difference between o and o27

[Anonymous]

Just bought my son a o set for christmass. Wanted to buy extra cards and don't understand if o27 cars will work with couplers on o set.
thanks

[Dave Farquhar]

They sure will. The only thing to watch for is the size. An O27 boxcar may or may not look right next to an O boxcar. Things like gondolas, flats, tankers, and cabooses are easier to get away with.

If you can tell us what you have and what you're considering, there's a decent possibility someone here can tell you how they'd look together.

But as far as interoperability, any O or O27 made in the last 20 years is completely interoperable.

[Anonymous]

The designation refers to the standard radius on the curves.

In terms of compatability, speaking in general, the height of the track is different. For best results, avoid mixing O-27 and O gauge track... It can be done, but there are just some things you need to do a little differently in order to avoid layout conditions which may tend to result in derailments.

Also, from a standpoint of operating trains on O-27 vs. O gauge track, you should never have any issues operating an 0-27 train or rolling stock on O-gauge track, some O gauge trains or rolling stock may have problems on O-27 track... especially switches.

Again speaking in general, O-27 is usually a designation of a more budget-oriented train item that will tend to be more toy-like, while O will be a little more expensive and be more scale-oriented... All relatively speaking and with exceptions.

Personally, though, it just seems a little funny that in O scale, the O gauge track that is meant for the more scale type equipment is less scale proportioned than the O-27 track...

Well, hope that helps