I think many of us would enjoy that.
On the below video you can see a 2-rail DC analog operated Lima/Rivarossi train and another 3-rail AC conventionally operated train consisting of a converted European diesel and scratch-built EuroFima type passenger coaches of various European state railways. The coaches can be equipped with MTH truck and 3-rail couplers or with Atlas trucks and Darstaed/ACE/Merkur-compatible metallic hook couplers (alternatively also with plastic Lima/Rivarossi-compatible "Buck Eye" couplers).
On the inner track you can see a Finnish diesel with Russial fuel tank cars and Finnish gas tank cars, all scratch-built O gauge...
Now, back to the European passenger coaches, here few explanations about the differences. Roughly there are three lengths of modern European passenger coaches:
- Rivarossi 59cm (approx. 23") exact scale but too long for tight curves
- Lima 48cm (approx. 19") slightly reduced length, fits on O-80 Gargraves curves
- Merkur 42cm (approx. 16½") extremely reduced length, fits on O-72 Lionel curves
- Merkur 39cm (approx.15") pre/post-war coaches, fit on O-63 Gargraves curves
- Darstaed 35cm (approx.13¾") pre/post-war coaches, fit on O-48 Atlas curves
I prefer 42cm length for my scratch-built projects, because the express trains looks sufficiently realistic while pulling 7 coaches.
