Vertical Clearance for On30

[Jomaken]

Will On30 equipment run on my HO layout with 3" vertical clearance?

[eric]

The smaller ON30 engines, like the 0-4-0 and 0-4-2, will fit under a 3" vertical clearance.  The larger engines, like the 2-6-0, 2-8-0, Shay, Forney, and Climax, will not fit under a 3 " vertical clearance without alterations.

The logging and mining cars, low gondolas, tank cars, and flat cars will fit under a 3" vertical clearance.  The box car should clear by less than 1/8".

The NMRA Standard Clearance is 4.25".

You also need to consider horizontal clearance.  For curves, 3.5" works fairly well in most situations.  That can be reduced for tangent track.

Hope this helps.

Eric Root 

[C.S.R.R. Manager]

I did a quick check, and the 2-6-0 mogul stack is a good 3.5" above the rails.  The passenger cars also need 3.125" to clear.  Oddly enough, the 2-8-0 is just short of 3" tall over the rail heads. 

4" would be safe, especially if you are looking at locos from other manufacturers.

[BIG BEAR]

           Don't forget HO track is 1/4 inch thick, EZ Track is almost 1/2 inch thick. Since most structures sit at ground level not at track height.

[Hoople]

           Don't forget HO track is 1/4 inch thick, EZ Track is almost 1/2 inch thick. Since most structures sit at ground level not at track height.

Since most structures sit at ground height? did you forget to add something?

[BIG BEAR]

          No. most of the clearances posted were engine or car height, from the tops of the rails. The tunnel portal or bridge girders or supports sit on the ground level, NOT on top of the rails, so one needs to add in rail clearance also.

[Hoople]

Thats true. I just didn't understand why you added a new sentence.

Anyway, Why does he want to run On30 on a HO scale railroad...?

[Terry Toenges]

For the same reason I'm running 4 different scales on mine - because I can.

[jsmvmd]

I intend to build a layout, soon I hope to run HO and On30, just for the fun of it!  I happen to like both scales and do not have time or space to do both.  Best, Jack

[the Bach-man]

Dear Jo,
Take a look at "the Bach-man Builds a Layout" in the gallery. There are several photos regarding clearance issues.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[ebtnut]

Since On30 is O scale narrow gauge, I would recommend using the NMRA RP's for On3 as a guide for clearances.  They can be found on the NMRA web site.  You should be able to get away with using 3" track centers (12 feet in O scale), though you might want to spread it out to 3 1/4" on tight curves.