Scales & Gauges

I have always wanted a garden railway, but…

·         Where should I start?

·         What Scale or Ratio should I use?

·         Should I model Standard Gauge or Narrow Gauge?

These are all questions that any beginner to garden railways is going to ask. To help with this decision, a brief summary of the various scales and gauges will not go amiss:

RTR Ready to Run, HB Hand Built, RC Radio Control

The term ‘Prototype’ refers to the full size railway, and the term ‘Gauge’ refers to the distance between track rails. Prototypes are classified by gauge into two basic groups, Standard which is 4ft8.5in, and Narrow which is anything less. The term ‘G Scale’ refers to a ratio of 1:22.5 (13.5mm/ft) now widely used to model both Standard Gauge (63.5mm) and Narrow Gauge (45mm) prototypes. Note that ‘G Scale Standard Gauge’ is often referred to as ‘Gauge 3’ or ‘G64’ and ‘G Scale Narrow Gauge’ is often referred to as ‘LGB’ or ‘G45’. A final point worth mentioning is that ‘G Scale Narrow Gauge’ has since its inception by Lehmann in 1967 never been rigidly adhered to in respect of its stated scale ratio of 1:22.5. Both Lehmann and other major manufacturers around the world have taken considerable liberties with the scale, culminating in Artistocraft and USA Trains building G Scale locos and rolling stock to a scale of 1:29. There are today no less than four sub scales under this banner 1:20.3, 1:22.5, 1:24, 1:29. It therefore becomes obvious that any prospective purchaser of G45 equipment should take care to select items for their railway that fit from a size point of view.

Which To Choose

The choice is really a personal one, that is probably going to be governed by a number of outside factors. First one has to choose between standard gauge and narrow gauge. Most people have a fixed idea on this one. Some people may be doubtful on how much space is required. Smaller scales require less, but be aware that some larger scales like G45 have a minimum radius of only 2ft. There is no doubt however, that the larger the scale, the easier it becomes to create and maintain a garden railway. The larger track gauges also give increased loco and rolling stock stability leading to less derailments. Much more care and time and effort will be expended on cleaning and maintenance than with the smaller scales. This is one of the major reasons for choosing G Scale, but the latter also has such a vast choice of equipment from large manufacturers at highly competitive prices, it is small wonder that a large number of would-be garden railway types choose this scale. However, at the end of the day you have to make the choice. It is your railway and only you know what you ultimately wish to achieve. Your choice will hopefully lead you to know what type of railway you want, i.e. standard gauge, narrow gauge or both running alongside each other. You must also decide whether to have prototypical or freelance trains, and some idea of the final track plan for the garden must be conceived even if the railway is built in stages. It is more than likely that your garden is not level and that at some stage gradients will have to be tackled.  More on that in the next section. If the railway is built in stages, it is essential that you get something running as soon as possible. This helps to keep up the interest. Railways built in stages also help to spread the financial budget. A large number of people treat large scale garden railways as if they are no different to small scale railways such as 4mm scale. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Fifty percent of one’s knowledge of the smaller scales can be used, but the remainder should be discarded. This is particularly true in the areas of track, track bases and track laying, electrics, control systems, locos and rolling stock. This now leads on to the next section of this short introduction to garden railways, where we will assume that a choice has been made between G64, G45 and 16mm scales, for the simple reason that GRS only supply equipment for these scales.