questions about O gauge

[Anonymous]

I was wondering if anyone makes any realistic diesel engines in O gauge? and if it is possible to Machine your own engine or train car using a lathe and mill to make a O guage engine or car super realistic? and do they make realistic track other than the common what looks like 3 little tubes for track?

[ndbprr]

The answer in a nutshell is YES! MTH makes their products in both two rail O gauge and three rail O gauge. Three rail is commonly called tin -plate becasue that it is what O gauge toy trains were made of at one time. O scale two rail equipment is magnificent. IT has the weight and the size to readily replicate the real Mc Coy. There is a special magazine for O scale also. Be prepared that even in plastic O gauge is two to three times more expensive then HO as a minimum. Lower sales = greater costs per unit. Atlas makes/made several O gauge engines in scale. Be prepared for 60" radius and 48" in a pinch also. Cars can be had but box cars are typically $40.00 and up each.

[Big_Boy_4005]

[#welcome] to the forum. Of course they make realistic models of trains in O. There are a lot of people who do 2 rail O which is all scale. Unless you are really into machining, there is absolutely no need to consider such drastic measures. Weaver and Atlas both make 2 rail versions of their diesels, which are very accurate.

I do not consider the MTH engines to be 2 rail, because they come with MTH propriotary electronics inside.[V]

[Anonymous]

Atlas make some very realistic O scale equipment - as do Weaver, MTH, and others. As far as track is concerned, Peco offer an O-scale equivelent of their HO track - flex track and assorted switches, crossings, etc. I'm pretty sure other makers also offer track with the correct "spikes" rather than "chairs" holding the rail down. I know Peco have components to build your own track (handy for unusual switches/crossovers/whatever).

Scratchbuilding (making your own equipment using raw materials) is very much a possibility in O scale. I would say that it's easier than building in HO as the parts are larger, though having said that the larger size makes it very tempting to add more detail work to models! It's also possible to buy add-on detail parts for RTR O-scale locos and cars much the same as in HO.

[Anonymous]

You guys are right atlas does make some realist o gauge trains,
like this car here, http://www.atlaso.com/o17360tank.htm that is really cool, it has rotating caps and all, Ive thought buying one of these realistic ones and then making cast of them copying them but making them all metal to add to my collection while keeping the cost down, anyone know where i could get some decals for o gauge cars?

[Big_Boy_4005]

All of the regular decal manufacturers make some. The selection is far less for O. Microscale, Champ, and Walthers are the biggest.