Frank -- Don't mess with AC and hirail. Your narrow gauge equipment is "scale" in S standard-gauge parlance. To us, "scale" means compliant with NMRA/NASG track and wheel standards. I suspect that your narrow-gauge rolling stock is compliant with HO wheel standards, which are within .001" of S scale standards, close enough for government work, as they say. If you stick to the scale DC side of standard gauge, you will be able to run both narrow- and standard-gauge equipment on dual-gauge track. If you were to opt for hirail and AC, dual-gauge trackage would be permanently unavailable to you.
If you stick to DC (or DCC) and "scale" (compliant with NMRA standards), your venture into S standard gauge need not be any more complex than if you were in HO or N. Just be sure you so specify when you place your orders with S firms. To the rest of you who are reading this -- It's not a matter of whether or not "hirail" is "scale enough." It's a matter of interoperability. In this case, it's interoperability on dual-gauge trackage. Dick Karnes
