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I once had a Lionel 460 and it seemed huge. I see the Williams 460 is 4-inches high. This would be a scale of 16 feet at the highest point which seems to be the old timey smoke stack. I've never seen a 460 that was 16-feet high. The highest I've ever come across is 15 feet 3 inches. Most are under 15 feet. I have a theory in regard to the 460 being scale: It's scale to the track--which is too big. O gauge track is 60 scale inches from rail to rail, but real track is 56 inches (4' 8"). This means the model track is 7% wider than it should be. I note that if you add 7% to something that is 15-feet high you end up with something that is 16-feet high. Is this a possible theory (that the designer scaled it to the track rather than to exactly 1/48 scale) resulting in an engine that is actually larger than it should be? What are your thoughts? Has anyone ever seen a 16-foot tall 460?

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The WBB model is based off of the Maryland & Pennsylvania 4-6-0's, which were 14'4" railhead to top of the stack:4-6-0 Ma & Pa 28

Some of the height of the Bachmann model is due to the drive mechanism, and the tender is incorrect.  Bachmann makes a scale model of sister #27 in HO:

CP Ma&Pa 4-6-0 27rs

The Lionel 4-6-0 is based off of the NYC F12, which were about 16' and change rail to top of stack. (my drawing doesn't have that dimension, but shows 14'8" from the top of the coupler) 

4-6-0 NYC 1243

I remember seeing HO brass models of the NYC locomotive back in the day and they did appear huge.

Rusty

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  • 4-6-0 Ma & Pa 28
  • 4-6-0 NYC 1243
  • CP Ma&Pa 4-6-0 27rs
Last edited by Rusty Traque

Indeed, the NYC F2/F12 locos were large locos, Ten-Wheelers or not.

The WBB Ten-Wheeler (which I have) may or may not be the "correct" height, but a tall Ten-Wheeler is possible. Not all 4-6-0's were "short-line" locos, especially at first. The WBB's dimensions are, I would think, more the result of the "close enough" thinking used to make lower-end locos than an attempt to make the loco a Q-scale (1:45) scale model.

The SP had some 2-6-0's (Moguls) that were the largest in the world, I believe; they were the equal of many/most 2-8-0's in TF, as I understand. Big locos. But still 2-6-0's.

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