lionelsoni Seven-eighths inch is 42 inches, or 3 1/2 feet, in 1/48 (O) scale, not 40 inches.
Seven-eighths inch is 42 inches, or 3 1/2 feet, in 1/48 (O) scale, not 40 inches.
I told you I don't do math on Monday morning.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
Seven-eighths inch is 42 inches, or 3 1/2 feet, in 1/48 (O) scale, not 40 inches. This is a very common prototype gauge around the world, particularly in Japan, Africa, and New Zealand, but, except for the San Francisco cable cars, not so much in the US. If it were 40 inches, that is very close to 1 meter (about 39 3/8 inches) which is even more popular worldwide and even less popular in the US.
Bob Nelson
I'll leave the fine calculations to someone who's brain works on Monday morning, but On30 track is 5/8" actual inches between railheads, and On36 is 3/4". S scale track is 7/8" between railheads, which would scale up to On40". That is not a real guage that I am aware of, at least not in North America.
Still only the purists object to the current practice of running 3ft guage equipment on On30 track. So it all depends upon how fussy you are about that extra 1/8th of an inch. This would probably be a project that you could do quite easily by using a Flyer model 21088 or 21089 American-class locomotive. They were oversized for S-scale anyway. You could use O-scale narrow guage equipment on S-scale trucks.
If you measured the gauge of S scale track in O scale, how many scale feet and inches does it come out to? I wouldn't mind seeing some company make hi-rail narrow gauge in O scale. I think it would be interesting.
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
If they use only the name :"The S Scale Showcase Line", they will have a fine name for the products offered.
Andrew
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
MTH needs to have as the first new S Scale rolling stock additions to the line the PS-1 40' Box Cars and the PS-1 50' Box Cars with all the various door configurations ever used.
Andrew Falconer
Are they going to change the name? I always thought the name was odd,, as in the "Helper" part of the name. I'm sure they have great products but now and then I see business names or advertisements that make me scratch my head in wonderment as to what is attractive about it. I don't mean to offend anyone. Just my 2 cents. Good luck to MTH as I think its good to have multiple players in the field of hi-rail trains.
The knuckle heights for O, S, HO, and N scale couplers are .229, .172, .126, and .069 inches, respectively.
arkady LittleTommy: Seayakbill: I just saw a SW type switcher with the knuckle coupler. I am guessing that this is the industry standard coupler for the modern S Gauge. The coupler looked gigantic compared to the small SW type switcher. MTH needs to go with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks. Well, Bill, about 90% of the sales of S are to folks that have large flanged locomotives and cars and large American Flyer Compatable couplers. If MTH goes with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks, they will lose 90% of their potential buyers. S is not a big enough market to make that kind of move. It is far easier to make locomotives and cars that can be back converted the other way. Offering scale wheel sets and making the car or loco with a mounting pad that allows the modeler a way to install scale couplers are a quick and easy fix. I'd go the other way with that. I've never had any real problem with AF wide flanges, but the coupler size always turned me off. Going with deep flanges but allowing the easy installation of closer-to-scale couplers would be great.
LittleTommy: Seayakbill: I just saw a SW type switcher with the knuckle coupler. I am guessing that this is the industry standard coupler for the modern S Gauge. The coupler looked gigantic compared to the small SW type switcher. MTH needs to go with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks. Well, Bill, about 90% of the sales of S are to folks that have large flanged locomotives and cars and large American Flyer Compatable couplers. If MTH goes with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks, they will lose 90% of their potential buyers. S is not a big enough market to make that kind of move. It is far easier to make locomotives and cars that can be back converted the other way. Offering scale wheel sets and making the car or loco with a mounting pad that allows the modeler a way to install scale couplers are a quick and easy fix.
Seayakbill: I just saw a SW type switcher with the knuckle coupler. I am guessing that this is the industry standard coupler for the modern S Gauge. The coupler looked gigantic compared to the small SW type switcher. MTH needs to go with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks.
I just saw a SW type switcher with the knuckle coupler. I am guessing that this is the industry standard coupler for the modern S Gauge. The coupler looked gigantic compared to the small SW type switcher. MTH needs to go with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks.
Well, Bill, about 90% of the sales of S are to folks that have large flanged locomotives and cars and large American Flyer Compatable couplers. If MTH goes with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks, they will lose 90% of their potential buyers. S is not a big enough market to make that kind of move. It is far easier to make locomotives and cars that can be back converted the other way. Offering scale wheel sets and making the car or loco with a mounting pad that allows the modeler a way to install scale couplers are a quick and easy fix.
I'd go the other way with that. I've never had any real problem with AF wide flanges, but the coupler size always turned me off. Going with deep flanges but allowing the easy installation of closer-to-scale couplers would be great.
You know, moving to S from N-scale, I really never noticed the difference. In N-scale every coupler is oversized, de facto. In fact the first time I saw a "scale" S-scale coupler I was convinced someone had thrown in an HO coupler by mistake.
LittleTommy Seayakbill: I just saw a SW type switcher with the knuckle coupler. I am guessing that this is the industry standard coupler for the modern S Gauge. The coupler looked gigantic compared to the small SW type switcher. MTH needs to go with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks. Well, Bill, about 90% of the sales of S are to folks that have large flanged locomotives and cars and large American Flyer Compatable couplers. If MTH goes with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks, they will lose 90% of their potential buyers. S is not a big enough market to make that kind of move. It is far easier to make locomotives and cars that can be back converted the other way. Offering scale wheel sets and making the car or loco with a mounting pad that allows the modeler a way to install scale couplers are a quick and easy fix.
11th Street Further diversification, further diversion of attention from the product lines that established the company. Any undergraduate Business School student can recite a litany of fallen firms that went down that path.
Further diversification, further diversion of attention from the product lines that established the company. Any undergraduate Business School student can recite a litany of fallen firms that went down that path.
The problem with diversification by other companies is that they did not retain any of the previous employees or hire new employees who were familiar with the company. This is not a huge leap of product line for MTH, what they need though are more employees in Columbia, MD and in China to do the work on all the product lines. If they are understaffed, then the company will suffer.
A merger is pointless if there are no employees available to do the work.
The S-Helper Service The Showcase line items are excellent. Great to see their production will be continuing.
Seayakbill I just saw a SW type switcher with the knuckle coupler. I am guessing that this is the industry standard coupler for the modern S Gauge. The coupler looked gigantic compared to the small SW type switcher. MTH needs to go with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks.
If MTH can put the sound and sound packages that they put in their HO gauge engines into an S gauge product, they will sell a lot of product. It will be especially nice if they can make modestly sized locomotives with those features as they will fit better on the small layouts that most of us have.
Lionel, instead, tries to "smush" their O gauge sound, smoke and control packages into S by making huge articulated engines, and locos with unattached pilots, or relies on a seuthe type smoke generator that burns out easily in their Mikados and Pacifics. A modest sized layout can only run so many articulated locos. One can sell a lot more $300-$500 locomotives in the current economic climate than they can sell $1000.00 Locomotives.
Little Tommy
Carolina Road Rich, A "helper" is a locomotive or a group of locomotives that help push a heavy train over a steep grade. Therefore "helper service" is common railroad jargon in mountainous or operating areas that had steep grades. S Helper Service mission was to "push" S gauge/scale forward in offering new products that are on par or better than what is offered in other scales. The Sandra Kan fiasco had really hurt them and with the owners of the company nearing retirement, it was time to sell. I wish them the very best. Robyn
Rich,
A "helper" is a locomotive or a group of locomotives that help push a heavy train over a steep grade. Therefore "helper service" is common railroad jargon in mountainous or operating areas that had steep grades. S Helper Service mission was to "push" S gauge/scale forward in offering new products that are on par or better than what is offered in other scales.
The Sandra Kan fiasco had really hurt them and with the owners of the company nearing retirement, it was time to sell. I wish them the very best.
Robyn
Robyn,
Thanks for that explanation. I appreciate it.
Rich
Alton Junction
Seayakbill,
S Helper Service offered their products where the parts to convert from High-Rail To Scale were offered in the same package (The only exception was the 2-8-0 steamer). Also, SHS had a "Kadee clone" scale coupler in their product line.
SHS's products were high quality,. Let's hope that MTH keeps the tradition alive.
With the MTH PS3 board S-Helper engines will get new sounds. I am just wondering though if MTH isn't spreading itself a little thin. Some say O ga sales are down and that might be true but I would think sale's in the other sizes would be down as well.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
If I was getting into the electric train hobby today I would seriously consider S Gauge. Lionel has been putting out some nice stuff the past few years and now with MTH jumping in it can only get a whole bunch better.
Bill T.
All this attention to S scale recently is interesting. It seems that more than one manufacturer sees some significant potential in S. Somewhere, A.C. Gilbert must be smiling.
Seayakbill I just saw a SW type switcher with the knuckle coupler... The coupler looked gigantic compared to the small SW type switcher. MTH needs to go with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks.
I just saw a SW type switcher with the knuckle coupler... The coupler looked gigantic compared to the small SW type switcher. MTH needs to go with scale couplers right out of the starting blocks.
I agree. Nonscale Lionel couplers don't look so bad on an O model, especially of the semi-scale variety. But Flyer-style couplers just look enormous on an S scale model.
You can place scale wheels and couplers on the SHS locomotives (and many came with the scale wheels in the box), but from what I've been told over the years, more S gaugers than S scalers buy S gauge products. You would also get into backward compatibility issues. As with O gauge, it is better to let the customers and the market decide what they want.
Bob Keller
I never have understood the company name - - - S-Helper Service.
What exactly does that mean, anyhow?
Does this company use a more traditional or even scale knuckle couplers. I always thought the American Flyer S Gauge couplers were cumbersome.
Hopefully they will make S gauge trains as affordable as their O gauge trains are so even more people an enjoy this scale as of right now a quality S gauge set is very high.
Can't stop working on the railroad!
Don't think Lionel got K-Line. Lionel leased K-Line tooling from Sandi Kan for a few years. When Kader Industries ( parent company of Bachmann ) acquired Sandi Kan a couple years ago they received the K-Line tooling also. Now Williams by Bachmann is using some of the K-Line Tooling but is also leasing out some of the K-Line Tooling. RMT has started using a lot of that tooling, their latest catalog looks like a mini K-Line catalog.
Our hobby used to be sort of a cottage industry, but now everybody is buying up everbody else. Lionel got K-line, Bachmann got Williams Trains and now this. I guess that's the way it goes.
George
THis is Awesome. MTH please don't cheapen the S-Helper line of track. it is the best on the market! Look out lionel!
Three, counting American Models.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month