Scale vs Gauge

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ACL Fan

Then why did you post , if you couldn't answer the question?

...........snip

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.

Ooooooooooooops,

Meow, meow........

Well in olden days anyone who ever looked at a technical drawing and had to produce any parts from that knew what scale meant!

Now to the "gauge" moniker as applied by the museum "yardmaster", he was only half off the mark. As it happens the track gauge for O is 32mm, however the "scale" is 1:48! Now if one multiplies 32 by 48 one arrives at 1536mm! Standard gauge is 1435mm (4ft 8.5").
So the yardmaster calling it "O gauge" has a point, whatever it is is certainly not to scale. OTOH I very much doubt that he was aware of that, or for that matter cared.

BTW much of this utter scale confusion i.e dumb ratios and compromises here and there, stems from the fact that some "jokers" way back when mixed metric and imperial measures to arrive at whatever ratios. For instance HO's 1:87 is 3.5mm/1 foot.
OTOH considering that they started out with 4ft 8.5inch it isn't much of a surprise.

[RhB_HJ]

As stated gauge refers to the distance between the rails, measured inside to inside (not the centerline!).

Scale is the ratio a model is either larger 2.5:1 or smaller 1: 87 when compared to the master (prototype).

As for the different scales one can look up the NMRA Standards and/or the NEM-MOROP Standards. The NEM Standards are considerably closer as well as better organized when compared to what NMRA specifies.

A comment regarding Large Scale (yes, I model that): "G scale" is the craziest misnomer ever, regardless of who coined the term.
I model 1:22.5 which for the 45mm track gauge is close to Meter gauge.
Standard gauge items running on 45mm track scale to 1:32. That scale is referred to as No1
Standard gauge that is scale 1:22.5 runs on 64mm track.

Sooooooooooooo if it is somwhere between 1:23 and 1:31 i.e 1:24; 1:26; 1:27; 1:29 etc. etc. and running on 45mm track it may be large but it most certainly isn't to scale!

[Jetrock]

In HO and N, however, when track isn't a scale 4'8-1/2" wide, it is because the modeler is deliberately trying to model a narrow (or wide) prototype. It makes things nice and simple.

But in some other scales, O in particular, that is often not the case. As mentioned above, many models built for O are not O scale--they run on "O gauge" track (which is typically 1.25" wide, actually 5' rather than standard gauge) but their scale can be as small as 1/64.

And then there's OO--which can mean either "American OO", 1/76 track with rails in standard gauge for that scale, and "British HO" OO, which is 1/87 track (standard HO width) with 1/76 scale engines and cars running on it (since British prototypes were too small to hold the large motors of the day in scale-sized housings.)

And then there's that bewildering array of scales, gauges and other measurements that goes into the big-scale stuff--G/H/I scale? Who can keep it all straight?

Confusing? Yes. We HO/N/S/Z people have it easy...

[fec153]

n2mopac you hit the spike right on. Very well stated.

[n2mopac]

I have to admit that while not usually a stickler for these kinds of things, this interchanging of these terms annoys me. Here is why. In scale modeling worlds, guage (the distance between the rails) should always be the same (4' 8.5") unless otherwise specified as some narrow or other unusual distance. Thus, technically, N "guage" and HO "guage" are the same in their respective scales. The difference in the actual distance between the rails of N and HO track is a difference in SCALE, not guage.
Ron

[IRONROOSTER]

O Gauge is frequently used in the three rail world, because not every thing that runs on three rail O gauge track is O scale. There are manufacturers, K-Line is one who make locomotives to scales other than 1:48, but run on O gauge track. Industrial Rails makes 1:55 freight cars and trolleys for O gauge track. Lionels O27 line is undersized as well. American Flyer pre WWII used to make 1:64 engines for O gauge track. And so forth.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

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.

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.

[Anonymous]

Guage is the distance between the rails. Scale is well, to tell ya the truth, I don't realy know what scale means.

[Anonymous]

Hi, it's Untabubba back with another "rookie" question. Recently I visited a local museum that has a fairly nice O gauge layout. (over 2000+ feet) I was watching the "Yardmaster" as he worked some of the controls. I made an off-hand comment about how "room-intensive" O SCALE was and he (almost scoldingly) retorted...."O GAUGE"! Which, of course, immediately turned me off, and ended what COULD have been an interesting "learning experience" for ME, as I was using that as an "opening line" to ask more questions.
SO, here's the question. What IS the difference between "scale" and "gauge" and how/when is each (correctly) USED?
Thanks