scale miles

[trainking49]

Is there a way to measure scale miles on a ho scale layout and also how to measure scale speed?Thanks Ralph

 

[Doc Holliday]

To get scale miles, take your track length in feet and multiply by 0.01648.
To get scale MPH, you'll have to ask somebody smarter than me.
Doc

 

[trainking49]

Hi Doc, Thanks doc, i will give this a try.
Thanks again, Ralph

 

[docsnavely]

trainking,

I found this website while googling train stuff one night. Hope it helps!:thumb: http://www.csgnetwork.com/modrrscaleconv.html

-doc (the other one)

 

[SAL Comet]

Ha Ralph, since HO is 1:87, and a mile is 5280' you can divid that by 87 and get 60.69' to a HO scale mile. That known you can divid the feet of track by 60.69 to find the scale miles of track. As for speed, if your train covers the 60.69' in 1 minite ,it would be doing 60 scale mph. If your train covered the length in 2 minites,30scale mph. If it took 60 minites, 1 scale mph. and so on.

 

[trainking49]

Thanks Scott, you have been a big help. Ralph

 

[trainking49]

doc, the other one,
Thanks for the sight. It is just what i wanted.
Ralph

 

[60103]

To add to the confusion, model railroaders came up with "smiles" which were much shorter than 60 feet, more like 6 feet. This was to give their stations a reasonable sounding spacing.

 

[papasmurf37]

Smiles

Frank Ellison invented the SMILE, which was HIS scale mile. He was also one of the Fathers of Operation in model railroading. There may be books available on his Delta Lines[I'd LOVE to have one of those!]. Paul Mallery's Operation Handbook[from Carstens Pub.-just got myself one]mentions the SMILE in it and how Frank calculated it. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL....Old Tom in NH