On30/HOn3

[Anonymous]

ok, im new to this, and trying to figure out which gauge i would like to go with. I just recently attended a train show in my town here and was looking an an On30 layout. I liked the size, and the detailing posibilities for this gauge, and was wandering if HOn3 was the the same or another gauge going by a similar name???

any comments on the gauges with there pros and cons would be apreciated, the only ones i have any (minimal) experience with are HO and N.

thanxs

jim

[Jetrock]

HOn3 and On30 are two different scales and gauges.

HO and O are scales--HO is 1:87 (1 foot equals 87 HO scale feet), O is (generally) 1:48.

"Gauge" refers to the distance between the rails. If no gauge is mentioned, as in HO and O scale, the gauge is assumed to be standard gauge--4 feet, 8-1/2 inches.

If you see an "n" after the name of a scale, that indicates a narrow gauge. This is where it gets a bit confusing, because sometimes it's not clear whether this is in inches or feet--HOn2 and HOn3 refer to feet, while On15 and On30 refer to inches (Use common sense here--obviously track won't be 2 inches or 15 feet wide!)

On30 (O scale, 30" gauge)is a new but popular gauge--it lets you use O scale buildings and scenery etcetera, with track that is the same width as HO--you can use HO track or On30 track with more accurate tie spacing and width. It's nice if you have some room, or want to build a garden layout in a very small garden space. Cheaper than G, but costs more than HO.

HOn3 (HO scale, 3-foot gauge) might be to your taste as the trains are somewhere between HO and N in size--imagine a layout with HO-scale buildings and people, but with trains only slightly larger in size than N scale, and curves that can be as tight as an N scale layout too. Not a bad choice if you have limited space for an indoor layout. Narrow-gauge stuff always tends to be rarer and cost more than standard gauge, but as most narrow-gauge railroads had small rosters and not a lot of rolling stock, it all evens out.

I highly recommend doing some reading on prototype narrow-gauge railroads--they were used in a lot of different places in widely different ways, and have loads of character and individuality--worth exploring whether you're interested in a specific prototype or freelance.

[IRONROOSTER]

If you are interested in narrow gauge, don't limit your consideration to On30 and HOn3. On3 and Sn3 are popular. Less popular but with some commercial support are On2, Sn2 (uses HOn3 gauge track) and HOn30 (uses N gauge track).

The pros and cons in general follow the standard gauge ones. Larger size takes more room to do the same thing as a smaller gauge. Larger size lends itself to more detailing (although there is some good work done in the smaller scales). Larger size has less electrical pickup problems. And so forth.

One thing that may or may not be important to you is that most commercial support for narrow gauge is based on 3 foot prototypes, notably in Colorado with some East Broad Top in Pennsylvania. There is also some support for 2 foot gauge which ran in Maine. While many different gauges of railroads were built in the 1800's, by 1900 4' 8 1/2" was standard for most railroads. 3 foot gauge was the predominate narrow gauge, except in Maine which had several 2 foot railroads.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock


HOn3 (HO scale, 3-foot gauge) might be to your taste as the trains are somewhere between HO and N in size--imagine a layout with HO-scale buildings and people, but with trains only slightly larger in size than N scale, and curves that can be as tight as an N scale layout too. Not a bad choice if you have limited space for an indoor layout. Narrow-gauge stuff always tends to be rarer and cost more than standard gauge, but as most narrow-gauge railroads had small rosters and not a lot of rolling stock, it all evens out.[/br]

Just for clarification...

The rolling stock and locomotives, etc, in HOn3 (or any other HOnXX) are still HO scale. The reason they are smaller is simply because the real life narrow gauge equipment tended to be smaller. Both a 4-4-0 Old timer steam engine and a new AutoMax auto rack are HO scale. The reason the engine looks so small is because that is how it was in real life.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

thanks for the replies, itll keep me from going out and spending a bunch of money on stuff that doesnt work together. I can tell this is gonna take a little research n poking about. but from what i have seen so far i like the possibilities in On30, but that can change :)

thanks once again
jim

[on30francisco]

I model in On30. I tried to model in On3, Sn3 and HOn3 but the cost of locomotives was (and still is) extremely expensive. Consequently I never bought any locos in those scales. I swithced to On30 when Bachmann came out with their Spectrum series of locomotives in On30. These locos look great, run well, and are very affordable. I believe in On30 you have the best of both worlds; the heft and detail of O scale and the convenience and affordability of HO. Depending on what you want to model, a layout in On30 can fit in the same amount of space as an HO layout. In On30 you can model either the two or three footers or both. It's your railroad. As others have suggested, do some research - both on prototype and the different modeling scales of narrow gauge railroads - before you go out and buy equipment.