Ever heard of T Gauge Trains?

rray Nov 20, 2006

  1. southernnscale

    southernnscale TrainBoard Supporter

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    Here is a look at the two Z - T
    IMG_3169 - Copy.JPG
     
  2. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    Insanely small... but...is it able to run at least as well as the Z scale models.

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  3. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    No. But considering it's half the scale (so 1/8th the internal volume), T Gauge does run very well.



    Pulling ability suffers the most, so the paradigm of powered locomotives and free-rolling rolling stock will be thrown out the window. My plans are to distribute one power chassis every 4-6 units throughout a train, meaning most of my power will be 'cheater' freight cars.

    In fact, because my SD70ACe is powered, the long hood is quite a bit wider than it should be. I may scrap it in favor of an un-powered locomotive so that the dimensions are correct, and the locomotives will just be pushed by powered box cars.
     
  4. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    Really is incredible that it runs at all. All of those units are powered right? I guess that track is only made by the company that makes the power chassis.

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  5. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Just the front unit in the video is powered. With just those 3 cars, you can see it still struggles at times.

    The rails are steel, and power chassis wheels are magnetic, mostly to help with power pickup rather than traction. I also added a small neodymium magnet to the chassis to give it even more 'weight'.

    So far, Eishindo is the only manufacturer of all T Gauge products, aside from 3D printed aftermarket shells and stuff.
     
  6. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    I've seen a few T-Guage layouts at some train shows lately, and I gotta' say, they run remarkable well when watching them go around! Smooth, no jerking, and the guys who run them, say they go for hours. Pretty impressive!(y)
     
  7. jtomstarr

    jtomstarr TrainBoard Member

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  8. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    I'm amazed that people are able to produce such amazing models in these extreme scales. We have ZZ (1/300), Omega (1/384), T (1/450) and perhaps others I've overlooked.
     
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  9. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    Most of the tiny scales are effectively dead, but with 3D printing and these tiny motors available, they could be resurrected easily. I have a collection of T Gauge, but no turnouts, and only a few balky Japanese electric locomotives. I was hoping the scale would catch on, but until I see track and locomotives available in the US, then I'll stick with Z.
     
  10. MegaBlackJoe

    MegaBlackJoe TrainBoard Member

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    Yes, that's true. I would say even Z scale is dead - very little support from vendors, lots of tinkering and self made stuff that needs to be made. Tons of time you have to spend to design basic things. Most fellow modellers would want to have working turnouts and not simple ovals or dogbones just for fun. You can buy an atlas turnout for Z, but the truth is - do you want to throw turnouts manually? Smooth throwing by an electric turnout is what I would like to have. Even for Z scale handcrafted elements are too large. To have a a working turnout in Z I need a very small screw and not just piano wire, even M1 screw is too large for Z. I have also experimented with T - the rails are too thick to have hanlaid turnouts - you neeed 0.1 mm rail thickness in T gauge to have a handlaid turnout and code 25 rail instead of code 40 rail. Light signals are barely possible in Z even using fiber optics - I can have just 4 fiber wires within one pole and for my country I need at least 6, let alone other smaller scales.
     
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  11. gmorider

    gmorider TrainBoard Member

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  12. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    I modeled HO in my teens. I had a 4'x8' layout, and scratchbuilt structures from toothpicks and basswood, and mountains from chunks of Styrofoam, and dyed sawdust for grass. Next I got into N Scale around 1982, because it was harder to do, and whatever you did, it seemed like you were the first guy in the world to do it. When super detailed N arrived on the scene, everything had already been done before. Yawn... Then I got into Z, and recaptured that wonder of my youth, the satisfaction of being the first guy to have this or that. I have been into Z almost 20 years now, and I am still enjoying first's with my modeling. I got into Z BECAUSE it's hard, BECAUSE it's a challenge, and because of that it's still really fun. When that wears off, I'll probably start exploring more T Gauge. :D
     
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  13. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    You already have, haven't you?

    I've seen your NP passenger cars and depot!(y)
     
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  14. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    That was a put on hold until turnouts were due to be released, and forgotten when AZL, Intermountain, BLMA, Will Wright, and others started cranking out new Z Scale items. Meanwhile the T Gauge turnouts came and went unnoticed, then KK Eishindo went under, and I stopped following T Gauge after that.
     
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  15. cjhilinski

    cjhilinski TrainBoard Member

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    vcshobbies.com in New York sells Tscale equipment. I've purchased from them, and they are reliable and timely on shipping. The only thing is they are more expensive than buying direct from tscale.us. For example, a manual turnout is $16 on tscale.us and $22 on vcshobbies. So I prefer to purchase from tscale.us and wait. It can take a week to two weeks. I started Tscale several months ago. I have a 17in x 108inch layout that has right around 18 meters of track (according to AnyRail). I've 3D printed everything I can on my resin printer.
     
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