Pieter, Actually Sn3 trucks and HO standard gauge trucks are close is size, and in the early days of Sn3 (before P-B-L), some modelers used HO arch bar trucks, with the wheels pushed in because they were easier rolling. A HO truck with a common 5' (HO) wheelbase is longer than a Sn3 3'-7" wheelbase, which was one problem with using HO trucks. Wheel size is important. Most 3'gauge wheels were 26" or 24"; on 2' gauge, 18" was common. 36" was a steam locomotive driver size!
I think On30 trucks are better suited for S standard gauge than S narrow gauge. Dave Heine Easton, PA -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Pieter Roos Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 1:00 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: {S-Scale List} Re: Newbie with questions Hi David; Good ideas, although I would look at On30 or re-gauged Sn3 trucks to run under the standard gauge cars - an HO truck would just disappear! Pieter E. Roos --- On Tue, 10/18/11, David Heine <[email protected]> wrote: > Chad, > > I sounds like you're new to model trains, but I don't know > how much model > building experience you have. It sounds like you want > an S scale layout on > which you can run HO gauged equipment, so thus Sn42. > There are some motive > power options, but most require some modeling work. > > For steam, if you can get an old Mantua/Tyco 4-6-0, they > are really Sn42, > including the cab. If you change the details (air > pump, bell, domes, etc.) > they can look better in S than HO. I did one years > ago, but regauged it to > Sn3; you wouldn't need to change the gauge. > > RailMaster makes some Sn3 diesel kits that can be powered > with HO diesel > mechanisms, which in your case don't need to be regauged > for Sn42. > > Some modern narrow gauge railroads run some large diesels > on meter gauge > track; think SD-45's with D-D trucks or large GE's with > B+B-B+B trucks. I > made a "what if" large narrow gauge diesel one time from a > AM GP35 shell and > a C-C HO diesel mechanism, which I regauged in my case, to > Sn3. So rather > than worrying about narrowing an S locomotive, you could > just put a HO > mechanism under it, if you can find a wheel base that is > close. It isn't > that hard to stretch an HO diesel mechanism, just more > work. I stretched > one for my model of EBT M-1 from a RailMaster kit. > You're on your own > though for matting the mechanism and shell. In the > case of my GP35, some > styrene pieces glued to the shell were needed to get it to > sit on the frame. > > Some narrow gauge railroads did carry standard gauge cars > on narrow gauge > trucks. The Newfoundland Railway was 42" and did that > sort of thing. You > could just put HO trucks on an S scale car and accomplish > the same thing. I > would stick to smaller S scale cars though. I still > have a 40' boxcar with > Sn3 trucks on it that I test ran on my old layout; it > worked without > incident and the Kadee 802 couplers even worked with the HO > ones on my Sn3 > equipment. Remember, you then need to have full S standard > gauge clearances. > > Remember, it's your railroad and you can do what you > want. And if you > really want fun, there's always the dual gauge option, but > that requires > hand laying track. > > Dave Heine > Easton, PA ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
