Was talking to a guy(at the show) ,he kept calling his layout S gauge. Without thinking I said ''you mean S scale". Well he got all bent out of shape, telling me it's S gauge. I nodded and walked away. Now I'm wondering,
Do the letters mean scale ,and gauge refers to track ?
They mean "scale". Note that there is On3. And the "3" is the gauge. Or gage (another spelling). If you were strictly modeling the Civil War South, you might be working in Ow5. For standard gage, the notation is left off. And, what would the notation be, anyway?
The NMRA agrees.
Ed
Scale is the size ratio, and gauge is the track. On30 would be O scale on HO gauge track. That gentleman might have been running trains larger than s scale that were narrow gauge on s gauge track. S is one of those gauges that is used for a variety of scales.
-Peter. Mantua collector, 3D printing enthusiast, Korail modeler.
Well, it depends.
There are O "gauge" layouts out there...
Just throwing a wrinkle in the whole scale Vrs gauge question.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
In a way, I can see using the term "O gauge". That's because for tinplate, there really isn't any particular scale. But the track tends to stay the same. Same for "S gauge", I guess.
It makes sense for tinplate. But not for scale modeling.
So maybe the "other" guy in the first posting is an S gauge tinplater. Hence, he may not work in any particular scale at all.
I have always thought of the Scale being a size relationship between the prototype and the model. So HO being 1:87th of the prototype is the Scale. The word Gauge Is just used interchangably with Scale. Some people are just touchy. I don't think the track itself is what the gauge means otherwise O would be called O-56-1/2" and HO would be HO 56-1/2" .
O and S are the only two that I know of. That can changed from scale to gauge and back again. Depends on the person what sounds better or it might be legion. Another option is it was thought about back to the glory days of Lionel in the 1940s to 50s.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Hello all,
I began my modeling career with 1:35 scale military models. There is no gage just scale.
•The scale ratio of a model represents the proportional ratio of a linear dimension of the model to the same feature of the original. Examples include a 3-dimensional scale model of a building or the scale drawings of the elevations or plans of a building.[1] In such cases the scale is dimensionless and exact throughout the model or drawing.
The scale can be expressed in four ways: in words (a lexical scale), as a ratio, as a fraction and as a graphical (bar) scale. Thus on an architect's drawing one might read 'one centimetre to one metre' or 1:100 or 1/100 and a bar scale would also normally appear on the drawing.
Gage refers to distance between the rails. I.E.:
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
Technically speaking, Scale is the ratio of size compared to the real world. HO scale is 1/87th the size of the real thing. Gauge is the distance between tracks. HO gauge is 3.5mm wide if it is standard 4’8.5” in the real world.
The guy you are referring to meant S scale (standard gauge). The two words are frequently interchanged.
Where it gets tricky is G scale, because it is different scales between 1/22 and 1/32. So G scale actually means G gauge track and whatever scale you choose.
I hope this makes it clear as mud. Lol
J……….
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
As others have mentioned, SCALE is the proportionate ration of the model to the real thing .... 1/87th of the real thing is HO SCALE.
Gauge is the distance between the rails. In HO SCALE there can be more than one GAUGE - most obvious would be STANDARD GAUGE and NARROW GAUGE .... both still HO SCALE.
So, when somebody says HO SCALE, we know exactly what size they are referring to. When somebody says they model HO GAUGE, the answer isn't definitively clear ....
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
I'll go ahead and throw in my .02 here. There is a sort of line between those in the 1:48 world. There are those who call themselves scale modelers (they use 2-Rail trains) and those who are not (3-rail trains). Call a 3 rail guy's trains O Scale in front of a 2 rail guy (if you can even find one in the vicinity), and you might get a similar response to the OP, or a very long disertation on why his trains are scale and the 3rail is not.
While some 3 rail trains are scale proportioned (from the underbody of the car up), many of them are not. They are designed to operate around corners that HO scale people consider impossibly tight (13.5"/15.5" radius or O27/O31).
You can even break up the 1:48 people into 5 or so groups
1. Proto48 modelers
2. 2 Rail O scale modelers
3. 3 Rail Scale from the car underframe up (these people generally paint and ballast track and have scenery as well)
4. 3 Rail with operating toy accessories
5. O27
Note: some may fit into 2 or more categories
I am in group 3 due to an early choice in not wanting to have to learn about reversing polarity.
O gauge and S gauge are usually used to refer to toy trains with oversized flanges and large truck mounted couplers. Think Lionel and American Flyer, but there are others such as MTH, Williams, American Models, etc. It used to be that these also used tubular steel track, but there is now solid rail NS track as well. Traditionally these use AC power, but there are proprietary command control systems for them as well. O gauge uses 3 rail track, S gauge 2 rail.
O scale and S scale OTH refer to model trains using smaller flanges such as NMRA RP25 and body mounted scale couplers such as KD. These use DC power and NMRA compatible DCC.
The distinctions are important because (with some exceptions) the track, power systems, locomotives, and cars can't be used interchangeably.
Enjoy
Paul
In real world railroads and model railroads, 99.9% of all of them are either standard or narrow gauge, period. That leaves only scale to describe what you are modeling. In using S scale, we assume standard gauge, but any narrow gauger worth his salt will offer up his scale first followed by his gauge Sn3, Sn2.
If you use the common parlance of "I'm an HO gauge or S gauge or N gauge modeler", we automatically assume standard gauge HO, S, or N scale.
It is often much ado about nothing..... The important thing is if a modeler is into narrow gauge he will never say "I'm in HO scale" or "I'm into HO gauge". Any modeler who says this, it is assumed they are standard gaugers in HO scale. It seems only the narrow gaugers will fully identify for even the most critical listener by saying " I'm an HOn3 modeler" or "I'm an Sn2 gauge guy.
The standard gauge guys just need to state HO gauge or HO scale and regardless of correct verbage, we know what rail separation they are into.
Richard
If I can't fix it, I can fix it so it can't be fixed
Scale refers to the size of the model.HO scale is a ratio of 1 to 87 (in the US anyway) Gauge is the distance between the rails.If your modeling standard gauge (again in the US) Gauge is the same no matter what the scale.
Narrow gauge works the same way Nn3,HOn3,Sn3,and On3 are all 36"gauge no matter which scale is being modelled.
One thing that always made me wonder is why some idiot would say HO scale but N was always N gauge.
Gauge is constant even though the scale isn't.
Anything is better than "guage" as it is often spelled!
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
I still call "S" S gauge and today's S gauge is equal to HO.
HO.. To me it will always be HO scale.
O Scale.. Tricky because that term is used for 3 rail as well as 2 rail so,I call 2 rail O Scale and three rail by its common name Lionel.
O27 is Tin plate.
N is N Scale never N gauge.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"