ON30 VERSUS HO

[Summertrainz]

i know for a fact that ho and on30
trains fit on the same size track...
i have some basic questions ive wondered about their comparison

does 0n-30 need more electrical draw than ho?

if i were to buy 0n30 rolling stock and ho rolling stock
would their couplers fit together?

if i bought some on30 scenery (if there is such thing)
and ho scenery
(such as houses and trees)
would i be able to tell the difference in the layout?

does the spectrum line have only ho? or does it have 0n-30?

and ive seen charts http://64.251.10.24/~worldofw/shoptlc/images/Information/Scale.gif

and it seems that on-30 are larger than ho
and i have heard the word "narrow gauge" used with it
what does that mean
and how do they fit on the same track?


Thanks
just wondering  :    

[Guilford Guy]

On30 are O scale trains but are narrow gauge. O scale is 1:48. These trains are O scale but run on a narrower track gauge, thus called narrow gauge.  The buildings for ON30 are the same as O scale buildings, a little less than twice the size of an HO one. I think ON30 couplers are higher than HO as well. Also Spectrum does produce On30 equipment.

[Hamish K]

To add to Guilford's comments:

In the USA standard gauge is 4 foot 8 1/2 inches. Anything less is narrow gauge.  The most common narrow gauge in the USA was 3 foot. ON30 represents 30 inch (or 2 1/2 feet) gauge. This was not common in the USA (although there was some) but quite common in other parts of the world. Bachmann chose ON30 as ON30 uses HO track and thus avoiding the need for a whole new track system.

Bachmann's ON30 equipment uses HO couplings set at HO height. However some people change the couplings to a higher height, prototype narrow gauge practice varied widely

Although ON30 and HO equipment might be able to be coupled together it would look very odd as the ON30 equipment is much bigger. Strictly there is no such thing as ON30 buildings or scenery, The scale (ratio of model to prototype) is the same whatever the width between the rails.
O scale buildings are too large for HO and HO too small for O. (Occasionally an item in one scale  may be useful in the other, but this is very much the exception and not the rule.)

If you particularly want to model narrow gauge go with ON30 as it is, thanks mainly  to Bachmann, the easiest and most affordable way of modelling narrow gauge.

If you are not particularly concerned as to whether you model narrow gauge or not I would suggest HO (which represents standard gauge) as the range of available equipment, buildings and scenery items is much greater.

Personally I prefer ON30, but that's because I love prototype narrow gauge.

Hamish

[SteamGene]

To further add, don't confuse On30, which is O narrow gauge with a modeled 2.5 feet between the rails with On3, which is O narrow gauge with modeled 3 feet between the rails.  BTW, the locootives and cars of MOST 0n30 is from the turn of the 19/20th century, so modern figures are mostly out of era.
Gene

[Dusten Barefoot]

And just think, you won't have to strain your eyes over such small parts on HO people, scenery and buildings.

[ebtnut]

To follow up a bit on SteamGene's comments--Most narrow gauge railroads disappeared prior to the the 1930's, either by being absorbed into standard gauge lines (or coverted to standard gauge), or as a result of losing business to competition from autos and trucks.  A few lines hung on into the 1940's.  The East Broad Top lasted until 1956, and the Denver and Rio Grande abandoned formal common carrier operations in early 1968.  Almost all of the "important" narrow gauge lines in the U.S. were 36 inch gauge.  Most 30" gauge lines were mining or logging lines, or industrial plant railroads.  With Bachmann's introduction of its On30 lines, they have opened up narrow gauge modeling to many more people due to the low cost and high quality of the the models.  Many folks are using On30 as a low-cost option to modeling in On3.  Some of the Bachmann models are easily converted to On3, which has made them popular with the 3-foot crowd as well.  Just don't forget that your are still modeling in 1/4" scale.