Please Help...

[Anonymous]

I am knew to all this so maybe someone can help me. I want to know what the difference is between a 027 and a 0n30? I want to put a train up in my village display and don't have a whole lot of room. Is a 027 and 0n30 the same size train? What's the smallest area you can set up a 027 and 0n30?
Sheri[:I]

[Anonymous]

Hello Sherri and welcome to our fourm,

The difference is in the track. O scale uses a larger (wider) track. The "n" in On30 stands for narrow gauge. The O is the same "scale" (size) of the train itself. On30 runs on HO (smaller) scale track with O (larger) scale train bodies.

Here are a couple links that will help you decide which one to go with.

For information on On30. http://pw1.netcom.com/~lrickert/On30/On30.html
For information on O and O27. http://www.thortrains.net/oldlay.htm

[ndbprr]

NO! 027 is a variation of Lionel O gauge toy trains. As such the trains will be more toy like and larger than On30. On30 uses HO track and the N stands for narrow gauge where the rails were 30" apart as opposed to most trains where the rails are 56 1/2" apart. So you take a track from a smaller scale that is standard gauge (56 1/2") and you say, "OK this is now 30" between the rails" and you make equipment in that scale. As such it is generally more to scale tha Lionel 027. It fits in a smaller area and looks far more realistic. Bachman is starting to make some equipment that is readily available from a number of sources in this gauge. Any good hobby shop should be able to show you what is available. The important question is how big are your buildings? That will determine the size of the train that you should use. Rather than get too complicated if the doors are 2" tall you should use a Lionel O gauge or 027 gauge train. If your doors are 1" tall use an HO gauge train. If they are in between use On30. If they are 1/2" tall use an N gauge train. Any hobby shop should have all this stuff for you to see before you buy.

[Jetrock]

um...normally one buys the trains before the buildings. And technically, there's no such thing as an On30 building--(except maybe a carbarn intended to hold On30 engines) because buildings generally aren't dependent on track gauge.

O-27 is a variant on O scale, sort of--O-27 trains are actually roughly 1/64 scale, but intended to run on O track and handle a 27-inch diameter curve. O-27 is more of a "tinplate" gauge than an accurate modeling gauge--it was common practice to use these 1/64 O-27 trains with 1/48 O-scale buildings and scenery.. I think the "27" refers to the standard diameter of the curved pieces of track--27 inches (although they were found in other widths). O-27 track (correct me if I'm wrong here) is also three-conductor rather than two-conductor--there is a middle "third" rail which acts as an electrical return. I think the gauge is actually different from exactly 1/48 of 4'8.5" as well--as I recall, it's 1-1/4" which works out to five feet. The things you'll find for O-27 are typically shiny, not-too-detailed tinplatey type things. It's a "toy train" gauge and those guys like things a little fake-looking.

On30 (or On2-1/2) is used to describe O-scale engines designed to run on narrow gauge track 30 inches wide. Now, it works out that in 1:48 scale, tracks30 inches wide are pretty much as wide as HO scale track, so On30ers often use HO track for their layouts--just as HOn30 enthusiasts use N scale track to represent tracks that are 30" wide in HO scale (N scale being about 30" scale width in 1:87.)
O-27 is a weird one because it dates prior to the introduction of hobbywide standards for model trains, and is intended for toy-train rather than model-railroad usage.

Anytime you see an "n" in a scale name, it refers to the gauge of the track rather than the scale of the model.

As to the second question, I think the smallest layout you want to run depends on the kind of layout you want. If you want to have a simple oval, well, in O-27 you'd need at least 27 inches plus a few inches on either side of depth--call it at least 3 feet--by perhaps 6 or 7 feet, just to run trains in a circle with little or no switching.

An On30 layout can have pretty sharp curves, depending on what you're running on it--it wouldn't be too hard to justify curves 12"-15" in diameter, so if you wanted a simple oval of On30 track you'd need maybe 30"x60".

Since most people don't want a simple oval of track, it's not always that simple. A lot depends on what you're looking for out of the hobby--if you like colorful, obviously toylike trains to remind you of the old days of toy trains running 'round the Christmas tree, go with O-27. If you like narrow gauge railroading and want to make your layout detailed and realistic, go with On30.

Hope this is helpful...model railroading has its own weird language.