SCALES & GAUGES:
Scale: This is the ratio of size between the real thing and the model
Gauge: This is the distance between the rails.
Scale: This is the ratio of size between the real thing and the model
Gauge: This is the distance between the rails.
Blowing the dust off back issues of MM has revealed a fascinating
[some would say] insight into the nomenclature of our beloved 16 mm to one foot
scale.
In the editorial of Mercury number 22 a certain Mr Stuart Baker expounded his views on the recent introduction, by a well known south coastal model railway manufacturer, of a range of track under the title of SM32, referring to Sixteen Millimetre on 32mm gauge (although SM caused some lighthearted confusion with S&M, a slightly different pastime not necessarily practiced by 16mm modellers). He continued by suggesting that the Society, as founding fathers of this branch of the hobby, should define the scale and gauge, following the popular American practice, as Mn2, i.e. Merioneth scale, narrow gauge, 2 foot gauge. This could be extended to cover Mn2¼ (2’ 3” in 14mm scale) and Mn2½ (2’ 6” in ½“ scale).
A somewhat tongue-in-cheek response by Brian Clarke in the April/May ‘81 issue of Merlin’s Advocate, endorsed the use of Mn2 in a somewhat roundabout way…..but the story didn’t end there.
In the following issue of Merlin’s Messenger Tom Cooper took up the baton, presenting a totally new nomenclature, not just for 16mm but also for any narrow gauge. This involved the use of the scale followed by the model gauge, thus 16mm became 19-32 (1/19th scale on 32mm gauge track). Similarly 009 became 76-09 (1/76th scale on 9mm gauge track), however he seemed to overlook another popular option, 1-600. Tom used this system in his own marketing, however it did not really catch on so unfortunately the commercial clout of our friends in Devon drove the ever increasing following of 16mm to accept “Smerty-two”.
A letter in Journal No. 23, Summer 1981, Messrs Knutt, Boult & Phishplaight, solicitors of Holman House, Gauge-Under-Sands, representing an unnamed client, asserts their client invented the term “Mn2” in an article in “that eminent journal Model Railways… page 634…. October 1980”.
In another letter in the same edition of MM, Monsour R.F.Behn, of Chase,B.C.,Canada asserted a “French Fact” that SM32 related to the track gauge of 32mm and members of the Societe de Merioneth.
A certain P. Jones, of Haverfordwest, Dyfed, thought everyone was being very “childish… 30 years ago when I and a few others were pottering around in this scale, it didn’t have a name and no-one thought it necessary to invert one”. That same gentleman had, on another occasion relating back to the late 1940’s, propounded that the 16mm/ft scale using course scale “O” gauge track, being four times “OO” scale, should be known as “400”.
Mn2 seems to have found favour at the time among those of this learned Society, being interpreted as Merioneth/narrow/2[foot] more in line with American standards for defining narrow gauge modelling. This method of defining the scale/gauge ratio kept in line with the law according to the great god, Spooner – “Change the scale, but keep the gauge the same”. It follows, therefore that: 14mm scale/2’-3” gauge is Mn21/4; and½” scale/2’-6”gauge is Mn21/2
1981 must have been a time of serious debate on scales and gauges because in that same MM No. 23, Bill Strickland wrote: “Scale – by definition – “ratio of representation to object”, “a graduated series or order”, “a graduated measure”. Graduations or divisions of regular intervals are usually indicated by lines which we all learned in the dim and distant past “have length without breadth or thickness” so can only exist as a mental concept. As soon as a line is made visible in order to be of practical use it itself acquires dimensions of its own, thus detracting from the value of adjacent divisions. To me the ultimate scale is a row of figures on a chart…” [reproduce 16mm chart from page22]
Subsequent developments in larger scales have resulted in new names. The German manufacturer LGB, and European and American producers have adopted the letter G (for Garden or Grosse?) to cover a variety of scales between 1/22nd and 1/29th running on gauge 1 track. Getting even larger, modellers representing 2 foot gauge on gauge 1 adopted 7/8th inch scale, sometimes referred to as M, for Maine, the American state most populated by 2 foot gauge lines This in turn resulted in the term Mn2, causing some confusion with the earlier Merioneth proposal.
Interest in modelling 15” gauge led to the use of 1”, or D scale, on 0 gauge track and 00 gauge track for ½” scale, producing Dn15 and Gn15 respectively.
As modellers boldly seek out new scales and gauges where no modeller has modelled before, the variety of names increases, but one has so far eluded definition. First crafted many years ago by Don Boreham and Adrian Garner, nobody has yet invented a name for 16mm scale models of the Lartigue monorail – SM0, Mn0, 19-0 ?
For a full range of scales and gauges look at Wikipedia "List of rail transport modelling scale standards".
In the editorial of Mercury number 22 a certain Mr Stuart Baker expounded his views on the recent introduction, by a well known south coastal model railway manufacturer, of a range of track under the title of SM32, referring to Sixteen Millimetre on 32mm gauge (although SM caused some lighthearted confusion with S&M, a slightly different pastime not necessarily practiced by 16mm modellers). He continued by suggesting that the Society, as founding fathers of this branch of the hobby, should define the scale and gauge, following the popular American practice, as Mn2, i.e. Merioneth scale, narrow gauge, 2 foot gauge. This could be extended to cover Mn2¼ (2’ 3” in 14mm scale) and Mn2½ (2’ 6” in ½“ scale).
A somewhat tongue-in-cheek response by Brian Clarke in the April/May ‘81 issue of Merlin’s Advocate, endorsed the use of Mn2 in a somewhat roundabout way…..but the story didn’t end there.
In the following issue of Merlin’s Messenger Tom Cooper took up the baton, presenting a totally new nomenclature, not just for 16mm but also for any narrow gauge. This involved the use of the scale followed by the model gauge, thus 16mm became 19-32 (1/19th scale on 32mm gauge track). Similarly 009 became 76-09 (1/76th scale on 9mm gauge track), however he seemed to overlook another popular option, 1-600. Tom used this system in his own marketing, however it did not really catch on so unfortunately the commercial clout of our friends in Devon drove the ever increasing following of 16mm to accept “Smerty-two”.
A letter in Journal No. 23, Summer 1981, Messrs Knutt, Boult & Phishplaight, solicitors of Holman House, Gauge-Under-Sands, representing an unnamed client, asserts their client invented the term “Mn2” in an article in “that eminent journal Model Railways… page 634…. October 1980”.
In another letter in the same edition of MM, Monsour R.F.Behn, of Chase,B.C.,Canada asserted a “French Fact” that SM32 related to the track gauge of 32mm and members of the Societe de Merioneth.
A certain P. Jones, of Haverfordwest, Dyfed, thought everyone was being very “childish… 30 years ago when I and a few others were pottering around in this scale, it didn’t have a name and no-one thought it necessary to invert one”. That same gentleman had, on another occasion relating back to the late 1940’s, propounded that the 16mm/ft scale using course scale “O” gauge track, being four times “OO” scale, should be known as “400”.
Mn2 seems to have found favour at the time among those of this learned Society, being interpreted as Merioneth/narrow/2[foot] more in line with American standards for defining narrow gauge modelling. This method of defining the scale/gauge ratio kept in line with the law according to the great god, Spooner – “Change the scale, but keep the gauge the same”. It follows, therefore that: 14mm scale/2’-3” gauge is Mn21/4; and½” scale/2’-6”gauge is Mn21/2
1981 must have been a time of serious debate on scales and gauges because in that same MM No. 23, Bill Strickland wrote: “Scale – by definition – “ratio of representation to object”, “a graduated series or order”, “a graduated measure”. Graduations or divisions of regular intervals are usually indicated by lines which we all learned in the dim and distant past “have length without breadth or thickness” so can only exist as a mental concept. As soon as a line is made visible in order to be of practical use it itself acquires dimensions of its own, thus detracting from the value of adjacent divisions. To me the ultimate scale is a row of figures on a chart…” [reproduce 16mm chart from page22]
Subsequent developments in larger scales have resulted in new names. The German manufacturer LGB, and European and American producers have adopted the letter G (for Garden or Grosse?) to cover a variety of scales between 1/22nd and 1/29th running on gauge 1 track. Getting even larger, modellers representing 2 foot gauge on gauge 1 adopted 7/8th inch scale, sometimes referred to as M, for Maine, the American state most populated by 2 foot gauge lines This in turn resulted in the term Mn2, causing some confusion with the earlier Merioneth proposal.
Interest in modelling 15” gauge led to the use of 1”, or D scale, on 0 gauge track and 00 gauge track for ½” scale, producing Dn15 and Gn15 respectively.
As modellers boldly seek out new scales and gauges where no modeller has modelled before, the variety of names increases, but one has so far eluded definition. First crafted many years ago by Don Boreham and Adrian Garner, nobody has yet invented a name for 16mm scale models of the Lartigue monorail – SM0, Mn0, 19-0 ?
For a full range of scales and gauges look at Wikipedia "List of rail transport modelling scale standards".