Bachmann scale size

[Jake man]

I was would like to know what is the correct scale of your trains?
Your web sight shows 1:22.5 Garden Railway Magazine has it listed as 1:20.3.
Which is the correct number?
I am trying to build structures.


       Thanks jake man

[Jerrys HO]

Jake,

I don't know much about large scale but doing a search found this that may help you.

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,24891.0.html

Lot's more....

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php?action=search2

Might be better if you would have posted in the Large  forum column.

Jerry

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Jake man, Bachman makes both sizes and the links posted by Jerry should provide you with more than you want to know!!!

[Doneldon]

Jake-

Large scale is a snake pit of scales -- at least seven. In the two cases you mention, the difference really doesn't matter. Both scales run on the same track with the same electronics. Both are actually narrow-gauge trains for slightly different prototype track gauges. Nevertheless, the proportions are so close that you can easily run them together without the subtle size difference creating any problems except for true obsessive-compulsives.
                                                                                                                                                                     -- D

[Chuck N]

Mixing scales is all in the eye of the viewer.  When I got my first piece of 1:20.3, a Bachmann Connie, I put some of my "supposed" 1:22.5 cars behind it.  I am not a rivet counter, but I was surprised by the size difference.  The Connie dwarfed the freight cars. It was supposed to be about 10% difference.  Not too much. So I measured my 1:22.5 and 1:24 freight cars; Bachmann, LGB, Delton, USAtrains.  They were all about the same length.  Bachmann, LGB and USA called theirs 1:22.5 and Delton said theirs were 1:24.  These were supposed to be models of 30' freight cars.  They all came out to be closer to 1:24 not 1:22.5.  That makes the difference closer to 20%.  That is why it is, to me, so noticeable. 

In the back of my mind I always thought that the Bachmann, LGB and USA cars looked fine with the Delton cars.  A 10% difference, so 10% in the other direction wouldn't be too bad.  After I made the measurements I understood why they didn't look that good with the 1:20.5.

Chuck

[Kevin Strong]

One thing to keep in mind--especially when it comes to narrow gauge--is that trains came in a variety of shapes and sizes.



All three of the locomotives shown in this photograph are accurate 1:20 models of their respective prototypes. And that size difference was not limited to motive power:



Here's a 1:24 model of a c. 1910 East Broad Top box car (kitbashed from a Bachmann box car) sitting on top of a 1:20.3 model of the same car. Both are accurate to the prototype for their given scale.

Now, take that same Bachmann box car, change a few details, and you get this:



The car on the left is the same 1:20.3 car (now painted and lettered), while the one on the right is built from the same Bachmann box car. That Bachmann box car that was accurate for a 1910 EBT box car scales out equally well for a c. 1870s EBT box car when measured with a 1:20.3 ruler.

I have been able to find prototypes for many "1:22.5" or "1:24" models when measured with a 1:20.3 ruler. Sure, you have to change a few details like grab irons, etc., but the proportions are within just a few inches one way or the other.

The notable exceptions to this are cabooses and passenger cars; things that people had to fit inside. The 1:22 and 1:24 stuff is just too low for 1:20 people to fit.

The other thing to remember is that railroads weren't nearly as concerned with aesthetics as we tend to be as modelers. If the car could carry freight and make the railroad money, it was put on the train. We--as modelers--might look at some of those combinations and say "that ain't right," but they sure didn't care back then. With a few exceptions, narrow gauge railroads were shoestring operations where little--if anything--actually matched. I've looked at rosters of some railroads where every single car on it was a different size--no uniformity at all. (Which, I believe, is part of the appeal of narrow gauge railroading.)

Bottom line, run what you like. If you're a devout 1:20.3 modeler, know your prototype, disregard the (scale) number on the box, and measure everything on the store shelf with a 1:20.3 ruler. If it's close enough for your tastes, buy it. If you're not a devotee of any one particular scale, disregard the number on the box, and if you like it, buy it.

(Oh, and since it hasn't been mentioned on this thread as yet, Bachmann's "Spectrum" series is 1:20.3, their "Big Hauler" line is 1:22.5.)

Later,

K

[tac]

Mr Strong's post above is the best summary you are likely to see.

Read and heed.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Great one Kevin!!   DEfinitely run what you like!!!