The history of N scale...

[Anonymous]

Is there anyone out there that might be able to tell me when N scale first appeared ?.

Thanks in advance.

trainluver1

[trailerkeith]

If I am not mistaken ( I might be) N scale items started to appear as early as the late 50's in euroean prototype form. US prototype items started to appear in the 60's. US manufacturers didn't get on the N bandwagon until the 70's with Bachmann, Life Like and others starting to mass produce some decent quality ready to run items.

[M636C]

Around 1959-1960 the English manufacturer "Lone Star" started making small die cast unpowered models described as OOO gauge as toys, complete with die cast track. This developed into a powered system using the same rubber band drive system as Athearn used in HO scale. These were mainly to British prototype, but they did make an F7 and a USRA 0-8-0 which had a rubber band drive in the tender.

About the same time, Arnold began production in Germany of true N scale models. These were mechanically better than the "Lone Star' models, but were even less like the prototype than the British models . There were a Baldwin switcher , and I think, an F unit among their early models.

Arnold continued in business, and improved their models until the 1990s when they merged with Rivarrossi and Lima.

The German Trix company introduced a high quality line of N scale called "Minitrix" in the early 1960s and this conrtinued making Germany the centre of N scale production. This continued and is now part of the Maerklin line.

The Japanese started making N scale in the late 1960s under the name Sekisui, and this became the current Kato range. There are a number of other Japanese N scale manufacturers and N scale is the major scale in Japan.

This is pretty brief, but I hope it helps.

Peter

[DSchmitt]

The first adds for "trebble O" that I am aware of (in American magazines) appeared in 1962 or 63.

Model Railroader had an article on OOO scale in scale in February 1964.

[M636C]

I'm pretty sure that the Lone Star OOO unpowered toys were around in stores in Australia by 1960, and that the electric models appeared by 1961. The first models were the English Electric D5900 series "baby Deltic" and the BR Sulzer D5000, the prototypes dating back to 1958 or so.

The US prototypes were later, maybe by a year, and it is likely that no effort was made to market the British prototypes in the USA. I recall that the F unit was available in UP colours and possibly Pennsylvania.

I believe the OOO gauge was slightly larger than N, maybe 9.5 mm but I'm not sure about that.

Peter

[Anonymous]

Minitrix also offered some unpowered models in the very early days (these didn't have flanged wheels either) - I have two boxed sets of these picked up from ebay, one has a DB 4-6-2 tender loco, baggage van and 2 coaches, the other has a little 0-6-0 tank loco and three 4-wheel oil tankers. I can take and post some photos if anyone wants to see them? The coaches have diecast bodyshells, a tinplate frame, and chromed wheelsets - the trucks are rigid rather than pivoting. Of the locos, the 4-6-2 has working (simplified) valve gear while the 0-6-0 has nothing.

[dinwitty]

some modeler went outa the way and made their own custom which was about z scale about mid 50's, it was in one of the model magazines. nothing mass produced.
just some fun experiment I guess.

[AltonFan]

A Swedish concern made models in a scale close to N during the 1950s. (And maybe as early as the late 1940s - I don't have the article handy.) They produced an American-style 4-6-4, and some passenger cars. This line attracted the attention of Keith and Dale Edwards of Kadee coupler fame. When the Swedish firm ceased production, the Edwards brother bought their trademark - Micro-Trains.