Gauge ?

[Grotz]

I have grown up in Germany on a Marklin HO Trainset.
Now I live in the US , and wouldlike to take up RR Modelling again.
Marklin is too expensive here, so a Bachmann Train would be the proper choice ??
I have a space 68X36 available. What Gauge would you recomend ?

Any Input will be appreciated,

Werner Grotz

[richg]

I would go with HO scale with the amount of room you have. The most popular gauge in the USA. If you want a little larger, maybe ON30, narrow gauge which is increasing in popularity.
Bachmann has some nice ON30 and would be quite nice with sound and DCC.

Rich

[Joe Satnik]

Dear Werner,

If your "space" dimensions are "inches", you would need at least 40" fence-to-fence to turn around using 18"R curves,

which are the standard starter set size curves. 

If you can't add to the layout width, then you might think of either changing to N scale,  or running a "point-to-point" or "switching puzzle" layout in HO or a larger scale.   

Marklin HO is really 3 rail AC, correct?

Do you still own your old Markilin trains and track?  Can it be shipped here or brought (back) here as luggage?

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

[Doneldon]

Werner-

Jeez! You qualify for a whole bunch of welcomes. To the US. To this model railroading board. And to model railroading in a new place. I'm glad to meet you.

You won't find much European modeling in the US unless you purchase online. You can find Marklin but, as you said, it's pretty expensive here. Bachmann is a good choice to get into North American modeling because they make items in several gauges (N, HO, On30, Large Scale) and their products tend to give value for the price. There are several other US manufacturers who you will no doubt encounter. The largest are Athearn, Atlas and Walthers, who sells under several names including Model Power and Proto. But I can certainly endorse Bachmann as a good place to start. As you go along you'll no doubt like items from other manufacturers but that won't pose a problem as everything is compatible.

Your space is pretty tight for HO (closest to Marklin in size), especially the curves. You could do an excellent switching layout but you would be hard pressed to fit in a loop unless you do to extremely tight curves. If you can split your surface down the middle the long way you could have an outstanding HO switching layout on the resulting 18" x 136".

If a switching layout isn't to your interest you still have one HO option: Build a modular layout which you can add to a modular club layout (there are lots of these around the country) and run  long trains continuously. Of course, you won't be able to do that when you are home with just your own module.

If neither a switching nor a modular layout interest you you may want to look into N-scale. You can get a lot of action into 36" 68" in N. You could have a double loop, sidings, spurs, maybe even a small yard or engine terminal.
                                                                                          -- D

[jward]

48" would be about the minimum table width i'd recommend for HO. N scale would be a much better choice for the space you have. you could have curves of a nice wide radius, say 15", and still have plenty of room in N scale.

[ACY]

If that 68x36 in inches or centimeters? If it is inches it is not wide enough for HO, if it is centimeters then it is not even big enough for N scale.

[Jhanecker2]

to Werner Grotz :   Guten Tag .  The space you have  , is that in feet ,inches , meters or centimeters ? It makes a world of difference .  What part of Germany are you from ?    John   II.

[ACY]

to Werner Grotz :   Guten Tag .  The space you have  , is that in feet ,inches , meters or centimeters ? It makes a world of difference .  What part of Germany are you from ?    John   II.

Depending here are my suggestions....
68m=223ft, 36m=118ft Suitable for G scale or other large scale
68cm=2.2ft, 36cm=1.1ft Cannot make an oval with any common scale, need at least 2 feet in width
68in=5.6ft, 36in=3ft, Not wide enough for HO or On30, suitable for N scale and Z scale
68ft, 36 ft suitable for HO, S, O, On30, G, extremely large space for N though

Sorry about the error folks, it has been corrected. I knew it didn't seem right

[WoundedBear]

ACY.....you had better check your decimal places in your first line of calculations.

Sid

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

If your "space" dimensions are "inches", you would need at least 40" fence-to-fence to turn around using 18"R curves,

Although it certainly isn't recommended, if you can stand to live a little dangerously  and you don't run your trains fast, you can get away with 39 inches using 18-inch radius curves. I have a 39-inch wide platform that was purpose built to fit under a twin bed for storage. I've never had a problem with a train falling off the edge of the "world."

But "wider" is, of course, better. 

[JerryB]

to Werner Grotz :   Guten Tag .  The space you have  , is that in feet ,inches , meters or centimeters ? It makes a world of difference .  What part of Germany are you from ?    John   II.

Depending here are my suggestions....
68m=22.3ft, 36m=11.8ft Suitable for HO, S, O, On30, very large area for N

Correction:
68 meters = 223 feet, 36 meters = 118 feet, both very large for any indoor model railroad!

Happy RRing,

Jerry

[rogertra]

I have grown up in Germany on a Marklin HO Trainset.
Now I live in the US , and wouldlike to take up RR Modelling again.
Marklin is too expensive here, so a Bachmann Train would be the proper choice ??
I have a space 68X36 available. What Gauge would you recomend ?

Any Input will be appreciated,

Werner Grotz

Gauge?  Don't you mean "scale".  Gauge and scale are two entirely different things.  There's HO scale but no such thing as "HO gauge".  There's HO standard gauge and various HO narrow gauges.  There's O scale standard gauge and again, various O scale narrow gauges and so on.

[railsider]

Wilcomen auf USA, Werner Grotz!

If you are used to the HO scale of Marklin, HO would be a good choice. It is familiar, and there is, as several point out to you, a wide variety of equipment and scenery available here.

Another correspondent has pointed out that "scale" and "gauge" have different meanings. Scale = the ratio of models::real world. HO scale = 1:87. just as in Marklin. N is smaller, 1:160, if space is limited. O is much larger, 1:48.

Gauge is the actual distance between the inside of the two rails on a train. The world standard is 4 feet, 8.5 inches (=1.4351 m). In any scale, standard track is that distance, reduced by the fraction of the scale.

There are narrow-gauge trains in many places, including the Western US. For example, "HOn3 " is HO, n=narrow-gauge, 3 feet. The actual track gauge is 3 feet, or 36 inches (just under 1 m). The buildings and human figures are the same as for anything else in that scale (in HO, an adult person is about 2 cm tall) but the HOn3 track gauge is only 3 feet, that is,  less that 4'8.5". In HO scale, that means the HOn3 track is actually 1 cm gauge.

Happy Rails to you!!!