Are you confused by all the scales associated with
#1 or G-gauge, or large scale model railroading?
Maybe we can clear up some of the confusion.
GAUGE refers to the track gauge or the distance
between the rails. #1 or G-gauge track is about 1
3/4 inches or 45 mm between the rails. SCALE refers
to the size ratio of the equipment made to run on
the track. For example, 1:24 scale means every inch
on the model represents twenty-four inches of the
real car or engine being modeled. There are a number
of scales generally associated with #1 or G-gauge.
LGB was one of the first to use the 45 mm track
width when they began modeling one- meter European
rail systems. The size turned out to be 1:22.5
scale. When LGB introduced an American engine, they
opted for a narrow-gauge type, or three feet between
the rails because it most closely conformed to their
European counterpart models in size. (Standard
railroad gauge is four feet, eight and one-half
inches between the rails, in case you didn’t know.)
The scale of these narrow-gauge engines turned out
to be 1:20.3. (Keep in mind that LGB never presumed
to build true scale models.)
So now we have two scales running G-gauge track,
1:22.5 and 1:20.3. LGB also builds modern, standard
gauge rolling stock that is probably closer to 1:24
scale. If they tried to maintain the 1:20.3 for
standard-gauge equipment, they would be very large
cars, indeed. Not only that, but they would have to
run it on wider track to be in “scale” which
certainly wouldn’t be very practical, now would it!
It turns out, if you want to model standard-gauge
using the 45 mm G-gauge track, the scale would be
1:32. Marklin and Aster are two manufacturers that
use this scale. You will notice their engines and
rolling stock are fairly diminuative for the
very-large sizes of equipment they model. On the
other side of this coin, it is surprising just how
small narrow gauge equipment, such as that on the
Cumbres & Toltec Railroad, really is!
Some one-off car manufacturers build their
narrow-gauge rolling stock in 1:24 scale.
Aristo-Craft and USA Trains opted to compromise
between narrow and standard gauge scales, and build
their models to 1:29 scale. Most of their equipment
is standard gauge and at 1:29 scale, it is not much
different in size than the LGB narrow-gauge
equipment.
If you wish to accurately model your layout, you may
have to stay with one manufacturer and scale to
maintain some semblance of consistency. However,
many garden railroaders are not very particular
about maintaining the scale of their layout. You
frequently see all sizes from all the manufacturers
in a single train. In some circles, this is known as
unashamedly following the “ten-foot rule” wherein
your eyes are about ten feet from the ground a few
feet in front of you—and it all looks good—and
without the least concern about being in the proper
scale!
