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Scales and Gauges
Edwyn has a question for readers that has been discussed before on this blog.
“My clear understanding is that Bachmann, for example is HO scale and gauge. ie: HO =. 1/87 Hornby, on the other hand is OO scale and HO gauge. OO = 1/72. What is the relevance of the number of sellers who now list their HO and/or OO scale models (not buildings} as HO/OO. I bristle when I see Bachmann, Athearn and Atlas listed as HO/OO, or Hornby listed as HO. I’ve even had a local retailer get quite abusive and tell me that there’s no difference!”
Robert comments:
A lot of people involved in the hobby of model railroading refer to HO as being the equivalent of OO. It is true that the two scales are similar and a close comparison, however they are NOT exactly the same. OO is more commonly used in the UK and HO in other parts of the world including the USA.
The 2 scales are different, although the closest comparison. HO being 1:87.1 and OO being 1:76.
It can be a bit of a trap when advertisers list their locos and rolling stock as HO/OO. There can be a really noticeable difference in size between 2 items in the 2 scales.
One keen enthusiast emailed to say “I got caught in the early stage of modelling and bought a couple of carriages which were listed as HO/OO when in fact they were OO and much larger than my HO counterparts. I do believe the 2 scales should be treated quite separately and not grouped as one.”
Richard commented earlier:
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This seems to be the common problem of confusing scale with gauge. Scale is how big the model is as compared to the prototype (Z, N, HO, OO, O, etc) and gauge is how far apart the rails are (16.5mm, 9mm, etc). Two different scales might use the same gauge (HO and OO) but they are different sizes and won’t look right when they are put side by side.