Hi. I live and work in France and am brand new to modelling. I want to model the local narrow guage (600 mm), represented by N guage - no problem. How do I represent 1 metre guage track? Thanks.
Hi Peter
The track gauge is all a bit of a compromise.
600mm gauge works out at just under 8mm in 00 scale and just under 7mm in HO scale.
1m gauge is 13.12mm in 00 scale and 11.48mm in HO scale.
If you are using 9mm track to model the 600mm gauge then I recommend you use 12mm gauge track for the 1m gauge.
It is a compromise, but it is one nearly all of us use and accept.
Several manufactures make narrow gauge track in this scale/gauge combination including Peco, Bemo and Tillig.
Brian Meldon
A sort of related question this.
I have seen commercial dual gauge track on sale with 16.5 and 9 mm gauges (standard and 750 mm), 16.5 and 10.5 (standard and 3 feet for the US market) and also (I think) 16.5 and 12 mm gauge (standard and 1 metre), but does anyone know if anyone has produced 12 and 9 mm dual gauge track?
The problem with 00/H0 narrow gauge is that 9mm represents a different gauge in 00 (2'3") and H0 (about 2'6"). As a result, in H0 it is more accurate to use 6.5mm (same as Z gauge) to model 2ft/60cm.
As I said in my previous post in H0 and 00 scale 9mm gauge and 12mm gauge are widely accepted by most to represent 60cm and 1m gauge.
It is of course possible to model a scale gauge, 8mm gauge in 00 scale for example, and this has been done, but it is a simple fact that almost all 009 and H0e modellers are not interested in doing that. The vast majority are quite happy to use the accepted gauges because of the ease of obtaining equipment and in many cases the cost.
The same goes for applying any
Brian, on the Continent HOf (Feldbahn/600mm) uses Z gauge track, there's quite a bit of stuff in that gauge, 9mm track tends only to be used for 750/760/762mm gauge stuff as Danny says.