What is British G Scale

[Paul M]

Two things to remember when it comes to working to scale.

1. If it's done exactly to scale, every dimension to scale, every angle of a curve to scale, the finished product will be to scale but it won't look right, as manufacturers have found out to their cost in the past

2. Even if you did 1 above, the thickness of the material for the body, glazing etc. would not be to scale.

I seem to remember a large model railway a club built that was precisely to scale (4mm) in every detail. Whilst it was great fun to build and took years, it was actually boring to run and to watch. Because everything was being run exactly how a real railway was run, and the clock was also to scale, nothing actually happened! Most railway lines away from the main stations are devoid of any activity for most of the day, so in copying that they just created a yawnfest

 

[Flying15]

Indeed I messed around with EM back in the 60’s. Sometime later there was an EEM though not sure what the Gauge was. EM was 18mm track gauge so just under a mm out.

The real answer for 16.5 00/H0 was 3mm models of Indian Railway trains.
Perfect track gauge for 5’6” gauge!

 

[Northsider]

Dafydd, if you model the IOM then you have no need for any other prototypes. It is, as everyone knows in their heart of hearts, The Only Railway Worth Modelling. There, I've said it now. Fellow modellers, do your worst!

 

[Paul M]

Dafydd, if you model the IOM then you have no need for any other prototypes. It is, as everyone knows in their heart of hearts, The Only Railway Worth Modelling. There, I've said it now. Fellow modellers, do your worst!

Masochist

 

[Rhinochugger]

From memory I think it was eighteen point eight mill Jon.

18.83 mm

 

[David1226]

From memory I think it was eighteen point eight mill Jon.

18.83mm track is known as protofour and is dead scale for 4.0mm scale standard gauge.

David

 

[Rhinochugger]

Dafydd, if you model the IOM then you have no need for any other prototypes. It is, as everyone knows in their heart of hearts, The Only Railway Worth Modelling. There, I've said it now. Fellow modellers, do your worst!

That is exactly why it is possible to describe the Southwold Railway as Britain's premier 3ft gauge railway.

Now if you were talking about the British Isles, then yes, you would have to defer to the IoM system which includes a number of 3ft lines (plus one 3ft 6ins line - before I get hung out to dry).

 

[Rhinochugger]

18.83mm track is known as protofour and is dead scale for 4.0mm scale standard gauge.

David

Yep, I was going to add that (but got caught up in an IoM debate ) Protofour came out in the 60s - and has been replaced in designation by 18.83 - while much of the work of Protofour went into P4 then S4.

Interestingly .............. it was when Protofour was launched, the articles and descriptions that were included in the model press opened my eyes into the way that wheels and track really work - such as the wheel profile keeping the wheel on the rail, and the purpose of check rails in points (turnouts). As an impressionable teenager, it was fascinating stuff ( before I advanced to motorbikes and girls - I think it was in that order ).

 

[dunnyrail]

The real answer for 16.5 00/H0 was 3mm models of Indian Railway trains.
Perfect track gauge for 5’6” gauge!

Always liked 3mm as a scale, just right not too big nor too small. But I think the the very fine standards to create the Indian. It would result in quite large radius curves. Wow have we drifted on this one, but the gauge and scale thing is a long running saga in modelling circles and will never be resolved. Just do what you, like rule 1!

 

[Northsider]

Masochist

Manxochist, surely?

 

[Gavin Sowry]

...... opened my eyes into the way that wheels and track really work - such as the wheel profile keeping the wheel on the rail, and the purpose of check rails in points (turnouts).

Indeed, and the different standards applied by other railways.
Take, for example, the 3'6" gauge railways of South Africa, and New Zealand. Both the same gauge, so, SA stuff can run in NZ, same gauge, right?
Ah, well, no, actually. You see, the SA stuff has thicker flanges, and, hence, a narrower wheel back to back measurement. No worries, that is, until you try to go through a turnout... they bind in the flangeways and frogs.

 

[DafyddElvy]

I'm starting to wish I hadn't asked now, happy days, I've only been on the forum a few weeks and I've started a thread which has really gone way off on a tangent.

I was just interested to know the interpretation of british G gauge was

David

 

[JimmyB]

I'm starting to wish I hadn't asked now, happy days, I've only been on the forum a few weeks and I've started a thread which has really gone way off on a tangent.

I was just interested to know the interpretation of british G gauge was

David

I am glad you did, these types of topics always spark good discussions

 

[ge_rik]

I'm starting to wish I hadn't asked now, happy days, I've only been on the forum a few weeks and I've started a thread which has really gone way off on a tangent.

I was just interested to know the interpretation of british G gauge was

David

Hi David
Like you I was beginning to wonder where the discussion was heading. What prompted your question? Are you trying to decide what scale to use on your railway, are you seeking a supply of British outline models or is it just curiosity?

I'm always interested in hearing from other modellers who are running British narrow gauge on 45mm track. It seems we are in the minority.

Rik

 

[dunnyrail]

I'm starting to wish I hadn't asked now, happy days, I've only been on the forum a few weeks and I've started a thread which has really gone way off on a tangent.

I was just interested to know the interpretation of british G gauge was

David

Monty no worries it is that way things are in the Forum, good discussion about a variety of things in the same thread! Hope that you have managed to dig some out enlightenment of your request.

 

[Monty]

John D,
Wasn’t me, didn’t do it, you can’t prove it and even if the pictures come out they are fake!
Enjoyed the posts nonetheless and did learn something [am now a bit more confused as well] on the way past.
Thank you David for asking and all the rest for replying!
Monty

 

[dunnyrail]

John D,
Wasn’t me, didn’t do it, you can’t prove it and even if the pictures come out they are fake!
Enjoyed the posts nonetheless and did learn something [am now a bit more confused as well] on the way past.
Thank you David for asking and all the rest for replying!
Monty

Ah so, never went back to post 1! There probably is a moral there somewhere.

 

[Rhinochugger]

I'm starting to wish I hadn't asked now, happy days, I've only been on the forum a few weeks and I've started a thread which has really gone way off on a tangent.

I was just interested to know the interpretation of british G gauge was

David

It's called thread drift and sometimes, no matter how hard the captain struggles, the ship's difficult to steer

.... but we have fun

 

[DafyddElvy]

Hi David
Like you I was beginning to wonder where the discussion was heading. What prompted your question? Are you trying to decide what scale to use on your railway, are you seeking a supply of British outline models or is it just curiosity?

I'm always interested in hearing from other modellers who are running British narrow gauge on 45mm track. It seems we are in the minority.

Rik

Rik,

Up until 23rd December the idea of a garden railway was but just a dream for the future, until we found a new property my beloved and I could agree on.

My interest in the larger scales/gauges is very new and until two weeks ago was always intended to be 15mil scale based on the Manx Northern Railway. In January and then February I picked up two G gauge trams on flea bay.

My question was simply to understand what was meant by british G scale, is it a thread for people modelling G gauge in britain, is it a thread for people modelling british prototypes on G gauge, I was just trying to understand the thread title and if it could be one for me to add to the watch list.

Since joining this group I suspect my modelling path will be a tramway one rather than railway, my interest in british trams is limited with the exception of the Isle of Man, why I don't know but something about the island appeals, my other tramway interest lays mainly with the Ringhoffer trams which I discovered about 10 years ago.

So I am a predominantly a tramway modeller living in Scotland with a british interest for an island i haven't been to for about 35 years.

If you can un-scramble that lot can you please explain to me whether I am a british Gauge scale/gauge modeller I just plan to model things which appeal.

David

 

[PhilP]

I just plan to model things which appeal.

That sounds very much like a definition of G scale to me!

PhilP