What do the following mean please?

Hi Sarah,
My guess would be that the seller is trying to infer that they are for, or suitable for, 16mm:1foot scale - 1/19 - (of course they could be), G-Scale being 1/22.5. And 45mm gauge.
 
Sarah,
The 16mm. figure I believe refers to the diameter of the wheels and the 45mm. to the track width also
the two other figures- 32mm. and 45mm. indicate the track width, i.e. inner distance between the two rails hence the 'dual gauge' reference. Usually LGB is 45mm. for their track and those which mate with it. I am not very familiar with LGB products but I do not believe they made 32mm. track just the 45mm. version.
 
Hi Sarah,
It all gets a bit messy in respect of scale and gauge at this size. G-Scale is basically 1/22.5 scale running on 45mm gauge track representing full size metre gauge. 45mm is also the gauge for Gauge 1 which is standard gauge (4ft 81/2") and obviously smaller scale rolling stock. There is no reason why 1/22.5 scale models cannot be fitted with 32mm gauge wheels, it just means that the full size track gauge would be narrower than 1 metre. Similarly 1/19 (16mm) scale stock could run on either 32 or 45mm gauge track. It really all depends on what type of railway is being represented and in what scale. The foregoing refers mainly to British or European models; there are some different combination of scale and gauge where US narrow gauge equipment is the subject.Hope this helps more than it further confuses :-)
 
Mmmm....somewhat confusing.
I have been used to British standard gauge of 4' 8.1/2" having enjoyed(?) scales that include 00, 0, TT and H0. Narrow gauge is new to me hence my questions.
What I like about G gauge is the tight radii which can be achieved with short wheel base locomotives and wagons.
What is the smallest radii my LGB 0-4-0 locomotive will negotiate, please?
What about SM32 please? What track gauge would that be?
Sarah
 
Hi Sarah, to address your two particular examples (second one first).....
The Accucraft Isle of Man (IoM) Viking Diesel is an all-brass model loco which has adjustable wheels to allow it to run on either 32mm or 45mm gauge track - basically, you loosen a couple of Allen Screws that hold the wheels to the axles, and slide the wheels in or out, checking them carefully for the correct gauge before re-tightening the screws. Note that this particular model is a rather expensive limited-production piece, very nice but also quite specialised as your surmised. As discussed before in one of your other threads, G scale uses 45mm gauge track (which it shares with Gauge 1) but 32mm (Gauge 0) track is more commonly used by the live steam and battery diesel people, so certain specialised models (though NOT those made by LGB) do have adjustable wheel spacing to allow use on both gauges.

As to the two Stainz power bogies, the use of the numbers here is very confusing to the uninitiated - the 45mm refers to the track gauge, of course, but the "16mm" refers to "16mm to the foot", which is actually a model scale, not a gauge of track. 16mm to the foot works out at approx. 1/19 when expressed in the more common model scale ratio; the use of "mm to the foot" as a way of expressing scale is very common in other model railway gauges too - for example 0 gauge trains are often called "7mm" as an abbreviation of "7mm to the foot" scale (about 1/43 scale) and 00 gauge is commonly known as "4mm", or "4mm to the foot" (about 1/76).
It's all part of the HORRIBLY complex and confusing mish-mash of terms that the railway modelling hobby (and other branches of modelling too) uses to define model scales and/or track gauges.....

What the seller of the Stainz power chassis is trying to say, I believe, is that the wheels are suitable for 45mm gauge track (as is all LGB), while the scale of the models would pass for use with 16mm to the foot equipment.
I hope that hasn't made it all even more confusing..... you have to remember that a lot of sellers on eBay and elsewhere don't always know themselves exactly what it is that they are selling, and thus descriptions can get very mangled...

Jon.
 
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Typically a lot of product of what might be described as representing UK/Colonial outline prototypes in 16/15 mm scale(1:19.3/1:20.3) is made to be adaptable for use on either 32 mm or 45 mm track gauges. This is principally to allow the maker to achieve the maximum number of sales in what is a niche market. Some must be bought at outset at either gauge setting but most product now in this area is readily gauge adjustable by either swap out wheel sets and/or wheels that can be slid on axle and locked to the desired gauge.

For example - the Viking loco mentioned is a representation of a 3 ft gauge prototype in real life. The model is rendered in 15 mm scale, which results in a nominal 45 mm track gauge. However, the maker Accucraft,UK, to ensure maximum sales has made the model re-gaugable to 32 mm to attract the maximum sales opportunities. Most of this makers UK products, 16 mm and 15 mm scale (but not G1 1:32), both locos and rolling stock are made this way. But caution - Accucraft US and Gmbh divisions do not make their stuff re-gaugable.

Welcome to the wonderful world of garden railways. I run UK/Colonial NG 16 mm &US NG 15 mm outline on 45 mm track gauge. I visit fellow members of the 16 mm NGM who run 32 mm track gauge. Most of my UK/Colonial outline can be quickly re-set to that gauge so I have something to take along and run. Max.

Edit - Zerogee you beat me to it
 
Sarah Winfield said:
Mmmm....somewhat confusing.
I have been used to British standard gauge of 4' 8.1/2" having enjoyed(?) scales that include 00, 0, TT and H0. Narrow gauge is new to me hence my questions.
What I like about G gauge is the tight radii which can be achieved with short wheel base locomotives and wagons.
What is the smallest radii my LGB 0-4-0 locomotive will negotiate, please?
What about SM32 please? What track gauge would that be?
Sarah
Click to expand...


Hi Sarah, I was busy typing out my reply above when you posted your next one...

Your Stainz 0-4-0 will actually get round some incredibly tight curves..... although LGB's own tightest radius is their "Radius 1" which is about 2' (4' diameter circle), there are specialist track makers who go smaller than this - Bertram Heyn in Germany makes R0 (Radius 0) track including some lovely rustic random-sleeper track for representing "field railways" (Feldbahn in German):
http://www.modell-werkstatt.de/gleissystem/gleise/index.htm

In addition, it is (or used to be) possible to get circles of 45mm gauge track right down to about 21" in diameter, designed to go round barrels and water features as little "gimmick" displays - I say "used to" because the ones made by Aristocraft are now out of production and virtually unobtainable even second-hand - I've been looking for one of their 32" circles for ages and can't find one!

BUT, there is a caveat - with any track circle or bend tighter than LGB's R1, the LOCO will run round it, but you MAY not be able to pull anything with it! This is because the tighter the curve, the more the front and back of the loco swings out, and there comes a point where there isn't enough sideways movement on the couplings to allow this to work - as the loco swings into the curve, the couplings will lock up and drag the wagons off the track...
There are ways round this, such as using chain couplings (very much like the real thing) rather than the LGB hooks and loops, but even then you need to do some careful testing to see what will and won't work.

To answer your last question, SM32 is 32mm gauge track (the same width as Gauge 0), see my last post on "16mm scale" railways....

Jon.
 
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