Standard gauge intechange

conrod

New Member
Evening everyone, can anyone advise how to model an interchange between standard "O" models and "On30" models.
I have a length of "O" gauge track but the rails look huge when put next to the code 100 HO track.
Should I lay my own code 100 track at "O" gauge centres????
Thanks
 

Triplex

Active Member
Narrow gauge track usually has much lighter rail than standard gauge track. Now, if you need dual gauge track, all three rails must be the same size. I'm not sure what would be a prototypical rail size for this application.
 

sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
If by interchange, you mean dual gauge track, I'd look at getting some O scale light rail, and using that for the siding, and the narrow gauge rails. Typically, sidings are lighter rail than mainline.
Unless you have dual gauge track, you can leave the standard gauge as is, and use the code 100 for the narrow gauge.
An interchange, or transshipment point can be a freighthouse with a standard gauge siding on one side, and narrow on the other, or as simple as standard and narrow side by side ( loads like ore, and coal were sometimes hand shoveled from one car to the other ). In most cases the "interchange" is designed to handle a limited variety of product.
The labor intensive bottleneck of transshipment was one of the contributing factors in the eventual phaseout of narrow gauge.
 

hminky

Member
Narrow gauge track usually has much lighter rail than standard gauge track. Now, if you need dual gauge track, all three rails must be the same size. I'm not sure what would be a prototypical rail size for this application.

In one of Benjamin Kline's Pennsylvania Logging books there is a photo with the narrow gauge rail lighter than the standard. I am sure it happened elsewhere.

Harold
 

conrod

New Member
Thanks fellas,
I'll do a length of "O" gauge flexi on one side of a platform and narrow gauge (HO) on the otherside, so i can have the 0n30 pull up one side, tranship the goods across platform to an "O" gage on other,
Difference in rails wont be so noticable then
many thanks
 

sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
That should be just fine. The code 100 rail, in O scale, is virtually identical to code 55 rail in HO scale. In either case the rail height is 4.75" from bottom of the web to top of the railhead. You could go as light as code 70 rail in O scale, this would be 3.5", and would be the equivalent of code 40 rail in HO. Code 40 in O scale would be 1.9", and would probably only exist as 18" gauge mine rails.
 

nkp174

Active Member
Yes, narrow gauge almost always had lighter rail than standard gauge. Most On3ers (the closest thing to On30 and widely used throughout the US) use code 70, 83, or 100 rail. 100 is actually a bit heavy for alot of 3' gauge lines...so it's definitely heavy for 30" gauge. (If I recall, it is 75lb rail in O scale...while something like 112lb rail would be for a typical steam era mainline).

If you're interested in dual gauge trackage...you should look up the East Broad Top. It was (and is!) a 3' gauge shortline in Pennsylvania that hauled coal behind (6) 2-8-2s. At the north end of the railroad, they had a fully dual gauge yard where they interchanged with the Pennsylvania RR. Pretty much the entire railroad is intact, so you can see quite a bit of dual gauge trackage.

The other stretch of track that I can think of was that the D&RGW mainline between Alamosa and Antonito, Colorado was dual gauge (3' and 56.5")...although that's gone now.

The EBT is probably the best source for dual gauge inspiration. Here's a picture of it: http://home.att.net/~bhf51/ebt/ebt26.jpg

The dual gauge was the Mount Union yards.
 

60103

Pooh Bah
One other form of interchange is to provide a ramp on the narrow gauge to the end of a standard gauge siding, and run narrow cars onto a standard flatcar.
I have a kit (somewhere in the great pit of unbuilt stuff) for a little trolley for carrying NG cars on standard (or is it standard cars on NG?) A European product.
 

nkp174

Active Member
That typically was how narrow gauge equipment was delivered from builders such as Baldwin or Pullman to their railroads.

The East Broad Top used a timber transfer to lift standard gauge freight cars and replace their trucks with special narrow gauge ones.

Colorado & Southern 3' gauge business car #911 was occasionally used with standard gauge trucks...that car survives.
 

Triplex

Active Member
I have a kit (somewhere in the great pit of unbuilt stuff) for a little trolley for carrying NG cars on standard (or is it standard cars on NG?) A European product.
In Europe, these were called "transporter wagons". They were most often used to move standard gauge cars on narrow gauge. Some narrow gauge lines had no rolling stock of their own except transporter wagons. On some lines, they were used into the 1990s. Since they were used almost exclusively in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, you may find references under the term "Rollwagen".
 

wjstix

Member
Keep in mind there's supposed to be a difference!! Standard gauge rails were much MUCH heavier/bigger than what the narrow gauge railroads used. Part of the fun of narrow gauge modelling is showing the difference in size between the bit standard gauge equipment and the petite narrow gauge trains.
 

sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
Stix, Absolutely!, except.........in the case of dual gauge trackwork, a compromise of rail weight is used, as both standard and narrow rails have to be at the same height. Using all the same rail weight is far easier than "elevating" the narrow gauge rails to match the height of the standard gauge.
Pete
 

Dan Vincent

Member
Sounds like a great idea for a diorama or to work into a layout.

Bring in freight or passenger cars on the mainline, using standard trucks and then crane them over to the narrow gauge tracks to drop them on NG trucks.

A simple platform could be placed between the two tracks to move freight from either one to the other.

I really like this idea and it could give me justification for a small module.

Hey, I think I have an old Atlas O gauge diesel switcher (NIB) around here someplace with a bobber caboose.

The standard gauge will be 2-rail for me.
 
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