# 7/8TH SCALE LIVE STEAM



## GUNCAPTAIN2463 (Jun 22, 2011)

Hello again! Sorry if I am imposing, as I am still learning about this hobby. *Can anyone out there explain to me the pros and cons, whys and wherefores of 7/8 scale????
I have seen and read a few things about it and the Accucraft UK announcement of the 7/8 Hunslet have sparked my interest. I know that one plus is the use of 32 and 45 mm track. Where do you get the toys(engines, rolling stock, people, etc) for this endeaver? Is it all kitbash and home made? ENLIGHTEN ME IF YOU DARE !?!?!?!? KEVIN

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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Kevin;

I would suggest starting at this site: 7-8 Railways The site is administered by an acquaintance of mine, who lives in Rocky Mount, VA. There are also links to other sites from this one. I know that this gentleman builds and runs live steam in 7/8 ths scale.

Hope this helps,
David Meashey


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

7/8" scale (1:13.7) is the "correct scale" for two foot gauge equipment running on gauge one (45mm-1 3/4") track the British started the two foot gauge fad with the Ffestiniog railway in Wales www.festrail.co.uk/ which was built to haul slate from the hills to the sea by gravity, steam was added later. the railway along with several others has been beautifully restored. these lines have quite a collection of restored and new built two foot gauge locomotives and rolling stock. The equipment is kept in typically British beautiful repair and paint. 

Here in the US, several small railways were built using two foot gauge. the most famous were those built here in Maine represented by the biggest Sandy River and Rangely Lakes Railroad. Several other two foot gauge lines were built including industrial and mining lines, and special tourist lines. 

I am a fan of the Maine Narrow gauge lines. I have been building my stuff in 1:20.3 scale. that is not true scale as the track scales out to three foot gauge rather than two. That being said the stuff looks fine. and quite a bit of equipment is available for the Maine narrow gauge fan. Bachmann and LGB make a nice electric version of Maine Narrow gauge forneys which are quite faithful to prototype. Roundhouse engineering in the UK makes a beautiful live steam version of SR&RL #24 which is a great runner. http://www.roundhouse-eng.com/ Bachmann's passenger cars are pretty good likenesses of the Maine cars and can be converted to be even better. 

Now if you are a fan of the beautiful British two footers, much more stuff is available to you from Roundhouse and Accucraft in 1:20.3 scale or (1:18?) these typically can be run on 32mm (O gauge) or 45mm (G gauge) track. O-gauge track is spaced properly for the two foot gauge scale models. the trains look fine and run better on the G-gauge track and you can share your track with others and run your stock when visiting. 

7/8" scale stuff is bigger than 1:20.3 which is part of the charm. The disadvantage is that it is bigger and will not fit through the same bridges or around the same curves as your freinds stuff will. a small 7/8" scale Maine Forney needs as large clearance and similar track curves as a 1:20.3 scale K-36 from Accucraft. http://www.7-8railways.com/?page_id=11 

I like the idea of changing over but it is hard to justify changing my track and bridges along with all the rolling stock, possibly I will sneak up on the problem though and approach it slowly with the smallest prototypes first! 

you will have fun what ever you decide!


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## GUNCAPTAIN2463 (Jun 22, 2011)

Thank you Dave. That is a good start. I went to that page and got a lot out of it.
Kevin


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## GUNCAPTAIN2463 (Jun 22, 2011)

Eric, thanks: Also great info. I only started in this about a year or so ago. I have a small 13X5.5 ft double oval in garage(hope to move to the back yard to build a 90 ft dogbone setup)(under negotiations with wife). have about 25 cars (pass. and frt. both american and euro/english style). Running live steam only(save for the Roundhouse Cricciche Castle diesel),
with 4 steam engines (Accucraft Forney and Caradoc, Roundhouse Russell, Regner Konrad)(see you tube "Thunderbolt2463" for videos of set up, a work in progress).
The Konrad comes very close to a small 7/8 scale rig, running it with Bachmann ore cars and logging caboose. Don't know if you have seen the Accucraft UK info on the proposed Hunslet, but sounds good. People are already reserving them on pre-order. I'm lucky in the sence that I haven't done my outdoor setup yet, so I could prebuild everything to handle the increase in size.

Kevin


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## Chris B (Oct 18, 2009)

Hi Kevin
There is a great forum for this scale at www.7-8ths.info with loads of members around the world.

There is a free copy of Garden Rail magazine available on line which has an introductory article on 7/8ths here: http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/443/508/5688/1/18?dps= 


I have had a go at this scale using UK outline locos on 32mm gauge track to represent 18" gauge. This was used in the UK on estate and works railways and is not too big. I wrote my experiences up in a series of articles which are available on my website. The first one is here and the rest are under the same "My Railway" tab. http://www.summerlands-chuffer.co.uk/#/78ths-scale-millie-1/4543329210


I hope this helps
Cheers
Chris


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## Dr Rivet (Jan 5, 2008)

Eric 

If you were going to model 2 ft in 1:20.3, you could have just used 32mm track like much of the rest of the known universe. Or you could have just done it in 16mm [1:19.1] as is practiced almost universally. The proportion of car width to track gauge is just WRONG trying to substitute track that is 50% over sized [and not by a couple of mm]. 

7/8n2 was started as a scratchbuilder's scale to try to escape from all the "out of the box - on to the track people" who were willing to make gross compromises with the proper proportions of things. This does NOT equate to "prototype fidelity", but a model of a SR&RL car built to 1:20.3 and placed on 3 foot gauge trucks, is way out of proportion and will never be mistaken for anything except the undersized Fn3 car that it is. 

Kevin 

If you want one of those Hunslets, you have at least a TWO YEAR WAIT.


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## GUNCAPTAIN2463 (Jun 22, 2011)

DR RIVET. I see your point and understand where you are coming from. You are a purist and I applaud you for being one. Not to be disrespectful and I am happy to get your opinion. But I think you came on a little negative in your comments about those who may not be in line with your view. Its like in reenacting. There are those who strive for profection and those that for one reason or another (usually money)can not. Yet they all still strive to portray and honor the history 9 (and the general populus has no clue anyway). We usually refer to that type of person as a "Stitch Nazi"(in jest of course). I feel that I did understand what you were saying, you just needed to choose different wording.
Thanks again. I do appreciate you in put.
Kevin


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

The really fun thing about "7/8ths" (1:13.7) is you can do anything you want with it. Whatever you build there will be a prototype somewhere in the world. You can do 13.7 (U.S. 24"), 13.3 (European 600mm), 1/12, 1/10, 1/8 and some guys even do 1/6. Anything. Checkout Ferd's website at: http://www.7-8ths.info/index.php

Relatively speaking, 1:13.7:1 scale live steam loco's are about the same size as many 1:20.3. You are doing larger models of smaller engines. You can kitbash just about anything into 7/8th by making a larger cab and over sizing the detail work. That will capture the spirit very well. 


There is not a lot of commercial RTR stuff out there in 7/8ths. There are a handful of vendors who sell parts however. 


If you want to model Maine 2 footers, that can get complex. If you model a little backwoods mining operation, small industrial or plantation, that's easy to build yourself. Everything was crude and homemade anyway. 


One thing to be careful for is running on somebody else's track. If their layout is standard gauge like 1:29, 7/8ths stuff may not fit. It will be too wide.


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

Dr Rivet, I agree that there is a place for accurate modeling in all respects, however it is NOT "just wrong" to model two foot gauge stuff in 1:20.3 scale on g-gauge track. It is certainly not precisely scaled and looks a bit off to the studied eye when viewed from the front or back but you have to look closely and the suspension of dis-belief starts when you notice a car that you should fit in is smaller than you are! These models look fine and capture the feel of the prototype what ever scale you use!


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## Amber (Jul 29, 2011)

I'll go you one better. A number of years ago, end of the 1990s I think, I built a fairly accurate 1/24th scale model of a D&RG 6000 series flatcar using the then available Ryan Equipment company 3 foot gauge trucks, which are too narrow for 45mm track. They were made to run on properly scaled 3 foot gauge in 1/24th scale. Anyway, regular G gauge trucks just look too big on the car, so I regauged the wheel sets to O scale standard gauge, (32mm ?) to use the car as a 2 foot gauge car in 1/20th scale. It looks quite good sitting on the hand laid code 148 rails on the appropriate wood ties.  I only have a short section of that track on a shelf at this point, I don't know how much more I'll hand lay, I have some O scale flex track to mess with for now. Another one of my old projects that I recently revived is a Forney type engine using regauged Bachmann drivers from an older "Anne" 2-4-2 tank engine with a brass frame that I made back then. The Delton C-16 boiler and smoke box that I recently bought off of e bay actually looks about right on the frame, it seems about the right diameter and length for the engine. I still have a long way to go on that engine, but you get the idea. 
I wish I could find more of those Ryan D&RG freight trucks, they're probably too small prototypically, but they sure do look and work well!


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## Dr Rivet (Jan 5, 2008)

Amber 

How many pairs do you want? All mine have bolsters and axles for 45mm instead of "proper" 1.5 in gauge? I put a bunch under LGB flats and gons. Ryan also made a special bolster/ coupler mount pad for the Delton cars that one could use to body mount Kadee #820 couplers on these cars. 

Eric... I wasn't directly bashing you... it is just the point that the really noticeable visual aspect of Maine 2 foot is cars that are three times wider than the track gauge. That just does not translate in Fn3. And yes... I do think that is importasnt.. it is what distinguishes 2 foot from the rest of the railroad universe. Just my usual highly biased opinion. 

Bob 

I hope it stays that way. See above caveat regarding my strongly held opinions. I am not asking any one to agree... or proposing they convert.


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## GUNCAPTAIN2463 (Jun 22, 2011)

Thanks Chris: Articles were helpful, but could not print the ones on the Summerland pages.

Thank you all!!!! This has been very enlightening. I'm still going to hope for the best with the new Hunslet from Accucraft UK, maybr by 2013.

Kevin


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## Amber (Jul 29, 2011)

Dr Rivet, if those Ryan trucks have the plastic wheels, narrowing the gauge is easy enough, but how to shorten the bolsters to narrow the truck, that might not be so easy. With those 3 foot trucks, the wheels don't sit too far inside the side frames, but I'd guess they might look a bit weird if they have G gauge bolsters and O gauge wheel spacing. still, it is tempting....


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## seadawg (Jan 2, 2008)

You guys realize, they don't call him "Dr. Rivet" for nothing!


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)




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## seadawg (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Phippsburg Eric on 24 Feb 2012 09:42 AM 







What are you trying to say Eric??? Are you working on you doctorate?


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