Q Scale K-Line C&O 2-6-6-6 Allegheny - Freaky Friday (Couldn't wait til April Fools Day)

@MainLine Steam posted:

1.  Then it said "Second in the Line following our 1:64 Big Boy".  Kinda recall 1:64 is S, so S Scale on 3R O track. 

2.  BTW I made up the Q Scale.  Halfway  between O and S (O P Q R S). 

1. You mean like pre war American Flyer O gauge... 😐

2. "Q" gauge was 17/64"; so no, you did not "make it up". 😐😐

The internet is full of information...you might check it out sometime...

Mark in Oregon

K-Line had a bunch of semi-scale stuff, but they're by no means unique.  Look at a majority of Lionel's "traditional" like from the era, or most of the MTH Railking line.  In truth, many of the K-Line semi-scale offerings were better proportioned than some of the other manufacturer's offerings. In truth, a vast majority of the Lionel post-war cars were semi-scale and actually went perfectly with the K-Line engine offerings of the time.

I'm not sure why you feel it necessary to disparage something that you just don't understand.

I have the so called Q scale K-line C&O 2-6-6-6.  I run it 048 and it looks reasonable.  The scale 50 ton 2 bay hoppers look nice with it to my eyes.  3 and 4 bay hoppers start to show how semi-scale it is.  I like how K-Line kept the proportions right vs the Railking semi-scale version. Nice to have options for articulated models that don’t require 072 in O scale.

I had the K-Line #1601 C&O Allegheny that I upgraded to fan driven smoke, all LED lighting, cruise control, etc. it was a nice runner.  After I got several scale Allegheny models, I sold that one.  They were nicely done IMO.

I have both of the K-Line C&O and Virginian versions.  Picked them both up at the Spring York on a package deal.  I’ve added cruise to both so far.  The only other articulated I have is an old favorite TMCC N&W Class A Lionmaster. Currently accumulating the parts to upgrade the cruise and the smoke.

Despite my disclaimer, I am sorry, obviously I have offended some.

I did not, and do not, understand the need to create another scale.  Especially when it is not a full on effort, just a few locomotives.  Yes my comments were sarcastic and disparaging, but as I stated I just don't get it.

(I have not been on the forum that long, but I have seen plenty of sarcasm here to express points.  A perfect example is the reply above about Q-Scale.  More on that below.)

From my perspective the Semi-Scale offerings to me, and apparently the majority of modellers is a more acceptable way of creating items that run on tight radii.  I have been buying a bunch of 15" K-Line Aluminum Passenger cars (The K-Line Streamliners are even shorter).  Yes that are selectively compressed, but the whole model train world is based on that.

ie: Everyday I can watch 2 mile long freights running on the CSX Former NYC West Shore Line.  In O Scale that is 220 feet. Many (most?) O Scale home layouts have a mainline shorter than that.  So we compromise.

My point is, that the "shortening" of equipment, to me and the majority of manufactures, is a better way to accomplish the "goal".   For a business to make such a decision in a long established field makes no sense to me.  You may not agree, but If they were right, we would have seen a shift from selective compression to 1:58.  We have not.

As for the matter of Q Gauge.  Yes there was a Former Q-Gauge, however it was NOT 17/64, (Strummer - Check the Internet!) it was an earlier attempt at fine scale or more recently Proto-48.  The Equipment was full scale, the Track Gauge was narrowed to 1.1875.  True Proto-48 Gauge is 1.177.

17/64 is the opposite approach to offset 1.25 O Gauge Track, the equipment is enlarged to approx 1:45 scale.

So yes the Q-Gauge I was kidding about was my creation.

I purchased the k-line C&O Allegheny new with the coal hoppers that went with it a many years ago and love them along with many other k-line engines and rolling stock. K-line put out quality products and had excellent customer service imo.

Charles - Despite my earlier sarchasm, I am interested in learning about this.  Were the hoopers included in the set standard K-Line hoppers or were they scaled down to match the Loco?  Please let me know.

Also I agree with you about K-Line Quality.  I REALLY like their Aluminum passenger cars.  When I started in O last year, was going to do 2R, but those cars helped steer me towards 3R.

I may be purchasing a K-Line Steam Loco soon, I have heard many favorable comments about them.

Thank you.

They are scaled down to match, I purchased two sets of six item# K622-1251A. I don't have the caboose so I use a lionel work caboose item# 6-36528.

@MainLine Steam posted:

As for the matter of Q Gauge.  Yes there was a Former Q-Gauge, however it was NOT 17/64, (Strummer - Check the Internet!) it was an earlier attempt at fine scale or more recently Proto-48.  The Equipment was full scale, the Track Gauge was narrowed to 1.1875.  True Proto-48 Gauge is 1.177.

17/64 is the opposite approach to offset 1.25 O Gauge Track, the equipment is enlarged to approx 1:45 scale.

So yes the Q-Gauge I was kidding about was my creation.

And I quote (off the Internet):

"Q scale was the North American equivalent of European O Scale, which sized models at 1:45 scale, or 17/64 of an inch to the foot".

Mark in Oregon

I was out of line in my initial post and apologize to anyone I offended.  I did not do enough research, please read on.

Charles - Thank you for the information on the cars including the part numbers.

I looked them up, they are great looking scale cars only smaller.  I particularly like the way they kept the undercarriage profile low by tucking the trucks up in them.  I am willing to admit when I made a mistake.  I did over react in my initial post.  I was trying to be funny, but failed.  Since K-Line made cars available to match the scale of the Loco I can see why it was attractive to modeler's with space limitations.  Although admittedly, it frustrated me to find one more variation in the already confusing world of O.  While I believe (as I stated in my second post) compressed (shortened) make more sense because the Scale doesn't change.

Now with all that said I will admit I don't actually like the look of compressed locomotives.  When looking at MTH I always insure I am looking at Premier not RailKing.  I have been sticking to Scale purchases and intend to keep doing that with the exception being the 15" K-Line passenger cars I already mentioned.

If I "HAD to have" an Allegheny, and didn't have the space, then I personally, would buy this over a compressed version now that I realize matching cars were available.

Strummer - I have reviewed additional information on Q Scale including the post below you participated in.

https://ogrforum.com/...ed-to-q-scale?page=1

While Gauge and Scale are two different things, they are, as I am sure you know, haphazardly interchanged.  In my first post I "made up the Q Scale", in retrospect probably should have used R Scale, to avoid the ensuing confusion.  In my second Post I made that very mistake and said Q Gauge.

The Classic Q Gauge, (as I sighted) was a gauge of track, 1+3/16".  In reading the thread Bob2 and I are in "lock step."

Somewhere along the way, someone decided Q Scale was 17/64 or European O Scale.  Please show me an excerpt from a classic reputable source where this is shown.  Otherwise to me it is just of guys blowing smoke that don't really know what they are talking about.  Such as if I had used R Scale for 1:58 and some guys just took the ball and started running with it.

IMO Propagating mis-information about Q-Scale, without any back-up, especially on a forum that is referenced by so many, is just wrong.