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So here's a question that one of our (LHS) customers asked....

Is there a Standards Gauge for O3R?

And, by that we mean an equivalent to the NMRA standards gauge for O2R, as an example.

The focus of this question is the ability to check for proper, consistent flange-to-flange wheel spread on each axle.  This customer has been into HO (The Dark Side ) of the hobby for many, many moons.  And, yet the operation of his equipment on the rails has been excellent, to which he attributes frequent use of the NMRA Standards Gauge for that scale....track, wheels, coupler height, clearances, etc., etc.. 

The NMRA Standards Gauges are an essential tool in most 2-rail branches of the hobby.  I can't say I've ever heard of the NMRA taking such an interest in the creation of an equivalent O3R gauge.

And, if there isn't such an accepted O3R standards gauge, how come not?   Would it be of any value to the O3R hobbyist?  Or are we so entrenched historically in the toy side of the hobby that such standards are irrelevant, superfluous? 

Another current thread talks about derailment issues at FasTrack turnouts.  Well, we suspect that for another one of our customers that may be due variability in the flange gauge on the several axles of his offending diesel engine...which by most 2-rail scale perspectives would be....unacceptable, to say the least.   Is this measurement on an NMRA O2R standards gauge relevant at all to this sort of O3R question?  Furthermore, to what 'standards' of this sort....if any....do the manufacturers work to in the O3R realm?

You'd think for my own 70+ years in the hobby...various scales...I'd have had a ready answer for this customer.   Nope!  I don't think I'd given it much thought.....until now.  He stumped the band last week.

Any help?  Thoughts? 

KD

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Well, as others have said it varies based on the manufacturer, era, equipment, etc.  The Postwar Lionel service manual specifies different gauges for the 773 Hudson (quite narrow to negotiate O31 curves), and wider for the 2-4-2 locos, presumably so they don't weave from side to side on tangent track.  So there ARE standards established by the manufacturer, and applicable to specific pieces of equipment.

All that being said, if your customer switched to Ross or Atlas track, his derailment problems would probably be over.

Last edited by Ted S

The O Gauge Guild over in the UK has standards for what they call Coarse O.  This could be a good start for establishing US standards for Coarse O as well.  http://www.gauge0guild.com/manual/01_1_standards.pdf

They have the O Gauge Guild which only concentrates on O where as our NMRA is more a HO centric organization from my prospective.  Our O Scale Kings Organization could become something like the O Gauge Guild.  But it may be just a cultural difference between us and the Uk that is a reason we don't have this type of scale society organization.  

In the past the North West Shortline Company offered O hi rail wheel sets. I wonder what they used as a standard.

palallin posted:

 

To have a standards gauge, you have to first have standards, and O3R is too diverse, has too long a history, and has too many variants for a single gauge.

That, in a nutshell, is pretty much it. Would be virtually impossible to develop such a gage (spelling it that way to distinguish from our common use of gauge) for 3-rail simply because every type of 3-rail track used would require a gage of its own. And there are no real (meaning firm) standards for other 3-rail items such as wheels, etc.

Last edited by Allan Miller

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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