Weekend Photos - September 2024

[webenda]

That's a pretty interesting, Wayne, as I have an example going in the opposite direction. Here's a Kline 3/16-scale O boxcar that they slapped S-gauge trucks under and sold in their waning days as S:

I only ever bought one of this series, thinking it looked a bit strange sitting so low, but having seen some conversion work recently on some 2-rail O, it actually is probably much more accurate than what Gilbert offered.

O scale is all over the place.
1:43.5 (UK, France)
1:45 (Germany, Japan, Russia, Czech)
1:48 (US)
1:64 (Some toy trains that run on 0-gauge track)

Some of Lionel's smaller trains that run on 27-inch diameter 0-gauge curved track could pass as S scale just as Kline's 3/16-scale O boxcar did.

Edit 1: Use of the term O-27 Scale eliminated in two places.
Edit 2: Eliminated S scale from 1:64 because the list is restricted to O scale.

[healey36]

I would rephrase that to say O-gauge is all over the place. O-scale is pretty much dead-nuts on at 1/48.

[sarge]

Wayne, you are looking for something that isn't there and was never intended to be there.

First error: Confusing "scale" and "gauge". There is nothing called "O-27 scale".

Second error: Trying to retro-apply the metrics of scale model railroading on what was created as a toy range. Scale, fidelity, proportion, none of that applied then or applies now to what is or was called O-27 or "traditional size" or whatever.

O-27 uses a defined form of 0-gauge track. That's it. There is no more. There never was any intention of the range being to any scale. In actuality the creators of what you call O-27 were very clear the only standard that applied was 0-gauge (1.25" gauge) track with curves of 27" diameter and a rail-height/track configuration unique onto itself compared to their O products. One could say the term actually only is applicable whilst talking about the track supplied, though Lionel did not present it that way in their literature but rather as an entire discrete range of product.

There is no such thing as O-27 scale. There has been a bunch of folks doing the same thing and writing what really is a bunch of ol' bollocks about the subject but, if you ignore it all and go back to primary material, you'll find what O-27 is: a product range and nothing more.

[webenda]

Wayne, you are looking for something that isn't there and was never intended to be there.

There is nothing called "O-27 scale".

There is no such thing as O-27 scale.

Thank you, Sarge. I shall attempt to edit my post.

Please explain your use of the number zero (0-gauge) rather than a letter (O-gauge) for the gauge of O-scale track.

[sarge]

Sure. Purely historic.

The gauge (not scale but gauge) was defined in the late 1800s or first decade of the 1900s by the Germans; Märklin if memory serves. It was numeric, following on #3 gauge, #2 gauge, and #1 gauge. If you really want to be obsessive about it, we collectively are using #0 gauge.

These also were called Gauge 3 (was 3.5", 89mm), Gauge 2 (2.5", tweaked later to 63mm) Gauge 1 (2", later 1.77"/45mm) and Gauge 0 (1.25"/32mm). This gives us the name Gauge 0 Guild in the UK, the number used, not the letter. Also, as smaller gauges became practical, 00 gauge suddenly makes perfect sense as a numeric progression. Even the predecessor to N (N referring to nine millimetre gauge) was sensibly called treble-0 or #000.

The first bit of confusion comes as national standards and metrification both resulted in everything from tweaks to large disparities from the original Märklin gauges to what we have defined today by the likes of MOROP or the NMRA. Indeed, there are no bets my listing above is accurate for any one time-period other than that for 0.

Scales throw all this into further confusion, using letters rather than numbers and using multiple ratios for a given track gauge, so segregating scale from gauge is actually very important in discussion.

[webenda]

Very interesting, thank you, Sarge.

[webenda]

I would rephrase that to say O-gauge is all over the place. O-scale is pretty much dead-nuts on at 1/48.

Not after Sarge explained that track characteristics are not to be confused with a model's scale.

[healey36]

Being a prewar tinplater, I don't get all hung up about "scale"; other than one or two items introduced late (the Lionel Hudson #763 being one, and even that was typically catalogued as "semi-scale"), pretty much everything made by the major 3-rail O-gauge manufacturers in the U. S. was non-prototypical in scale and form. They were toys made to look sorta like something; you had to use your imagination, a great part of the appeal for me.

Instead of being productive and cleaning up the basement layout area, I've continued goofing off constructing paper buildings. I wanted to see if one could modify Paul Race's Lewis Park tinplate-style station plan/graphics to include an extension for a covered platform. After a bit of MS Paint work, this is what I came up with:



I found some nice shots of the Marx West Side Warehouse that might be workable; probably try that next, but only after the basement is cleaned up and the layout is back in operation.

[webenda]

That station looks so sharp!

Sharp meaning to be the best, or look really nice.

[RBH29]

I agree with Wayne 100%. Very nice!

[healey36]

Thanks fellas; I find them fun to tinker with and construct.

Found some graphics for the Marx West Side Warehouse...might take a crack at that next:

https://toyconnect.blogspot.com/2011/10/marx-westside-warehouse.html

Will need to do a bit of editing and sizing of the images. Should be fairly simple.

[Dennis Holler]

Oh boy!! New sparky stuff!

This will get used on my upper level.

[webenda]

Wow, Dennis, thank you for posting some photos over here.
You have an interesting collection.

Do you use those MARN-O-POWER control panels to control your trains? Is that a B 85 on the left end of the left panel?

My C 25 MARNOPOWER has a transformer, selenium rectifier, switches, and a Marnostat rheostat. It works very well with the little Lionel 8314 DC-only locomotive although the pulse switch makes the engine growl like some AC Lionel engines. The 8314 only draws 0.40 to 0.48 amps. I have not tried the C 25 with one of my heavy current engines.

[Dennis Holler]

Thanks Wayne. Haven’t used it yet. These two were set up for ho. They had 30 and 50 ohm reostsats in them. I need to find some 15 ohm stats. Also these have the T40 transformer which I think is the 4 amp. I am on the lookout for the big transformers as well lol. I think I should be able to run single locs on this as is although the reoststs may not live long!

[healey36]

Hmmm...I didn't realize Lionel made DC-only equipment during the MPC era. I have an 8310 laying in my parts bin...I'm wondering if that's similar. I presume DC-only would be a can motor(?)