Rice Burner:
That is correct, a ratio is the same unit on both sides 1:48 is one inch to 48 inches or one foot to 48 feet. (or Yards, Meters, Miles, etc.)
Just remember, exact size is not required, as the picture above points out in the distance, the Real cars are not all the same size anyway.
I run mixed non scale Post War, Modern and in between cars from various companies.
They look fine, I just keep them away from Scale cars, those really do not mix with the non scale ones.
I got one scale boxcar by mistake a while back, it's on my list of things to sell for cash to get new items.
