Hey guys, whats the differences between HOn3 and HOn30? HOn30 runs on standard N scale track right? Whats the difference in HOn3 then? Is O, On3, and On30 similar just larger scale? Thanks.
Depends on the Scale Depends on the scale you are using. I always go back to the prototype and then compute what narrow guage track I need. Track guage standard is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. One half that is 28.25 inches, close enough for a model to 30 inches or 2.5 feet. So, a 30 inch narrow guage O scale would be one-half O scale or HO scale. A 30 inch narrow guage HO scale would be one half HO scale or N scale. A three foot narrow guage would be written "36"; a 2.5 foot narrow guage would be written "30." Thus, On30, HOn30, Nn30 are all the same guage but different scales. Generally, HOn30 is modeled on N scale track. I would think that On30 is modeled on HO scale track. Other various guages don't have commercial track, thus narrow guage modeling has a lot of handlaid track. In fact, most things in a narrow guage layout are scratchbuilt, thus the excellent appearance of narrow guage layouts. Notice I said "generally" no commercial products. We need some TB experts to add to this as I am a standard guage modeler. Anyone know the most popular narrow guage scale modeled? I don't know, but I would say HOn30. There are beautiful brass models in that scale. I will give the opinion that narrow guage scenery is usually some of the better scenery you will see.
HO is slightly more than half O, and N is slightly more than half HO. But 2'6" is slightly more than half of 4'8.5", so it works out to about 30" gauge. The thing is, there aren't a lot of 30" gauge prototypes in North America. (There are, or were, in many other countries such as China.) Most HOn30 and On30 layouts actually represent another gauge. HOn3, like On3 and Sn3, is correctly-scaled 3' gauge, the most common narrow gauge in the US. (Nn3, unlike the other n3s, uses track that's normally standard gauge of another scale - in this case, Z. It's actually closest to metre-gauge, so it should more accurately be called Nm.) HOn30 is sometimes called HOn2-1/2. In Europe, it's called HOe. In Britain, they have OO9 instead, which is a different scale and represents 2'3" gauge.
Excuse me for repeating stuff if you think the original question has already been answered sufficiently, but let me put just one more slightly different bit to the answer. Hey guys, whats the differences between HOn3 and HOn30? HOn30 runs on standard N scale track right? Whats the difference in HOn3 then? Is O, On3, and On30 similar just larger scale? Thanks. In these cases, remember that the HO or O refers to the "scale" of the model. O scale being 1/4" to the foot, or 1:48. HO being 1:87. Either O or HO without anything following it refers to track that is standard gauge, or 4'-8 1/2" between the rails. If the scale designation is followed by "n3", it means that this is narrow gauge, in this case being 3 feet, or 36", wide. "n30" would mean that this is 2-1/2 feet, or 30", between the rails. The scale of the model is not affected by the narrow gauge. Regards Ed
