# 1:20.3 scale layouts at National Garden Railway Convention question



## Ted Yarbrough (Jan 2, 2008)

Friends,
Anyone know if there will be any 1:20.3 scale layouts on tour at the upcoming National Garden Railway Convention? I plan on touring by car on Thursday and Friday mornings. Although I have been a G-scaler since 1989, I am very new to the 1:20.3 scale thing and would like to see some layouts.


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## bmwr71 (Jan 30, 2010)

So I have no idea on scale layouts but I do know that there is a website for the convention and a contact person and perhaps she can answer your question. But I have a question from what you said. 

You said you would tour by car. I know they will have a bus and haven't seen that it costs more to do the tour that way. So just wondering if there are any reasons to go by bus and save gas or go by car and have more freedom or what reasons to do it a particular way? 

Doug


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## aopagary (Jun 30, 2008)

Posted By Ted Yarbrough on 11 May 2013 06:30 AM 
Friends,
Anyone know if there will be any 1:20.3 scale layouts on tour at the upcoming National Garden Railway Convention? I plan on touring by car on Thursday and Friday mornings. Although I have been a G-scaler since 1989, I am very new to the 1:20.3 scale thing and would like to see some layouts.
the two groups that seem to be opening their yards for the tour are the Miami Valley Garden Railway Society (MVGRS) and the Greater Cincinnati GRS (GCGRS). do a Google search for their home pages and you can see some pictures of the member's layouts. i've got to add that in my experience with garden ry societies that the majority of home layouts are narrow gauge based.

i find it a little amazing that you have been in touch with G gauge trains for over a few decades and have never run into narrow gauge Fn3(?)


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## Ted Yarbrough (Jan 2, 2008)

Doug, 
There is an extra charge for the bus tours (Don't quote me as I didn't look it up, but around $25.00 per day). It is on the registration page. Going by car, especially if you carpool with friends, is an enjoyable way to see the layouts and is rather easy these days (convention provides addresses, maps, and directions and then there is GPS). This way you can spend more time at layouts that really interest you and less at the others. Sometimes you also hit it right and arrive at a layout without a bus! Bus tour is also good, as you do not have to drive yourself and possibly get lost in strange area. More socialization also takes place as I have found that sometimes they put on layout DVD's on the bus and some folks bring pictures of their trains to share. 
Aopagary, 
I got into American Narrow Gauge large scale after a visit to Durango and when Bachmann brought out the big hauler (Rio Grande Southern version). I have seen the AMS items at shows, but just walked on by as it was to large to run with my 1:22.5 scale LGB/Bachmann/USA equipment. I have visited a few layouts in Nashville, California, and Colorado with 1:20 scale and thought they were really nice. However, when Bachmann came out with the C-19 I thought OK, smaller loco in real life, almost same size as Bachmann Annie, I'll give it a try. It is OK with 1:22 scale cars, but then I found a couple of deals on some 1:20 scale cars and bought a couple. Comparing them side by side, there is a difference, which is hard for me to understand because the size difference between 1:24 scale Hartland/Aristo Classic Line and 1:22 scale Bachamann/LGB/USA woodside series is very negligable. Seems that between 1:22 and 1:20 would also not be that much, BUT THERE IS.l Anyway, I don't want to refight the 'correct' scale war, as I am extremely happy with my 1:22 scale Bachmann/LGB/etc, but now I do have one true 1:20 scale train and would like to see more. I have 5 independent loops of track and only one has all 8ft. diameter curves, so I am limited to what I run.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Ted, contrary to what we thought we knew, LGB and USAt freight cars based on Colorado narrow gauge are very close to1:24. Several years ago I too was surprised that my Delton and Bachmann freight cars looked fine with LGB and USAt, but not behind 1:20.3 engines. I then measured them and discovered that they are all about the same length and if the prototypes are 30' long, they all scale out at 1:24. Chuck


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

I don't know about any 1:20.3 on the tour but I totally agree on taking a car and doing self guided tours. I did 1 bus tour and never again. I paid more than gas would have cost me, got stuck next to the most annoying human being on the planet, had to stay at layouts for a half hour that I didn't like, could only stay at layouts for half an hour that I did like and felt like the bus spent most of it's time trying to navigate small neighborhood streets that my car could zip in and out of. Oh, and the bus went to a catered lunch that cost (a lot) extra. The food was good though. 

Terry


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## aopagary (Jun 30, 2008)

Posted By Ted Yarbrough on 12 May 2013 05:09 AM 
.... Seems that between 1:22 and 1:20 would also not be that much, BUT THERE IS.... when you do the math (volume calculations) even a relatively small increase or decrease in scale can translate to a much larger difference in size.

1:20.3 scale pieces are 36% larger than 1:22.5 scale and 65% larger than 1:24 scale.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By aopagary on 12 May 2013 10:57 AM 
Posted By Ted Yarbrough on 12 May 2013 05:09 AM 
.... Seems that between 1:22 and 1:20 would also not be that much, BUT THERE IS.... when you do the math (volume calculations) even a relatively small increase or decrease in scale can translate to a much larger difference in size.

1:20.3 scale pieces are 36% larger than 1:22.5 scale and 65% larger than 1:24 scale.

Gary,

I definitely noticed the difference when I first gazed upon my first Fn3 piece of rolling stock. I had all LGB NG stuff before 2007 and thought it was OK. But then I went to a train show at the Anaheim Convention Center in January of 2007. I saw one of the AMS high side gons and grabbed it! Took it home to compare to my LGB high side. I could not believe the difference. Huge and massive against the LGB. Been doing Fn3 ever since.


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## Ted Yarbrough (Jan 2, 2008)

Gary, 
The details on that high side gon and the Bachmann caboose just blew me away!


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Ted Yarbrough on 12 May 2013 02:31 PM 
Gary, 
The details on that high side gon and the Bachmann caboose just blew me away! The Bachmann long caboose will be my next purchase.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Gary, that is one really nice caboose. The interior detail is excellent. I prefer the Bachmann long to the Accucraft. Chuck


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## Ironton (Jan 2, 2008)

There used to be an option if you registered early to have the convention booklet mailed out to you. It would arrive a few weeks ahead of time and you could review the layouts which would be on tour. There were, of course, a few last minute changes that had to be handled. I really liked this option as I could set up my GPS with personalized tours to be sure I saw railroads I am interested in. This has mysteriously disappeared in the last two conventions (Chicago and now Cincinnati). I do not know why. 

I will see if I can find out if any 1:20.3 standard gauge is going to be on the tour. Also check for narrow gauge.


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Ted; 

I don't know whether this is any help, but I believe that Garden Railways publishes information concerning tour layouts in the issue prior to the convention. Scale is usually listed in that information. 

Best, 
David Meashey 
P. S. Their site says the coverage is on p58 of the June 2013 issue. Mine is at home right now, but hopefully you can get your hands on an issue.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

I checked the issue over the weekend hoping to provide an answer, but I couldn't find any scale info or pictures of 1:20.3 layouts. There was one of the pictures showing what looked like a 1:22.5/24 layout. All the others pictured looked like 1:29 or 1:32. Chuck


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Chuck; 

I was working from memory - not always the best thing to do at my age. Oh, well! Seemed like a good idea at the time. 

Yours, 
David Meashey


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Dave, there are only 6 layouts pictured in the GR spread on the layout. I would imagine that there will be more layouts on tour than that! Chuck


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## Ted Yarbrough (Jan 2, 2008)

Friends,
The last TWO issues of Garden Railways magazine has previews of the convention. There does nor appear to be any 1:20 scale there. However, the convention web site now has updated info if you click on the 'Activities' tab at the top, you get a dropdown menu for each day of the layout tours. There is one layout on Friday, the JD Railroad, that features 1:20.3 scale Colorado narrow gauge. I will make it a point to visit this one!


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## Dale W (Jan 5, 2008)

I realized I am a bit late on this but I am driving to this convention from the Indianapolis area and planning on driving to the garden layouts. Riders are welcome. I will have room for three. 

Let me know if you desire a ride, you may have to navigate but do have a GPS. 

I will be staying at the Baymont Inn. 

Dale


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## Ironton (Jan 2, 2008)

There is now one picture and a description of each(?) layout on the web site. Just look under Activities on the site. http://ngrc2013.com/ 

Hope this helps.


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## Tenwheeler (Mar 5, 2010)

That's good to know. Now people can have a 'plan of attack' for the layout tours prior to arriving at the Convention. Looks like there will be some really great layouts based on website layout previews that are scheduled by day and location. 

Thanks for the heads-up Rick.


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