What Are The Usual Errors With O Scale Model Trains
Many a amateur model railroader will decide that, rather than HO, they like to build their railroad empire using O scale model trains. While the bigger trains may seem easier to work with and just plain more fun they may also be a source of frustration to the green. Here are some typical mistakes made with O scale trains.
Is your turning radius too tight? While the minimum turning radius for an O scale train is 24 inches you have to notice that box autos and passenger vehicles are not the same length. If you are recreating an 19th century freight route you could be ok but if you decide that instead you would like to run a modern Amtrak passenger train you could be plagued with derailments with such a tiny turning radius. Besides the functionality of too small a turn radius you also have the distinct fact that it just doesn’t look that practical.
Are your inclines too steep? Most new model railroaders envision some type of tunnel or bridge in their layout where the trains will run beneath its own track or up over the roads the vehicles travel. When you are working in smaller scale where you have room to build long inclines this is not usually a problem. Not so with O scale. Given the height required to clear another train track your O scale layout will require an exceedingly long incline indeed especially if you’ve made a long train to begin with. You’re not going to go from ground level to train clearing bridge height in only 2 feet. If you don’t have big layout, one solution is to send your lower track slightly underground so that your upper track does not need to rise as much.
Is your landscape out of scale? Even though a locomotive is higher than an one story house we must not forget that in the real world trees still tower over trains. No where’s this single mistake made more than with O scale train layouts. The same scaling mistake is common with outbuildings and folk. When buying any accessories or buildings for your layout make sure that you know it is to scale and not that it just looks to be the right scale.
Does your train match your track? Unlike Ho scale where everything pretty much works alongside everything else, O scale modeling can really be confusing when it comes to matching the correct track to your train. Since the early days when these toy trains were run on shiny 3 rail tracks there have been some major discoveries that include 2 rail systems, more authentic O gauges and the option of running O scale trains on narrow tracks. Do your research before buying even your first train set, because once you have selected a track, you’re stuck with it or will be doing a major overall down the road.
Keep these common mistakes in mind when planning your layout and it should make building your O scale train layout much more pleasurable.
Emil Sudhakaran is a model train expert. For more great information on g scale model trains, visit http://www.modeltrainsguide-emil.com/ho-model-train/.
Filed Under: Guest Authors
