the units have to be in the same units, all in feet, all inches, all in meters, Doesn’t matter as long as the real and model size are in the same units.

To go from the real size to the model size, divide by scale ratio.

To go from the model size to the real size, multipy by the scale ratio.

The real car is 80 feet. The scale ratio is 160. 80/160 = .5. The model size is .5 FEET, which is 6 inches.

The model car is 6 inches. The scale ratio is 160. 6 x 160 = 960. The real size is 960 INCHES, which is 80 feet.

The model car is .5 feet. The scale ratio is 160. .5 x 160 = 80. The real size is 80 FEET.

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Step 1: Imperial or Metric, and scale,

Step 2: select Scale Size to Prototype,

Step 3

Enter 0 feet, 6 inches and click the Calculate button to display the result.

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Wow, Vince – that has to be the most amazingly un-user friendly calculator I have ever seen! Why would you even bother with it?

Take your handy dandy Texas Instruments calculator and do the math yourself. N scale is 1/160 of the real size. 'Nuff said.

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There must be a lot of people like that because so many say N scale is half the size of HO scale. Since HO scale is 1/87.1, a scale half the size would have a ratio of 1/174.2. Since N scale is 1/160 (so they say), it is about nine percent larger than one-half of HO. … Or maybe there are just a lot of “big rounders” out there.

Mark

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