Has anyone ever convincingly used two scales for one layout? It has crossed my mind recently to see if I could somehow use forced perspective to integrate O and HO, as opposed to having a completely separate layout for each scale.
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I saw it done many years ago in one of the magazines.
I'm planning a new layout using Standard Gauge and O Gauge.
David
I do it with vehicles all the time. My Ertl 1/43 vehicles are in the immediate foreground with 1/50 further back, 1/64 beyond that, and if the space allows, HO (1/87) in the distance.
I thought it was neat that the people at Scenic Express questioned my father-in-law when he was purchasing figures from them for my Christmas list.
They cautioned him that I had requested both O and HO scale figures. Nice customer service but that is what I wanted.
I think it is a great idea to have HO trains in the distance if you have the space.
You should hide the unsightly two rail track though.
TJ
I have armchair (future dreaming) plans of having an On3 line interchange with my
three rail, especially after discovering that On3 flex track is available (and, no, I
won't hide the unsightly two rail)
I have seen many examples of multiple gauges for layouts. Recently we visited the wonderful layout of Chris Lonero who has both O & Standard Gauge. Many will use an N gauge train for an amusement park train ride. It works well when done correctly.
Just considering the fact that traditional 3 rail was (& to me remains) a true "toy train" by appearance & function, I have no problem blending older tin plate structures like the 437 switch tower, the 1970's Rico Station, & a 50's AF Sam the Semaphore Man all together. I try to base my layout on a dealer display style & for me, I don't have any problem with it. If I want prototype scale & realism, then I go run my HO layout where everything is scale, looks weathered, detailed, & operates like a real railroad without bright color, noise, or play factor. Two totally different worlds.
Scenery-wise, I use Woodland Scenics Ready-Built "HO" buildings on my AF PW "S" layout. They seem to be a bit larger than other "HO" buildings, and look fine with "S" people and cars.
I use a "N" train for a kiddy ride in my "O" layout amusement area.
I use "HO" streetlights because a lot of the "O" ones look too large to me.
Along the rear of my "O" layout I use a string of "HO" city buildings, which work perfectly with a printed city backdrop.
I use a ON30 trolley on my "O" Christmas layout.
Originally Posted by colorado hirailer:
I have armchair (future dreaming) plans of having an On3 line interchange with my
three rail, especially after discovering that On3 flex track is available (and, no, I
won't hide the unsightly two rail)
The question was mixing Two Scales........O 3r and On30 are both O scale. Same scale different gauge track.
I have seen O scale layouts with some HO way in the back or mountain top. It never works as well as I'd like. Your eye makes up the 'distance' you are trying to simulate and makes the difference obvious. For a TOY layout...go for it.
Well, if you'd just like to be able to run your HO collection as well as O, I say go right ahead. My own layout is 2/3 O and 1/3 S.
But to create the "distance" illusion convincingly I think you'd have to be David Copperfield. 
Your brain knows it's only a short ways away. Maybe all right for photographs, but not in person.
Here's a sample. The UP loco is approaching the scrapyard to haul off a load. I even narrowed the track gradually as it goes to the UP engine, but let me tell you - it ain't going to fool anybody.
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It might be interesting to mix scales that are greatly different, like O-gauge and N-gauge
Foreshortening requires control of the viewer's perspective to be effective--very difficult to achieve effectively when mixing scales IMHO.
Dioramas work because perspective is controlled. Ditto the wonderful photos and videos posted on the forum. Frankly, my "eye" would not pick-up these very realistic scenes if I have entered the train room and stood to look at the scene.
Besides the potential forced perspective it always seemed blasphemous to me. UNTIL.... at one of the LCCA events at Lionel they have a beautiful layout that has O and S on it. It renewed my interest in S considerably. If you look up Al Kolis and see his activity stream you can see some photos from the layout on here.
I have seen on youtube or in a magazine an O gauge layout that had I believe a small loop of N scale (maybe Z scale?) running around in an amusement park or zoo or something like that. Looked very nice, I thought they and they went well together.
Do they sell o / standard gauge mix tracks
paigetrain posted:Do they sell o / standard gauge mix tracks
Yes. Gargraves makes 5 rail track but you have to bend it yourself real PITA to work with! 
I had it and got rid of it. I have a standard gauge loop from USA which is very good quality and a separate loop of O84 curves. If someone made ready made 5 rail with 5 rail curves I would buy it in a heartbeat!
While I usually try to keep everything on the layout at one time to be the same approximate "scale," once in awhile I run different scales on my layout. Marx 3/16" scale on O gauge and postwar Lionel (closer to 1/4"). Sometimes Marx 6" tin and then there's the prewar Flyer and Lionel 1600 series...
I run both O and Standard on my layout and never think about it looking strange. But then, my layout is tinplate, so "scale" never really comes into play.
John
I have done it many times - currently run standard gauge and LGB - it is MY railroad, by gosh! LOL!
Certainly I've never seen all "dual scale" layouts there are, but I personally have never seen one that worked to my eyes. Often it is another version of the "too much railroad, not enough square footage", as it hits me, and typically unconvincing.
This may be compounded by the fact that as a 3RO'er, most of the multi-scale layouts that I have seen involve 3RO as one of the players, and 3-rail track and 3RO's "accepted appearance compromises" are greatly magnified when you put it next to more completely scale-model, 2-rail equipment. A 1:48 3-rail loco is still a 3-rail loco in some ways, plus that center rail simply jumps out at me. I even cringe a bit when I see 2RO and 3RO trackage mixed.
But, mostly, I just find forced perspective ineffective, unless it involves HO buildings/industries and the like on a distant hillside or other "way over-there" area.
It may not be right to post, please delete if so, but OGR magazine run 293 August -September 2017 has a full article on an O and HO scale railroad. Here’s the cover and one photo screenshot.
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Hello Friends,
I have a decent collection of American Flyer and other S gauge trains, my primary collecting focus, but I also have prewar O gauge Lionel, Flyer and Marx that I like to see run. In fact my only layout currently is a temporary loop of track for an O gauge set. I even have some HO trains I can't seem to part with.
My space is very limited and I have dreamed for years of having a layout very similar to the old version of the MTH display layout that I used to admire at the train shows. It consisted of a loop of Standard Gauge tinplat track (later G Gauge?) encircling a fairly elaborate O Gauge hi-rail layout.
While designed to display their two product lines at the time rather than really attempt to force perspective, the fact that the larger gauge was out front and mostly separated from the smaller scale was effective. When the two scales of trains were near each other, the smaller gauge was often situated higher than the larger.
i would do it with an O gauge loop running outside of an S gauge layout. With my O gauge collection of mostly O27, traditional and 3/16ths AF and Marx, the size difference is even less extreme.
Unfortunately it's O gauge tinplate that can tolerate the tighter curves which means the S gauge curves would dictate the minimum layout size of my "dream" set up.
I was sorry to see how much the layout was "dumbed down by MTH to accomodate the addition of their S and HO trains to the larger O and larger scales.
Here are some pix of my now gone inspiration layout along with one of the later incarnation.
Cheers!
Alan
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