whats the standard lenght of a scale diesel loco

Depends. A GP35 was about 52 feet long (13 inches) while an SD35 was about 56 feet long (14 inches.) Best bet is to get the prototype information on the specific diesel you want to model. Interestingly enough, Wikipedia often has the basic information regarding measurements, but a locomotive cyclopedia is probably your best bet.

That should be where one starts!

id picked up aerotrain loco and end shell..my friends call me george baris jr in customizing anything i get my hands on..cars to trucks rc boats and now trains.wanted to chop the back end section of the end car and add it on the loco parts..ive drawn pics of it and man it looks cool..just saw mth new turbo train and that gave me more ideas,,

O Scale is 1/4" = 1 Foot.   The 1 Foot part is the real world (prototype) measurement so if whatever REAL engine you were modeling was, say for example, 80 feet long, your model would be 20 inches long.

 

There is no such thing as a "standard". You need to find what the actual engine measurements are/were and base the model dimensions on 1/4 inch equals 1 Foot.

 

Simon

Why is this so difficult? Must be the "new math".

Dave G.

Basic General Math. If you want to build a correct model, the measurements need to be to a certain "scale" and they must be consistent throughout the model, otherwise the model will not look exactly like the full size object.

 

To further ruffle your feathers "O" gauge is incorrect for O Scale (1/4" = 1 foot), as it is 5 feet (1 and 1/4 inch between the rails) wide and not 4' 8 1/2"!

 

Simon

Reading this, it sounds like you are NOT really concerned with "scale" (nothing wrong with that). I'd say just wing it and don't worry about measurements since "customizing" is not really about anything existing. If it looks good to your eyes, that's all that matters!

 

Simon

thanks ..just wanted to get some idea's on length.seeing the turbo train has givin me more ideas...heres a quick sketch of 1 idea before I saw the turbo train..

Neat idea and project! That sketch says it all! A railcar based on the Aero train! 

 

Ricky

I've got both the MR diesel and steam encyclopedias if you want an accurate assesment of a given diesel. 

From what I see of your drawing, and that's nice, I'd go by whatever you need to get that from paper to track...you'd set the length thru need by design.

Somewhere in one of my ancient books is a photo of the same thing done to an HO Varney Aerotrain.

 

Rusty

..was debaiting on the drive setup to.MTH doesn't sell the power trucks to the aerotrain..that stinks...debaiting on having both powered trucks on front and rear,or having 4 0r 6 wheel powered truck only on the rear and two wheels non power truck on the front?

My 2 cents...keep at least a 4 wheel truck up front for decent guidance, a 2 wheel truck may not work at speed{or slow}. As for the back, your the builder, see what you can fit or scrounge up and go from there. If your building this as a stand-alone unit{no other cars connected} a single power truck would be more than enough, but if you plan on more revenue cars being added - try adding a front and rear power truck just in case.

You can extend or shorten any metal framed chassis to fit your finished body, so I'd say draw that body on a 1" grid to see how it'll really fit..your printer should be able to print out a 1" grid sheet to work on for you.

Oh, as for the truck side frames- I don't know what those are supposed to look like for the aero train, but your engine can have whatever you like...or scratch build, if those covers are just truck covers, like alot of what's out there are.  NWSL can provide power trucks too in O scale but that's going to be roughly $80some dollars each...but they will have the power taps for DCC/DCS/TMCC{lionel}...thinking a donar engine from anywhere might be an easier way to go as it would have everything you need to run on it...your call/budget.

Wow! I remember the article and photographs.Seems like the railroad was called "Weeville Western".I think that was in an MR from the early 1960's?

dang.and id tought i was had something .im drawing up other ideas..hope to post tonight.if somebody could find that article would be interesting to see it..

ok heres 2 more and last drawings..now its going to be hard to deside now..I drew my self into a delema now..what do you guys think?

Cool idea. It looks more credible as a railcar with more windows. If you could provide good broadside views of your parts against a contrasting background I might try Photoshopping it together. The advice for four wheel trucks at both ends is a good idea for better tracking. Do you have enough material to consider a two-unit articulated train? This is what my Zephyr looks like with just the front and rear units.  

 

 

Regarding your original question about length, I would say just do what looks good since it's a kitbashing project with artistic license anyway. Depending on the curve radius you want to run it on, you may want to go longer or shorter accordingly.

But most of the South was 5' gauge before 1886. 

That's awesome.  I'm thinking 16" in length.  Start from there and tweak it.  Build it!

That's awesome.  I'm thinking 16" in length.  Start from there and tweak it.  Build it!

Joseywales...my 2 cents says the bottom new one, but only if it's going to be a stand alone car - no other cars. If you plan on other cars behind it, stick with the top new pic and make the last car with an aero tail..once again, just my 2 cents fwiw...

Ace, she's an awfully short zephyr there...even the pioneer had 3 cars. BTW- is that the 1st release MTH 3 car zephyr set, or the later 4 car?

I wish MTH made add on cars...while not prototypical it sure would look cool!  

It's a 1998 MTH PS1 4-car set bought secondhand, but when I was troubleshooting it I ran just two units. The thing about an articulated model train is that it's more cumbersome to lift on and off the tracks because of the way that the cars hook together, and with an electrical connection between the cars. After I got it fixed it stays on the tracks and has its own parking space. 

 

Nicole - the fact that the South was mostly 5' gauge before the War of Secession is

something that I knew, but it eluded me that this could be a

real way to come to grips with being a Southerner AND an O-gauger: 5' is correct!

(Or should have been...)

Ah-h-h-h; now I can sleep at night. One more Existential issue put out to pasture.

Bless you.

 

-----

 

I'm a RR hot-rodder myself, and every time that I pass my K-line 4-6-6 NYC tank loco

sitting in the turntable area, I imagine it with an Empire State Express Hudson stream-

lined smokebox front. Maybe the Century style, but I think that the lack of a skyline

casing would find the ESE style a better fit. All I need to do is find the brass nose

part from a Weaver ESE Hudson...here we go again. 

 

 

im thinking the last drawing..it looks like a 50-60s style train RV..could pull flat cars.if it went with that drawing..or second drawing i could pull any streamline passenger cars or freight cars..yes freight..just think seeing a space age train pulling freight cars?..or i could make some space age freight cars?..burlington think the train proubley be close to 21"..I see 21" streamline passenger cars..ace what background color would work for you on photoshop.D500 Im a hotroder customizer..I do custom body and paint work on cars trucks and bikes and boats..

Any solid color background that contrasts with the subject. If the train is silvery, a dark solid color is good. Try to make the photos directly broadside with mild telephoto to avoid wide-angle distortion.

 

Here is a quicky kitbash with low-rez images found online:

 

1 thing nice by making this train longer is i can put a smoke unit in it too.

That last pic looks nice..could you make it swivel between the two units?

 

Oh sure...I need a painter and your way over there...just my luck! Got a '40 plymouth sedan that will need some HOK hot rod flatz sprayed on it...

Nice!!! I've got they're 3 car pioneer zephyr{slightly used too}...the few times I ran here I snapped the cars on and then off when done...rather a hassle...ain't it?...but I'll keep her anyway!

I think you are a pretty good graphic artist.

 

If you can find a K-Line MP-15, or something like that, they have four wheel trucks with horizontal motors in the trucks. Great for kit bashing because the motor does not intrude into the frame and the body.

LOL!! In away I dont want to swivel it..like I said the last drawing made it look like a space age RV on the train track..You know what would look neat for that train to pull?? How about making a bunch of aerostream trailors as passenger car?..ACE WILL THAT PIC WORK FOR YOU??...............burlington..Im 44 yearsold and been painting and working on cars since the age of 9.....I got a friend in PA is bringing me his 71 duster for me to paint in spring..that a 7 hour trip.......known him since 86....Roboy thankyou for the compliaments... Been drawing since age 4.. trains and cars..at that age.. drawn my grandpas santa fe   f3 war bonet and 2020 S2 turbine alot..

Josey, it's not the best pic to work with cuz it doesn't have good contrast between the train and background all the way around, there's a wringle of fabric in front of part of a lower edge, and the lighting is uneven with flash, so I can't cut the train out from the background neatly. But anyway, this is good enough to give some ideas of what it could look like with selective cutting to use most of the roof from the front part. I'm wondering what curve radius you will want to operate it on? Because the length could be modified accordingly. I think it's a cool project and you should feel free to use artistic license! 

 

 

Maybe I should have included the door from the rear section that was just ahead of the windows. There is no passenger entry. I could tinker with it some more if you come up with a ballpark number for length. For scaling, could you take better pics with a ruler next to it?

ace your real close in what i was thinking on..heres the pics..id taped the areas where those parts will be cutout/ditched..going to keep the train roof section..and cutting the orange area out to splice in the orange windows areas from the end car...i'll fill in the wheel area and cut the rear wheel area like the front end of the engine and put wheel skirts all the way around..oh heres the aerostream trailor too.lol..ha its a thought thow.  its no differents then making a oskermiers weener train..lol..oh id just had another brain storm too..could set the end car backend rear window closer to the back of the engine..this can be like a el comeno.train..dang my mind is working on over time..

EL CAMINO areotrain..

The flash glare makes it hard to match pieces any better ...  

 

 

and the first one for comparison, somewhat shorter.

I liked the others, but I REALLY like this one. It's the pinnacle of the private rail car; almost a "rail yacht." Since you have shells, I'd go with powering the front truck and do an interior with sleeping quarters, a lounge and maybe a hot tub on the observation deck.

Rail yacht! Maybe with '57 Chevy fins on it?

proublem with using 57 chevy fins is  the rail cars could bump the end tips in turns..that why id reversed it to the other direction,down word...matt id tought of that too..hot tub in the back.hay who said a engineer job isnt streesfull .lol..at least id keep the train looks in the 50's..love the 50's&60's era stuff.cars ..dont make that stuff anymore.back then stuff was built to last..

Josey, How about this...shorter fins tucked in with a semi rounded back area in back...the ends of the fins would be even with the back but that area would round in to give the fins a inside look of being alittle longer - think '57 nomad. Another fin idea is the early '60s caddies..short height/length fins.

On a far left field approach...very far...maybe incorporate canted quad headlights in the front opening....ok, maybe too crazy now...been gluing too much this morning I guess.