Menards Busses

[Major]

S scale has no buses available and while I was looking at the Menard flat cars with buses on them I wonder what scale are the buses.  Are they smaller that the 1/50th scale buses that are available? Any assistance on answering this question would be appreciated!

 

[robmcc]

Even though I don't have any of them, I have looked at them at the store and the buses are darn close to S gauge. The buses are about 7 to 8 inches long depending on the model . If I did my math correct, 7" converts to 37' in S gauge and 8" converts to 42.5'. The average bus length is about 40', so you should be in the ball park with them.

[lionelsoni]

The width of a bus is its most reliable dimension.  It's usually 8 1/2 feet, or 2 1/8 inches in 1/48 O scale and 1 19/32 in 1/64 S scale.

[robmcc]

Good point, Bob. I forgot to add that dimension to my original post. I have a few of the Menards flat cars and they are 2 1/8" wide. Looking at the photos, there appears to be about a 1/2" space on each side of the buses. If that's the case, it would make the bus width 1 5/8" which would convert to 104".  Major, you could re-post the question in the Menards Q & A post and Mark could give you a definitive answer. Based on my observations, I do think they are 1:64 scale or very, very close.

Another option is to reach out to some of the regular posting Flyer guys like Jim (Sturgeon-Phish) or Northwoods Flyer and see if they can advise on S gauge buses.

[Firelock76]

Another thing you can do is check if there's any close-out places in your area like a "Big Lots", or any dollar stores.  Bring a ruler with you and check the toy sections to see what kind of toy cars and other vehicles they have and keep your fingers crossed.  You never know.

[Major]

I recieved my menards Flat car with bus attached. When I removed the bus it had on the bottom the scale size marked. It was 1/64th making it S-scale!  I now have two buses one resin and the new Menards bus!  Awesome!