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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by 4884bigboy Guage is the distance between the rails. Scale is well, to tell ya the truth, I don't realy know what scale means. [/quote] Then why did you post , if you couldn't answer the question? The question here is one of defintions of words vs. long-time hobbists' use of them. In reality, used correctly: "Scale" is the proporation a model has to the prototype. HO scale is 1/87th the size of the real thing, O is 1/48th, N is 1/160th, Z is 1/220th...and there are others, but you get the idea. "Gauge" is how far apart the rails are. Standard gauge--what most tracks are--is 4', 8.5" in real life; narrow gauge can be any of several smaller widths. The same is true in models, but 1/87th or whatever proportion smaller. Now. It used to be that in the old days when we were somewhat less-enlightened, those words were used interchangeably. Especially common was the phrase "N gauge," but it was used in all scales. The older the modeller is, the more likely it is that he, because he was taught this way, will call his scale of choice "gauge." Bottom line: YOU were correct. He is using an older nomenclature and in all liklihood cannot tell you why or define the words himself; it's habit, but incorrect. And someone at a museum should never have answered that way to a member of the public.
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