How do I tell if a lionel item rolling stock is scale or not? I love acf hoppers but I dont know if its true scale or not.
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got a 6 dash number?
The catalogue is essentially divided between "Standard O" (1:48) and "Traditional" or "Its obviously a toy" sections. Simply the look of the piece - and the price - should say "scale model" or not.
If it says "Standard O", or if it's a $500 loco or some such - it's 1:48. Anyway, "sub-scale" just looks not-quite-right, anyway.
I am surprised that Lionel didn't adopt an MTH-like prefix system (20-, 30-, etc) when all the nice stuff started appearing in the 1990's. But, K-line didn't do this, either (and the later "Railking Scale" added confusion, with 1:48 carrying 30- prefixes, and some RK steamers like the USRA 0-8-0 and 0-6-0 always being 1:48 models).
Still - it should look realistically-proportioned and detailed, or not; if the catalogue description talks prototype, it's "scale", pretty dependably.
Actually, K-Line did something like this, at least in their freight cars. A 7xx-xxx number is scale size and a 6xx-xxx number is traditional/O-27 size.
hrspla posted:How do I tell if a lionel item rolling stock is scale or not? I love acf hoppers but I dont know if its true scale or not.
HRSPLA
How do you tell if a model is scale? You can you can read the O Scale Freight Car Guide. If you are referring to the Lionel models of ACF cylindrical or Center Flow covered hoppers check the link to read about the five different O scale ACF covered hopper models that have been built by Lionel.
https://ogrforum.com/t...-ton-covered-hoppers
Thanks everyone
RoyBoy posted:Actually, K-Line did something like this, at least in their freight cars. A 7xx-xxx number is scale size and a 6xx-xxx number is traditional/O-27 size.
Are talking about there husky line?I saw some at train shows.
the one dimension that usually indicates a scale car is the width. prototype cars are typically ~10' wide which scales to ~2.5" in 1:48 scale. O27 or semi-scale cars are typically 2.00" - 2.125" wide or closer to 1:64 scale. this works regardless of the manufacturer.
cheers...gary
seaboardm2 posted:RoyBoy posted:Actually, K-Line did something like this, at least in their freight cars. A 7xx-xxx number is scale size and a 6xx-xxx number is traditional/O-27 size.
Are talking about there husky line?I saw some at train shows.
No. The Husky line was designed for younger children and had unique molds. I'm talking about the catalog numbers on K-Line freight cars over the years. Their first scale size freight cars were assembled Intermountain kits. After that, they made their own scale freight car molds. The 6xx-xxx box cars and reefers were the same size as Lionel 6464 series cars, but had more add-on details.
One of the confusing aspects of three rail model trains is the variation in size or scale of the models. Three rail items have been made in what is really S gauge or 1:64, up to full blown O scale which is 1:48....and everything in between. The only common denominator is they all run on three rail track. So if your new to what we generally call O Scale, it's easy to get confused. Today you have basically two sizes which is symbolized by O/O27, also referred to as traditional size and O Scale, which is 1:48 scale. Check out some of the Atlas offerings of their Master Line freight cars to see just how big true 1:48 is. These cars generally require larger layouts and curves to work and look right. Generally speaking (and this is my opinion) O scale engines are more accepted, and even demanded, by a large segment of the three rail running crowd though this waivers when we are talking steam engines cause they can get real big in 1:48 scale. Basically run like sized trains together and all will look right. And remember that traditional size, O/O27, will run on just about any size layout. True O Scale is hit-or-miss so you need to check the minimum required curve radius to see if it will work on your layout. Hope this helps. BigRail
