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00 length converting help?


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Hi everybody,

I'm trying to build a model train in 00 guage from scratch but need some help with the length.

 

Does anybody know what 19.8 metres is in 00 guage please? I dont have a way to convert real size, to 00 guage. :(

 

In CM or MM please! I will post screenshots of my project as it begins to take shape.

 

Thanks for help!

 

Luke. :P

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Guest jim s-w

Hi Luke

 

always work in the same unit. Convert 19.8 meters to mm - ie. 19800 Then divide by 76.2 = 259.84mm

 

another tip is to set a horizontal and vertical Datum. Normally a center line and the rail. Measure everything from these 2 points. Dont do window is x big. gap is Y big therefore x + y + x + Y because if you do you compound errors.

 

HTH

 

Jim

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OO scale is 1/76.2, so 19.8m translates to 26cm (divide 19.8 by 76.2)

 

Another way of looking at it is that 4mm = 1 foot or 13.1mm = 1m

Adrian

Its 4mm:1ft scale, 00 (not OO) is a gauge (the track being 3.5mm:1ft scale)..

 

1 foot = 304.8mm

304.8mm / 76.2 = 4mm

 

if anyone wants the full set of math. As Jim says, stick to dividing full size mm to model mm if your drawings started as metric. Google can do unit translations well - "1ft in mm" for example in google.

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Its 4mm:1ft scale, 00 (not OO) is a gauge (the track being 3.5mm:1ft scale)..

 

1 foot = 304.8mm

304.8mm / 76.2 = 4mm

 

if anyone wants the full set of math. As Jim says, stick to dividing full size mm to model mm if your drawings started as metric. Google can do unit translations well - "1ft in mm" for example in google.

 

Actually 00 'scale' is a scale, and is 1/76.2. The fact that it is mostly used for 00 'gauge' trains does not alter that. And I'm pretty sure Airfix (the major proponent of that scale outside of model railways) writes it as OO, not 00.

 

It was pretty obvious that the OP was concerned with 'scale' and not the 'gauge'.

 

Adrian

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Guest jim s-w

Nope - 1:76.2 is a scale, 00 is a gauge. 1:76.2 is also the scale of EM. P4, 00-9 etc

 

OO gauge is OO gauge. For anything to be a scale it needs to have 2 factors Something to something. 4mm to 1 ft say.

 

You cant have a scale with only one measurement.

 

Cheers

 

Jim

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Nope - 1:76.2 is a scale, 00 is a gauge. 1:76.2 is also the scale of EM. P4, 00-9 etc

 

OO gauge is OO gauge. For anything to be a scale it needs to have 2 factors Something to something. 4mm to 1 ft say.

 

It's my understanding that it is never OO Scale, always OO Gauge. However, there is an implict scale (4mm to the foot) that goes with the compromised gauge relative to that scale, and this applies to all the British Gauges (again not Scales). Gauge is probably the wrong suffix really but it's in general use and has been as long as I've been aware of the hobby. OO, P4, EM are really just a set of standards at the same scale, with OO being only loosely so :)

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00 (not OO)

 

Sorry, but it's OO, not 00.

 

Derived from O gauge, the half-size gauge is HO, which became OO in the version which uses the larger 4mm. / 1ft. as opposed to the 3.5mm. / 1 ft. of HO.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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It's my understanding that it is never OO Scale, always OO Gauge. However, there is an implict scale (4mm to the foot) that goes with the compromised gauge relative to that scale, and this applies to all the British Gauges (again not Scales). Gauge is probably the wrong suffix really but it's in general use and has been as long as I've been aware of the hobby. OO, P4, EM are really just a set of standards at the same scale, with OO being only loosely so :)

 

The NMRA defines OO as a scale: http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/pdf/S-1.2%202009.07.pdf

 

They do have caveats about the variations of OO scale that use different track gauges, but it is both a defined scale (with a ratio if 1/76.2) and is written as OO, not 00.

 

It may not be common in usage as a 'scale' in the world of British outline model railways, but it has historically been used as a scale in both US model railroading and in plastic models.

 

Adrian

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It's still not a scale for the reasons Jim S-W gave. The column headed 'name of scale' in that table should say 'name of standard' or similar - there is correctly a separate column for 'scale'. 00 or OO (now interchangeable probably due to laziness in the marketing and graphics departments wink.gif ) is simply a scale/gauge combination. But let's not lose any sleep over it.

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Guest jim s-w

Hi Adrian

 

Doesnt matter what a society or organisiation mistakenly calls something. It it makes no difference if that mistake has been going on for a long time or not It doesnt make it correct. Fact is a scale has to have 2 factors to SCALE against. Anything else is a measurement.

 

You cant get an accurate measurement of a OO gauge model by dividing the original by 'OO' can you? If it were a scale you could.

 

Simples :D

 

Jim

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Hi Adrian

 

Doesnt matter what a society or organisiation mistakenly calls something. It it makes no difference if that mistake has been going on for a long time or not It doesnt make it correct. Fact is a scale has to have 2 factors to SCALE against. Anything else is a measurement.

 

A scale can identified by a ratio, or by a name that represents that ratio. For example, "4mm scale" is frequently used colloquially (like on the Scalefour website), but isn't a ratio. That doesn't mean it is wrong to use that term, or that other people won't understand what you mean.

 

Not that any of this really matters in the grand scheme of things. The important thing is that we answered the OP's question in the first couple of posts.

 

Adrian

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If I want to build a toy house, I suppose I can't use "doll house scale", which is generally understood as a name for 1/12, because if I try to divide the 96 inch height of a wall by the text string "doll house scale" the mathematical operation will fail?

 

The name "OO" is nowadays much more useful than the name "00". As well as being easier to pronounce, it's a meaningful search string on eBay. Try searching for "00 scale", for example, and you'll get a hit on almost every auction which shows a price!

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Guest jim s-w

A scale can identified by a ratio, or by a name that represents that ratio. For example, "4mm scale" is frequently used colloquially (like on the Scalefour website), but isn't a ratio.

 

Adrian

 

Its an abrieviation of a ratio though Adrian. 4mm to 1 ft. The thing is if we all adhered to the proper use of scales then the OP question wouldn't have needed to be asked in the first place! :P

 

Cheers

 

Jim

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My understanding has always been it is 00 not OO. The original gauges were 1,2,3 etc and zero was used for 7mm to 1 foot scale. H0 was half 0 gauge and was set at 3.5mm to 1 foot.

 

I do however agree it is known as OO.........or 00, simply because few people say zero for 0...icon_e_wink.gif

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Hornby Double Oh was a bit catchier than double Zero, Gordon gives the correct info from my understanding with gauge 1,2,3 being the first gauges.

 

Wikipedia references the NMRA as well in their article but the American version of OO that came after any British 4mm used something like 19mm gauge anyway. Mind you Wikipedia also justifies OO by 'more google results' rather than any historical context :rolleyes: .

 

Airfix did railway kits in 00 gauge long before they admitted anything else in their range was to 1:76 instead of the 1:72 they had been marketing it as.

 

I should probably have said that 00 used a scale of 1/76.2 or 4mm:1ft with a track gauge of 16.5mm. Ie 00 is neither a scale or a gauge but a rather dodgy standard encompassing the two.

 

The OP used gauge though anyway which in my view was more correct although I hope he has ignored this debate now! :lol:

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My understanding has always been it is 00 not OO. The original gauges were 1,2,3 etc and zero was used for 7mm to 1 foot scale. H0 was half 0 gauge and was set at 3.5mm to 1 foot.

 

I do however agree it is known as OO.........or 00, simply because few people say zero for 0...icon_e_wink.gif

Hi Gordon,

 

The model railway gauge designations are traditionally numeric. I have a modelling friend in his 80s who always correctly refers to "naught gauge" and "naught-naught gauge". At one time that was commonly heard, but it's rare nowadays.

 

There is however a typographic argument for representing the number zero with a letter O character -- it is said to look better in some fonts. But whichever way you write it, it is still a number which is being represented:

 

gauges.gif

 

regards,

 

Martin.

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