oo vs ho

[ellocoloco]

@gitter

 

HO locos and stock look great against HO buildings and water towers...........

 

Against OO ones, they are about 15% too small, but its a very personal choice if you wish to mix the two. Remember, standard OO (Hornby and Peco) track is actually HO, so the mix has already begun............!

[Gitter]

I didn't realise that it was as much as 15%. and that of course , would leave platforms on "00" a good bit high against the HO stock. As to Kadee couplings mentioned earlier, I have fitted them to a lot of my stock ( still a fair bit to do yet, and I reckon they are great. ( but quite pricey ).

[Phil_Spiegel.]

WRT Running a 'Big Boy' on '00' - as mentioned, the track is actually H0 - so that [track-gauge]  is not a problem

HOWEVER - the problem MIGHT BE your loading-gauge-clearance EITHER SIDE on curves - particularly if you try and run it around Radius 2 .... beware of lineside objects which may get hit by over-hanging or corner-cutting parts of the loco.  .. but the larger the radii you use, the better it will look and the less the loading-gauge problem will be.

Similarly the long heavyweight US coaches may undercut corners - but the freight stock is generally of shorter lengths, and unlikely to be a problem - unless you want to run double-stacked containers, as they do now.

[Phil_Spiegel.]

Running a loco like the 'Big Boy'  presents problems of clearance (Loading Gauge) - especially as this is such a large locomotive, when it takes corners , the bodywork will under cut and overhang the track more than shorter vehicles... so watch out for lineside obstructions.

it is 'helped' in that, if i were in 00, it would be 8/7 the size !  Scandinavia has a larger loading gauge than the remainder of mainland europe - and so, being H0 and 7/8th the size of 00, their coaches will pass through where UK mark 3 coaches will too.

When making 'comparisons' of UK/Continental track - yes, both 00+H0 are the same gauge of 16.50mm, but their numbering of curve radii seems to start 1 radius smaller than the UK. .... so it is always best to compare actual radii in millimetres.

(Continental Radius 1 will fit on a door, and contninental radius 2 is about the same as UK radius 1,,, continental 3 about the same as UK 2 etc

Roco make radii 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and 20 (continental numbers)  Radius 3 is now the minimum they seem to include in sets (it used to be '2')

Some 'UK' people believe that (H0 gauge track ie 16.5mm) should have 1:76 sleeper spacing to be 'scale'.  However, although this used to be the supplied spacing (Triang Super 4 etc)  most modellers use Peco 00/H0 with its 'Finescale, longer look' of H0 spacing... in many ways this is CORRECT - because the time at which you can SEE the sleepers is when there is NO TRAIN there ... so you are looking at plain line .. for which H0 sleeper spacing is correct because it is 16.5mm gauge track you can see !! .. when there is a train, watch (and now listen) to the train.

Since most model railway layouts use 'slective compresion' - the impression of more track in a given space therefore preferable over large sleeper gaps. But each to their own.

NEM pocket couplings allow you to buy any make, and swap to compatible couplings UK or continental or USA. But note that IF BUYING MARKLIN tock - they come with UNINSULATED wheels by DEFAULT but can be exchanged in the shop (wagons and coaches) to 2-rail insulated wheels on request .... but these free replacements may be coarse scale compared to finescale standards.  When sold in TRIX boxes, the same items will have 2-rail insulating wheels.   Most Continental manufacturers produce H0 locos as BOTH 2-rail and '3-rail' (actually centre stud contact) - so choose model numbers carefully - Only ESU or brawa have produced 'switchable' Locos so a dealer only needs stock 1 version !!! [ User removes the centre pickup to convert to 2 rail - the onboard decoder already handles both dcc and Mfx control formats, and analogue ]

And finally: it should be mentioned, that there IS a British H0 Society - the opposite equivalent of P4 ??? - who model UK stock in 1:87 - and would be a useful source of extra information if you wished to 'convert'.

Apart form a generally slight difference in price, ALL 3 rails ('ac') versions of Locos come with a decoder built in - often sound too - which accounts for most of the difference compared to current prices.

[Nibiru]

Hello all,

This is my first post here on Hornby and I have been waiting for the opportunity too ask this question, because I have tried doing research on my own, but still could not come up with a straight answer.

I have about four LIMA 00 Gauge - Amtrak Coaches and I have tried running them on the club layout, however they keep ending up on the ground at points and switches. I have discovered that the wheelset flanges for OO Gauge is too deep for the club layout.

Can someone please tell me where and what wheelset do I need to purchase so HO Gauge is equal too 00 Gauge or to prevent the wheelsets from derailing on the points and switches.

A picture of the LIMA 00 Gauge Amtrak that I have.

http://up.picr.de/23825880wy.jpg

[bill7437]

I assume that your club layout is using Code 75 Fine Scale track and this is the cause of derailments. Lima flanges are somewhat deep. If you wish to continue using these on this layout you would have to replace the wheels - websearch wheels for Code 75 track for Lima - axle length is important.