Why is/are letters used...

[Anonymous]

Why do we refer to scales of model RR by letters ? i.e. N, HO, Z, etc.
Who determined the letters that are used ?

I need to know, these burning questions are keeping me up at night. OK well they aren't keeping me up, but still I just gotta know !

[davekelly]

I believe HO came to be because it was Half O (or close to it). N scale got its name because the track gauge is Nine millimeters.

[TomDiehl]

Prior to HO, scales were known by numbers. "O" is actually zero scale, since it was smaller than #1. That's when they started to go to letters. For example, "S" scale is the first one that was actually "scale," "TT" scale is short for "table top." Dave is right about HO.

[modelmaker51]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TomDiehl

Prior to HO, scales were known by numbers. "O" is actually zero scale, since it was smaller than #1. That's when they started to go to letters. For example, "S" scale is the first one that was actually "scale," "TT" scale is short for "table top." Dave is right about HO.

S scale comes from "one/Sixtyfourth" scale I believe. HO is actually H0 or Half zero.

[Budliner]

when I first seen this thread I was like what are they talking about
I have to say.. I did not know thats how HO came to get its letters

good question

[dinwitty]

about like how did standard gauge become to be...

ready for another 30 page thread...?:D

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dinwitty

about like how did standard gauge become to be...

ready for another 30 page thread...?:D

[trainboyH16-44]

And as mentioned, O came from 0. This is becasue originally, there were guages 1 2 and 3. Large guages. Then they made a smaller one, so they called it 0, or O guage. And after that, HO, or Half O. TT I believe is for Table Top, and I have no clue about N and Z.

[leighant]

Z is the last letter of the alphabet and Z was ballyhooed as (probably) the smallest pracfical scale for a running electric train.

Then somebody built a train that was half Z scale and called it M scale for "micro
but it is hardly "scale." The trains are made of blocks of balsa wood, coupled with thread and held in place by transparent walls on each side of a printed or drawn "track". The trains are propelled by jets of pressured air coming up holes from under the track at an angle to pu***hem forward.

How is this for a mixture of scales? This is an N scale barn containing an N scale model of a Lionel tinplate O gauge layout.



That makes the little trains about 1/8000ths scale.

[willy6]

Good point, model trains are in "letters" and model cars,airplanes, and ships are in numbers............must be a marketing scheme.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by leighant

Z is the last letter of the alphabet and Z was ballyhooed as (probably) the smallest pracfical scale for a running electric train.

Then somebody built a train that was half Z scale and called it M scale for "micro
but it is hardly "scale." The trains are made of blocks of balsa wood, coupled with thread and held in place by transparent walls on each side of a printed or drawn "track". The trains are propelled by jets of pressured air coming up holes from under the track at an angle to pu***hem forward.

How is this for a mixture of scales? This is an N scale barn containing an N scale model of a Lionel tinplate O gauge layout.



That makes the little trains about 1/8000ths scale.

That's a very neat building there. I would love to do something like that on my layout. I model HO.

[nfmisso]

O in the UK is 7mm to a foot or 1/43.5; thus HO is half O or 3.5mm to a foot or 1.87.1

There is/was OO (1:76 usually) and OOO (1:152).

G (1:22.5) came from LGB, and F (1:20.3 or 15mm to a foot) is the letter before G.