@bob2 posted:I really get a lot of grief when I say the Williams B6 is oversize. Park it next to, say, a PS1 boxcar, then go look at prototype photos.
Well, that is why I asked about measurements. I also have the Lionel number 701 version of the B6, which was labeled as "scale" by Lionel and made from 1939-1941, and which can commonly be found converted to 2-rail, but it is clearly undersized (the same casting was issued as Lionel number 227, 228, etc. and then reissued around 1989 as Lionel number 18000). All you need to do is look at prototype photos to confirm it. The Lionel locomotive is obviously too small, even though Lionel marketed it as "scale" at the time. Classic Toy Trains did an article about the size of various Lionel and other 3-rail trains and the prewar Lionel B6 was listed as 93% scale sized (unlike the famous prewar Lionel 700E Hudson, which was listed as 100% scale sized). Unlike the locomotive, the prewar Lionel B6 tender looks about right, though. But sitting next to the Williams, the Williams locomotive looks considerably larger. I think the Williams looks correct in proportion to the tender. Based on prototype photos, the B6 was pretty tall at the top of the cab.
I can only speak to the Williams B6 and the prewar Lionel B6, since those are the 2 versions that I have. But PRRJim posted earlier in this thread that he has both the Gem and the Williams versions, and that they are the same size. I think that since the prewar Lionel version has been around for so long, and since it was marketed as "scale", many people are familiar with it and think that it is "correct", thus making the other versions look too large. The reality is that the prewar Lionel B6 was selectively "compressed" just like most other Lionel O gauge items. This can be confirmed by the cab/boiler height and inaccurate compressed driver spacing on the Lionel B6 model. Although the Lionel B6 is still an attractive model, particularly when converted to 2-rail.
