Hi Mike,
HOn3 is HO scale modeling of a prototype that operates on three foot gauge track. By wya of comparison, standard gauge track is 4 feet, eight and a half inches wide between the rails. The actual gauge of HOn3 track is 10.5mm.
There are a variety of HOn designations. All use HO scale, but HOn30 is for 30" gauge track, HOm is for meter-gauge, HOn2 for 2 foot gauge, etc.
Then you can have dual-gauge track, which is usually done with three rails.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
The "n" in the designation indicates narrow gauge and the number after it is the gauge of the track. So HOn3 is HO scale narrow gauge that is three foot between the rails. It represents the narrow gauge track and the equipment that runs on it. All all the people, structures, scenery are the same HO.
See the current thread about riding on the Durango & Silverton. That is 3 foot gauge. HO models of that equipment would be called HOn3.http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1223274/ShowPost.aspx
I think they call that On2 1/2 or On30.
George
"And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers ride their father's magic carpet made of steel..."
To run 0 Scale equipment onto H0 Gauge Track is reflecting the 30 inch gauge for 0 Scale, so it is called 0n30 Gauge.
0n3 equipment will be running onto the seldom used S Gauge track in Central Europe which will be wider than H0 Gauge track.
0n2 equipment will run onto TT or H0m Gauge Track
For myself I use:
H0 Standard Gauge 16.5 mm
H0m Narrow Gauge 12 mm (like TT Gauge)
H0n3 Narrow Gauge 10.5 mm
H0e/H0n30/00-9 Narrow Gauge 9 mm (like N Gauge)
I plan to use finally the H0f Narrow Gauge of 6.5 mm (like Z Gauge)
All in Scale of 1:87 or 3,5mm/1 inch of Scale
Some Items I use are in 00 Scale of 1:76 or 4mm/1 inch of Scale, but this short difference is not any problem sometimes.
Ingo
Great Western & Atlantic RR
loathar wrote:So what do you call O gauge equipment that runs on standard HO gauge track?
On30 uses 1:48 scale models of 2ft / 3ft gauge equipment on HO standard gauge trucks and track.
O standard gauge rolling stock is not, although you could replace the O scale trucks with HO ones ala East Broad Top which used a timber crane to lift up standard gauge cars and swapped narrow gauge trucks for standard gauge ones and vice versus on the return.
Enjoy
Paul
IRONROOSTER wrote: loathar wrote:So what do you call O gauge equipment that runs on standard HO gauge track?On30 uses 1:48 scale models of 2ft / 3ft gauge equipment on HO standard gauge trucks and track. EnjoyPaul
Well, as George Gershwin wrote, "It ain't necessarily so."
If I ever change my modeling scale, I will be running On30 models of 762mm (prototype) gauge rolling stock on my 16.5mm gauge track. The Kiso Forestry Railway, the Kurobe Railway and numerous other Japanese short lines and industrial routes ran (and some still run) on 30" gauge track. There are also extensive 762mm gauge systems in Taiwan - including one that has a full-scale helix (wrapped around a mountain) that would do a model railroad proud.
Strangest full-scale sight I ever saw was a 30" gauge Shay with an empty boiler. With nothing to balance the weight of the engine, it was listing like a sailboat in a strong breeze.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - including a 30" gauge logger)
To further confuse you, O27 was the lionel toy train line and the equipment could run on that, it was your 3 rail AC, O48 was a higher more scale of the O27. Still 3 rail AC. O27 stuff was on average smaller and more toyish. Tru O scale is your true 2 rail DC operation. The 27 and 48 number was the total diameter of the curves it ran on.
For the prototype, narrow gauge was more economical to build and get going.