What is the popular way of modeling trains running on 3’6" gauge? There are modern and even high-speed tilting train prototypes in Japan and parts of Australia, and I believe that gauge is used in New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya, and some other places.
Part of why I ask is that the Kato Uni-track seems to have a wider tie spacing than the Atlas Code 83 track, which seems closer to a “typical” tie spacing for U.S. standard gauge practice.
Is the Kato track more prototypical of the tie spacing of the Japan 3’6" gauge? If so, do modelers of the Japan 3’6" gauge use HO track and model to HO scale, or do they use HO track and model to 1:64 scale (actually S scale or Sn3.5)?
I remember buying some MU car models in Japan for my brother’s N-gauge collection, and he doesn’t remember where he has them, but they seemed a tad oversized for N-gauge. Do people do a kind of TTn3.5 scale/gauge (1:120 scale on N track)?
I believe parts of Canada (PEI?) used 42" gauge track, too.
You could use TT track in HO, as that scales out pretty close. You can get TT flextrack and turnouts. I’m not sure what people do about the tie spacing.
I was probably thinking of Newfoundland, but I wasn’t sure about PEI, so I looked it up. Well, if Wikipedia can be believed, the Prince Edward Island Railroad started out as 3’6" and was slowly converted by 1930: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Edward_Island_Railway
Here in Western Australia there is a reasonable sized following for Sn3.5 which is S scale with 16.5mm gauge track - this way they can use a lot of the mechanisms produced for HO scale - a number of kits are produced for loco’s, passenger cars and freight cars though some considerable scratch building is also used.
I understand some of the Queensland modellers do HOn3.5 using approx 12mm gauge track.
Here in Australia there are a variety of different scale/gauge combinations used to model 3’6" gauge railways.
In HO, there are people using both 10.5mm track and 12mm track. Sn3.5 is popular, and there are few people working in OO - 4mm to the foot, using standard 16.5mm gauge track.
In New Zealand popular scales are 9mm:1ft./1:33.867, using 32mm gauge track, Sn3.5, and “120th” or NZ120, 1/10in:1ft using 9mm gauge track.
Japan is even more complicated. Japanese N-scale models of 3’6" and standard gauge prototypes are 1/150th scale, running on 9mm gauge track. HO has numerous variations, with 1/87th scale models on either 12 or 13mm gauge track known in some quarters as #12 and #13 scales. HOj is usually said to use 1/80th scale models running on 16.5mm gauge track, and is also known as #16 scale.
I’m not aware of what larger scale/gauge combinations are used in Japan.
As Mark noted, Japanese prototype 9mm gauge models are built to 1:150 scale, slightly larger than American 1:160 scale. The 1067mm gauge prototypes still come out a bit small when compared to American scale rolling stock - but the Shinkansen variants bulk up larger than the (somewhat) equivalent American passenger equipment.
1:80 scale on 16.5mm gauge (HOj or #16 Gauge) is the most common “larger” scale for commercial modeling, and the odds that Japanese-made HO track products are actually built to that standard are very good. I believe the older Shinohara flex I still have is a dead ringer for heavy duty JNR main track, circa 1958 or so.
Actually, 1:64 (S) scale on 16.5mm gauge track comes within 11 scale millimeters of being correctly gauged, if you intend to scratchbuild everything or can find suitable kits in that scale.
Since I am not one to obsess over a few millimeters of error, I model 1964-era JNR 1067mm gauge track with Atlas HO code 83 flex - which is close enough for my simple tastes and limited skills.
Correct if you want to be a nitpicker. I have a book on narrow gauge railroads in Canada, seems they were in most provinces at one time. So you could probably say all started out that way. Recent/modern railroading on PEI was only standard gauge. In Newfoundland it was only ever 42" gauge, they had relatively modern GE built diesels.
Queensland Railways is an extensive Government owned 3’6" gauge system (in Qld, but with a foot in just about every state in Australia), 100+ car coal trains are not uncommon in the northern parts of Qld.
Where I live in Toowoomba (Southwest Qld), we have a steady flow of coal trains coming through, two units @ 3000hp each (I think) and usually around 42 coal hoppers at around 70 tons. The empy trains have to climb the Toowoomba Range which has heavy grades and tight curves.
Wuiske promotions makes a vast range of QR locos and rolling stock that can be made to run on either 16.5mm track (standard gauge and incorrect) or 12mm which is correct for HO 3’6".
S Scale at 1:64 runs on HO ‘standard gauge’ 16.5mm to represent the correct 3’6", a well known manufacturere for these is PGC Models.
There are quite a few smaller manufacturers (Black Diamond Models comes to mind) in both scales, there is quite a strong following of these scale/gauge combinations in Queensland.
The Australian forums seem to be attracting more followers from the US these days as modellers take interest in the diversity that still exists in this countries railways.
I guess what people are saying is that Sn3.5 can use HO track and mechanisms but by and large you need to scratchbuild a lot, and that in Japan 1:80 scale running on HO and 1:150 scale running on N track is generically used to represent either standard gauge or 3.5 foot gauge prototypes.
That clears something up for me – those EMU’s I bought in Japan seemed a little oversized for N-scale standard gauge, but not by much, and the 1:150 scale makes sense.
Not necessarily. As my fellow 'Strayans have noted, there is a lot of commercial support for Sn3.5 in Australia, and the same is certainly the case in NZ. I suppose it would also dpend on the era/prototype that you wanted to model.
Yes, and a few other odd gauges found there. 1372mm gauge, anyone?
The Kato Unitrack is closely based on prototoype JR track, as you suspected.