From: romeo@niagara.Tymnet.COM (Michael Stimac)
Newsgroups: rec.models.railroad
Subject: Re: Scale speed (was N scale loco's)
Date: 8 Oct 92 03:08:27 GMT
Organization: BT North America (Tymnet)

In article <mac.718485854@depot.cis.ksu.edu.cis.ksu.edu> mac@cis.ksu.edu (Myron A. Calhoun) writes:
>
>I'm very new to modeling, and I don't really understand "scale":
>just how does one scale SPEED and layout SIZE?
>
>I don't remember what ratio "N" stuff is to the "real thing", but
>if I were to model trains in Kansas using (for example) 1/100 scale
>equipment, my layout would need to be about 2 miles deep and four
>miles high (Kansas is about 200 miles N-S and about 400 miles E-W).
>And following this same "scale", a model train would travel about
>10 inches/second.
>
>Obviously, neither is reasonable.  So how should one actually
>scale layout and speed?

Well, since you've claimed to be "very new to modeling" I'll
assume this is not intended to be a humorous posting and go ahead
and answer it.

It sounds like you've already got the idea of "scale". Scale
is the proportion or ratio by which the model relates to the
prototype.

Scale speed refers to a model moving at at a speed such that
the distance covered in a unit time is the scale distance
that a real train would cover in the same time. Using your
example, if a real train traveled 60 mph (1 mile a minute)
and if the scale were 1/100, then the model would travel
at 5280'/100 per minute = 52.8' per minute. This is about
the 10"/second you postulated. So, you understand the
scale speed as well.

I fully agree that it is unreasonable to model the State
of Kansas at the ratio 1/100. For starters, a modeler
interested in Kansas railroading would realize that a very
high percentage of the State of Kansas has no trains upon it,
and would omit all that uninteresting territory. (no
reflection upon Kansas you understand). Secondly, this
would be much too ambitious a project in any case. A serious
modeler, or group of modelers, would choose to model a
single division or sub-division of a railroad as a more
typical project. A railroad is a long, skinny thing, and
to further save space, modelers typically fold their
track arrangements back upon themselves in serpentine
manner.

Even with this sort of reduction in goals, most railroad
divisions are too long to model in their entirety. At this
point, "modelers license" is used; and the modeler chooses
those particularly interesting scenes and structures
that typify the area of interest. This is not unlike an
artist composing a picture based upon selected elements
of a real scene to best achieve an effect.

On a finer grain, of course, the actual models of rolling
stock, locomotives, and structures is also meant to be to
the same scale. Since these items are not unreasonably
large, they can be modeled as accurately to scale as
the modelers ability and resources will permit.

I am baffled however, when you say that 10"/second is
not reasonable. Not only is it reasonable, that's exactly
the way it is. Many models will move even faster than
10"/second, up to totally unrealistic speeds of 200+
miles per hour (scale miles that is). Of course, they can
also move much more slowly.

H0 scale is 3.5 millimeters = 1 foot. (the mismatch of
units is historical). This is approximately the same
as 1/87.1 proportion.

1/100 is not an established model railroad scale, and
there are no commercial items sold to that scale nor
modelers building to that scale, to my knowledge.

I hope this helps answer your questions. Please
e-mail if you want further elucidation.

Michael Stimac
romeo@tymnet.com
-- 
Michael Stimac
(415) 355-8889
romeo@tymnet.com
These opinions are not necessarily anyone's but my own.
Newsgroups: rec.models.railroad