Hello.
I am looking a track plan on paper. It measures 1 inch by 6 inches (HO scale). 12’ grid (scale 1" = 1’ 0").
Actual size is 1 foot by 6 feet.
If i measure something on the drawing at 1/8", how does that convert to actual size so i can transfer it to the layout? On the plan i have a measurement of 1/8" from the edge to the center of the track. What would this be on the actual layout?
_ron
Hi Ron,
The simplest way to take measurements from a track plan drawing of a known scale is to use a scale rule in that scale. The rule you want is called an architect’s scale; it’s triangular and includes several fractional inch scales as well as 1 in. equals 12 in. These scales are available at Office Depot and other office supply stores and only cost a few bucks.
So long,
Andy
Since an in on the drawing is a foot in real life, you just need to mulitply the measurements on the drawing by 12 to get the real measurements. So 1/8" is 12/8", or 1.5".
Thank you for the answers.
-Ron
Ron …
Let’s take first things first. The advice to go to Office Depot and get an architects scale is sound advice! Also, pick up a quadrille pad (1/4" grid pad) about 14" x 24" (if they have one.) These will both make developing your plan a little easier. (I spent 35 yrs as an Industrial Designer, but when sitting at my kitchen table instead of a big drawing board, the quad pad is a big help!)
Next, develop your plan using a larger scale. At 1" = 1’ - 0" clearances are much to easy to miscalculate! I was using inch-to-the-foot and after spending several nights getting to what I reasoned was a pretty good engine servicing facility, I decided to draw up full-sized plans for my roundhouse. Much to my dismay, there was not enough room to get locomotives into the building - there was actually negative clearance. I switched to 3" = 1’ - 0" and now I have a engine service plan with clearances that work … the rest of the layout was developed at 1 1/2" scale. The architect’s scale will become your planning friend!
… including side-to-side (parallel track) clearances, vertical clearances, track-to-structure clearances, etc.
In other words, use a development scale that allows you to actually SEE stuff like clearances! You’ll have fewer problems down the line when you convert to one-to-one scale and start cutting wood and laying track!
Drawing/using plans to a scale of 3/4-inch to the foot and 1.5-inches to the foot is convenient because 1/16th of an inch equals one or one-half of an inch respectively.
Mark