"O Gauge" vs. "O Scale" Explained. And What Is O27??

[@joesattler2773]

I thought your method of separating the cars, from larger to small with a different car in between, was ingenious. very well done video.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you, and thanks for watching!

[@rocketsredglare8440]

Reference level explanation of the topic, Excellent details & illustrations of the differences, Thank U 4 creating this vid for curious minded O gauge fans

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@robertnielsen2461]

Much needed explanation of the differences,well done thanks.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you - and thanks for watching!!

[@ronkrzeczkowski94]

A great explanation of a complicated subject.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you!

[@lorenlopes1048]

Great information, so many questions I’ve had were answered, thank you 😊

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Happy to help!!

[@Engine1988]

By the way, I was reading some old (60s and 70s) issues of Model Railroader and discovered that O scale was almost always referred to as 1/4" Scale. The only time O scale/gauge was actually called that was in a few ads--mostly selling Lionel trains. Probably the reason for this is because at the time O scale three rail was kind of frowned upon. They wanted to distinguish it from the "real" O scale and so termed O scale two-rail (which is sometimes now available with a slightly smaller gauge and called Proto:48) to be 1/4" scale. In more modern magazines, it would seem that even the simple honor of having "scale" in its name has been removed from O scale three rail. Lionel (or K-Line, Marx, or maybe even Menards) layouts are referred to as "O27" layouts, even the scale ones where the only visual (and hence important to scale modelers) difference between O-scale two rail is that the track has an extra rail and the couplers are bigger. It is my opinion that the entire hobby of model railroading had a schism, probably in the 60s or so. On one side of the split is the "toy trains" portion of the hobby--O scale three rail, standard/wide gauge, and AC S scale (I'm going to distinguish between that and DC S scale because S scale is actually rather popular on the scale end as a smaller alternative to O scale two rail). On the other side is the scale stuff--the ever-popular HO, N, O scale two rail, DC S scale, G scale, Z scale, and even the infinitesimally small T scale (T scale is not very well known, but is rather popular amongst those who know about it--maybe the fact that it is possible to build an impressively large layout in a space that is measured in decimeters has something to do with it. T scale has a gauge of 3mm. For comparison, the all-powerful HO has 16.5mm, N has 9mm, and Z has 6mm (or 6.5mm depending on who you talk to)) (I got really sidetracked there!). As it happens, I'm on both sides of the hobby. I have HO trains, N scale trains, and O scale three-rail trains.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I've only heard of a scale detailed 3 rail layout referred to as O27 if. As with myself, O27 profile track is used. The more common term for scale-detailed 3 rail is Hi Rail, vs traditional "tinplate".

[@Engine1988]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks So have I, but I've never seen it in places like Model Railroader magazine, only in things like Classic Toy Trains.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

@@Engine1988 Hi Rail didn't become a common term until the late 1980s. I know I have an MR from around 1984 where they feature a 3 rail layout and use the term Hi Rail.

[@Engine1988]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks That makes sense, I guess. (also, am I the only one who thinks that 1984 is an interesting year?) My older MR magazines, being before that, would line up perfectly with that time line. There's always something new to learn with model railroading!

[@FLRailroaddog]

Awesome informative video, 😊👍

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you very much!

[@OgaugeTrainsplusslotCars]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@jodysmith8048]

Very informative video thank you

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@jodysmith8048]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Your very welcome

[@pjasyl]

Excellent video on difference! Yes it can be confusing to distinguish. Like your tip of running both car types together. Best of all you get to run post war Lionel & Marx cars rather then gather dust on a shelf !

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Run them all! Thanks for watching!

[@plunkervillerr1529]

Very informative ,thank you .

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Happy to help! Thanks for watching!

[@ken0272]

well done.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you very much!

[@JonBrooks105]

Liked and shared! Great, useful content!

[@charlesgerhart6532]

Great video for us new to O stuff!!

[@ken0272]

@@charlesgerhart6532 027 has a lower rail height, and the standard curved track, if used to make a circle, creates one 27 inches in diameter. The higher O gauge would make a circle 31 inches across. Most O gauge engines/cars can navigate both track types.

[@16jan1986]

Example i run o gauge track but I run i sm32 scale which is 1/19 equates to approx 600mm or 2foot narrowgauge

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

Lionel O gauge track 5 ft instead of 4 ft 8 and a half in so there is a difference and the distance between both Railhead. I remember companies in the 1960s that would make scale cars with scale detailing and the underframe would be situated to accept Lionel truck or scale trucks and you body mount the coupler like KD. I have a brass Hopper car with scale dummy couplers I was flabbergasted at the size difference between that and a Lionel coupler if people used the term O gauge strictly for three rail type toy train it would be less confusing for beginners. None of the other scales have this problem. Like the third rail this is the Dead Hand of Lionel reaching from the grave.

[@Engine1988]

Actually, there are problems in N scale. The Rapido coupler, the first coupler in the scale, was not only massively oversized but also looked nothing like a real coupler. It was a sort of wedge, and when two of them were pushed together one would go above the other and fall into a sort of hook. Uncoupling was either lifting one car up (and then having half the train go with it) or having to use an uncoupling ramp, and with the uncoupling ramp the car had to be positioned just so and it was very unreliable. It worked, and the only other coupler available at the time was the dummy knuckle coupler, but it didn't work particularly well. Along came the Kadee-style Magnematic coupler, essentially a realistic, operable, magnetically controlled, scale-sized knuckle coupler. A similar issue arose in HO. The horn-hook coupler, one of the earlier automatic couplers, also coupled quite well. Uncoupling? What uncoupling? It was difficult to uncouple, and sometimes on sharp curves body-mounted couplers fought with truck-mounted couplers (really this can happen in any scale with any coupler, but I've seen it most with this). It even looked vaguely like a knuckle coupler. YAY!* Along came the Kadee magnetic coupler, and things have never been the same. However, some modelers still use the horn-hook (usually those who like the older models). Every scale has its own little quirks, and O scale/gauge is not alone. What about On30 (the O signifies O scale, the n signifies narrow gauge, and the 30 signifies the gauge being represented)? Surely it's accurate? Oh, it's a whole 6 inches off of either of the two common narrow gauges (2 foot and 3 foot)! *Read with all possible sarcasm.

[@CatstronautCPP2]

I'm confined to the space available in an apartment, so it's O-27 on the carpet for me, haha.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

We all make do with what we have!

[@zachariahmclaughlin919]

I forgot the 6454s existed X29 style cars are always attractive

[@Engine1988]

I realized just now that K-Line's switcher has an inaccuracy!

[@benjaminhunt2395]

Far as scale for I pick up car's I like size doesn't bug me that much I run post war mpc and modern cars on my train's

[@fredashay]

TL;DR... Scale is the ratio between the real thing and the model. Gauge is the distance between the running rails. Now, manufacturers who brand their trains as "O scale" are probably selling detailed scale models. But manufacturers who brand their trains as "O gauge" are probably selling toy trains.

[@chrisresor1893]

I've seen a couple places on the Internet claiming Lionel 0-27 trains are merely S -scale. Seriously?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

That's a very broad generalization. SOME Lionel O27 trains, such as the Scout series boxcars, DO scale out to S scale. Others are actually O scale or, like the 44 tonner and The General, even LARGER than I scale. Most Marx trains, however, ARE scaled to S scale except for added width for the O gauge track.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

People should use the term gauge for anyting 3 rail and old scale for to rail my phone is a piece of crap excuse and accurate grammar.

[@ernestimken6969]

O scale is two rail DC. O gauge is three rail AC.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

O scale is 1/48 scale. O gauge is 1 1/4" between the rails. Number of rails and current type are irrelevant (what about 3 rail DC or 2 rail DCS on AC???)