# new to G-scale or 1 guage



## RRwannabe (Jan 20, 2009)

Hi, Im trying to get started in large scale trains but i cant seem to get past what the scale really is. I've searched everywhere and tried to use the search feature here but with little luck. I understand that 1 gauge and G-scale are not the same but they are kinda. What I got from what I've found is they run on the same size track but the modes aren't quite to scale? Like an MTH rail king dash 8 is 1:32 scale but an aristo-craft dash9 or a USA trains SD70 mac are both 1:29 scale. Could I run those together or would the scale difference be way to much and not look right? 


Thanks for your help, I just want to make sure i understand whats going on before I start buying a bunch of stuff to later find out it wont work.


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## ralphbrades (Jan 3, 2008)

*Speaking as a total outsider*...

The "correct" scale for Gauge 1 track is 1:32 , however it is common for US manufacturers to use 1:29 for mainline std gauge locos. At the other end of the Spectrum(!) are the narrow gauge manufacturers who use 1:20.3. There are several scales that run on Gauge 1 track depending on manufacturer and the prototype requirements. If you are modelling US mainline equipment then 1:29 is probably going to be your scale of choice.


I personally do *not* "mix and match" scales. 



regards

ralph


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## Pete Chimney (Jan 12, 2008)

There is a difference between scale and gauge and their relationship when comparing say O-scale with Large Scale.

In O-scale the scale is more-or-less fixed at 1:48 but the gauge of the track can vary from O to On30 to On3.

In Large scale the track gauge is fixed at 45mm (Gauge 1) but the scale can fluctuate. If you are modeliing US standard gauge, the trains should be ~1:32 but some manufacturers such as USA Trains have varied this to 1:29. US 3' narrow gauge is 1:20. European meter scale is 1:22.5.

You can run 1:32 and 1:29 equipment together, there is only a 10% difference in size. If the difference bothers you, then don't run them together, if not, then run them together. It will be after all, your railroad. You might find a well stocked model train store and see both 1:32 and 1:29 equipment together or visit a layout and see if you like the look, especially before spending large sums of money and find you don't like the mix of scales.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

There have been fights over this







 

45mm is almost exactly 1:32 of 56 1/2 inches. Why 1:29 then? Well.... Um....









Sometimes differing scales can look odd together. "Why is that coach taller than..." The trick is to keep them separate. If your 1:32 train is on one side of the layout, and the 1:29 on the other, nobody will notice. People with calipers are invited out


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## RRwannabe (Jan 20, 2009)

Thanks for the quick replies, So its safe to say that since i will be running American equipment 1:29 is going to be the most common? And there isnt going to be a difference in the track size since i could run 1:32 or 1:29th on the same rails unless its narrow guage ?


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By RRwannabe on 01/20/2009 11:51 AM
Thanks for the quick replies, So its safe to say that since i will be running American equipment 1:29 is going to be the most common? And there isnt going to be a difference in the track size since i could run 1:32 or 1:29th on the same rails unless its narrow guage ?


Sir, they ALL run on the same 45mm gauge track - Gauge 1, 1/29th, 1/24th, 1/22.5 and 1/20.3.

Look down the threads for an explanation.

I heartily wish that those diagrams posted the other day in response to a question like this were made into a sticky. 

And Welcome!!!

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Most American newer mainline is either by USA or Aristo-Craft. They are 1/29th. MTH makes some in 1/32nd . LGB had some, but is no longer made and pricey, if you can find it not sure of it's scale. . Used to be Great Trains, but they were 1/32nd, as was Roberts Lines-although he does have a streamliner loco now in 1/29.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes, it's safe to say that for standard gauge on 45mm track, 1:29 will be the most common, to answer a simple question simply. 

If you have lots of $$ you could go 1:32, between Aster, Accucraft, and MTH, you can find almost everything you would want, but you might not believe how much some of the 1:32 stuff costs, and the "museum quality" stuff often is not really good outdoors on less than PERFECT (and I do mean PERFECT) track. 

If you run narrow gauge, you use the same gauge track and then the scale changes to 1:20.3, and the stuff does not look right side by side. No one makes 1:29 narrow gauge, locos or track. There is some 1:20.3 standard gauge, but $$ again and no track. 

Regards, Greg


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## George Schreyer (Jan 16, 2009)

see link 

http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips4/scale_and_gauge_tips.html 

then look around the other pages on the site. 

- gws


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I am going to be a lone voice crying in the wilderness, but 1:29 scale is STUPID. It is WRONG, It is a sign of MEDIOCRITY, It is a off in scale VOLUME by THIRTY PERCENT (not just 10%... but 10% too wide, 10% too tall, and 10% too long... a difference of 30 PERCENT in VOLUME). It is a sorry state of affairs that 1:29 is the most common scale for Standard Gauge. 

There I said it, and I'm proud!


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## fildowns (May 17, 2008)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 01/20/2009 1:22 PM
I am going to be a lone voice crying in the wilderness, but 1:29 scale is STUPID. It is WRONG, It is a sign of MEDIOCRITY, It is a off in scale VOLUME by THIRTY PERCENT (not just 10%... but 10% too wide, 10% too tall, and 10% too long... a difference of 30 PERCENT in VOLUME). It is a sorry state of affairs that 1:29 is the most common scale for Standard Gauge. 

There I said it, and I'm proud!


Yes and it's all LGB's fault! If their quirky narrow gauge stuff hadn't been so popular there wouldn't have been the need to make proper trains too big for the track so that they wouldn't look small in comparison!


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I sort of agree about 1:29, it's dumb, and I have almost all 1:29 stuff, I've even modeled stuff in 1:29 and now I'm committed to it. It always looks a little cartoonish. I can see why aristo went with it though. It looks big, it "pops" visually in a way that 1:32 does not. It's comical to see an LGB starter set steamer next to a 1:29 pacific, and how ridiculously big the LGB 0-4-0 looks: a mainline, standard gauge loco should dwarf an LGB 0-4-0. You could argue the point is perfect reproduction of the real world at a given scale, which is what modelers want, or you could argue that the goal is an interesting visual effect, which is less about accuracy than it is about impact. Both are possible, and all in all I wish 1:29 had never been adopted. On the other and, I manage to have a lot of fun in 1:29 and the neighbors and friends who come to our layout don't care.


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## RRwannabe (Jan 20, 2009)

Thanks for the link George, allot of useful info there. Are there any 1 gauge inter-modal well cars out there that are still in production? I like allot of MTH cars and that arent much more than any one else but I must have some stack cars


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## NavyTech (Aug 2, 2008)

I recommend you visit my Dads web site and go through the FAQ pages as he explains it well

http://ckgscale.com/index.html


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## Savannah Railway Co. (Jan 19, 2009)

so are LGB locos 1:22.5?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Some, some LGB stuff is a different scale in each of the 3 dimensions. 

Actually, the only thing that looks funny on 1:29 is the sideframes being too narrow compared to the body. Everything else is in proper proportion on 99% of the Aristo and USAT stuff. (except the Aristo shorty streamliners). 

Regards, Greg


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Stack cars by USAT 1/29th nice looking and lots of detail. Later RJD


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Savannah Railway Co. on 01/20/2009 3:39 PM
so are LGB locos 1:22.5?


Some are. Some are not.


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Here's a link to Scot's diagram, it may be of help











(Click image to open full size.)


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## Nohandles (Jan 2, 2009)

Unfortunatly we have what we have. When I started I was really bothered by all the different scales in G but rather than fight city hall I formulated a plan when running the layout.
For standard gauge I will run 1:29 and 1:24 scale together but not in the same place or sided by side. For a narrow gauge run I will run 1:20.3 and 1:22 again like standard gauge.
It would be nice to have them correct but they aren't. 
And above all welcome to the forum, great place to get information.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Howdy. 99% of my equipment is Aristo or USAT. So I have nothing constructive to advise you on.

But I want to say WELCOME TO MLS. You have hooked up with a bunch of great people Ask a lot of questions. Your question may have been asked a million times before but don't worry you will still get answerers. Good answeres 

Eventually you will be able to wade trough the vast input and pick out what pertains to your RR


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

An HO friend always claimed "G is the gauge for people who don't care anything about scale." 

Then he discovered that my 40 ft box car was 40 scale feet long, but his was only 30 scale feet long.


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## Pete Chimney (Jan 12, 2008)

Now that we have had a lively discussion of the merits/faults of 1:29 versus 1:32 versus 1:22.3 versus 1:20.5 now let's talk acout rail code. Which is better Code 320, Code 250, or what..... 

Only kidding about the discussion of rail code, I think


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

hehe. With you around I'll have to work to remain the brat of the forum


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## GG (Jan 1, 2009)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 01/20/2009 12:43 PM
Yes, it's safe to say that for standard gauge on 45mm track, 1:29 will be the most common, to answer a simple question simply. 

If you have lots of $$ you could go 1:32, between Aster, Accucraft, and MTH, you can find almost everything you would want, but you might not believe how much some of the 1:32 stuff costs, and the "museum quality" stuff often is not really good outdoors on less than PERFECT (and I do mean PERFECT) track. 

If you run narrow gauge, you use the same gauge track and then the scale changes to 1:20.3, and the stuff does not look right side by side. No one makes 1:29 narrow gauge, locos or track. There is some 1:20.3 standard gauge, but $$ again and no track. 

Regards, Greg













ummm... how about this... Focus on a quality track laydown... Focus on a true quality 1:32 loco "line" and collector variations for "special occasions" (true to scale) and keep the beginner's set with prostitute ebay specials / kit bashes for "fun running" / kids / grandkids and people with too many beer in them? 

Just an idea... this is what my plan is. Secret is to get the track laydown right. Rome needs a proper foundation. 


Room for all concepts 


Gavin


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## N1CW (Jan 3, 2008)

*RRwannabe* 
*1st Welcome to MLS*

*2nd Lots of typing (many more than 1000 words) so here is a picture and a link to another message with size info.*
*the_Other_Ray*

..link to 1:32 size and photos..


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Ray 
good example.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 01/20/2009 1:22 PM
I am going to be a lone voice crying in the wilderness, but 1:29 scale is STUPID. It is WRONG, It is a sign of MEDIOCRITY, It is a off in scale VOLUME by THIRTY PERCENT (not just 10%... but 10% too wide, 10% too tall, and 10% too long... a difference of 30 PERCENT in VOLUME). It is a sorry state of affairs that 1:29 is the most common scale for Standard Gauge. 

There I said it, and I'm proud!



Yer, but it sure do LOOK good, don't it?









tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By John J on 01/21/2009 6:09 AM
Howdy. 99% of my equipment is Aristo or USAT. So I have nothing constructive to advise you on.

But I want to say WELCOME TO MLS. You have hooked up with a bunch of great people Ask a lot of questions. Your question may have been asked a million times before but don't worry you will still get answerers. Good answeres 

Eventually you will be able to wade trough the vast input and pick out what pertains to your RR 



Well, 99% of MY stuff is Aristo-Craft, USA Trains, Accucraft, LGB, Aster and Marklin.

The rest is mixed...









tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well 99% of my equipment is also Aristo and USAT. Love the size. To bad for the guy that did not care for it, more for us guys to enjoy. Later RJD


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## N1CW (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 01/20/2009 12:43 PM
Yes, it's safe to say that for standard gauge on 45mm track, 1:29 will be the most common, to answer a simple question simply. 
...snip....
If you run narrow gauge, you use the same gauge track and then the scale changes to 1:20.3, and the stuff does not look right side by side. No one makes 1:29 narrow gauge, locos or track. There is some 1:20.3 standard gauge, but $$ again and no track. 
....snip....
Greg likes words but I like a picture. To show the above difference in his words.[/b]










But I will play with my trains without regards to SCALE/SIZE/POWER 
since I am resisting GROWING UP!







[/b]


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## Tom Bray (Jan 20, 2009)

That picture really helps.

My LGB New Orleans Street Car appears to be similar in size to the cars on the left (I can't find anywhere that actually says what the scale really is). 

I was originally figuring on running MTH with its built in digital controller for the mainline ... partially because the dealer up in Birmingham spoke highly of the locomotives and the DCS control system and he services what he sells.

I need to find another dealer within driving range that has a few examples to look at and hold before I start buying more rolling stock.

Tom Bray


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

The complicating thing about scale--actually, there are a lot of complicating things--is that narrow gage rolling stock was typically quite a bit smaller than standard gage, so in some cases a 30 foot boxcar in 1:20 looks sort of right next to a 40 ft boxcar in 1:29, unless you look closely at the details like the ladders or the brake wheels etc. And some premade stuff is kind of casual about gage. Bachann's big hauler line of cars looks reasonable in 1:29, size wise. Reasonable but not quite right.

Also if you look at photos of typical branch line operations, there was a remarkable mix of sizes of rolling stock in daily operation.


I've settled on not mixing scales, for the most part. It used to look ok to me, now it looks odd


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## RRwannabe (Jan 20, 2009)

Thanks for all of your help! There are some good examples in here that make it really clear and obvious. It really helped with my first engine buying descision. I'm sure i'll have many more questions to come. since i'm literally just starting out. Thanks again for all of yalls help and the excellent pictures.


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## Rayman4449 (Jan 2, 2008)

On the 1:32 stuff, the Accucraft and other brass/metal mfg models are pretty expensive. MTH is plastic and is much cheaper compared to those others. 


Raymond


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