# 1/150 v 1/160?



## HRDawg (Mar 19, 2018)

Brand spanking new, and I'm of the belief that for N scale, 1/160 is more accurate. 

Some of these brands seem to call 1/150, even 1/144 "n scale". 

I'm really interested in only 1/160. Some of these items really don't say. 

I'm assuming there are companies more reliable than others when it comes to "scale". 

Any wisdom anyone can share?


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

N scale is defined as 1/160. Sometimes HO manufacturers fudge a little bit, especially on figures, some of which are HO / OO, meaning that they are a hybrid scale somewhere between the two. I have not heard of this in N, though. Some very large structures may be slightly undersized.


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

My understanding is that 1/150 is a European Standard. I may be wrong but that is what I have always thought. Anyhow, the difference between 1/150 and 1/160 is not noticeable to my eyes. I would not worry too much unless you want a very fine scale rendition with your layout that most people could not discern without measuring.


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## kevinh (Jan 26, 2015)

Pro tip: Run 1:144 stock only on the front part of your bench, and 1:160 near the back. Through this forced perspective trick, you gain the appearance of having 10% more depth to your benchwork!

On a more serious note, there are various practical and historical reasons why the ratio isn't exactly 1:160. According to Wikipedia, British N-scalers, for instance typically use the standard 1:160 track gauge (9 mm), but adopted 1:148 for the actual rolling stock. Why? Because early N-scale manufacturers couldn't fit the motors into properly-scaled 1:160 models of the smaller British prototype locomotives, so they fudged the dimensions a bit. 

Some Japanese trains run on 4'6" gauge track, which works out to 1:150 for N-gauge (9 mm) track; the rolling stock is scaled accordingly. (The Shinkansen bullet trains run on standard gauge - 4'8.5" - and so are modelled at 1:160.)

Then there are some finescalers who prefer 2mm scale (2 mm to 1 foot), which comes to about 1:152....

Realistically, unless you have two supposed-to-be-the-same differently-scaled things side-by-side on your layout, most people aren't going to notice....


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## HRDawg (Mar 19, 2018)

Thanks gang. I guess I shouldn't be as hung up on it as I was. Let the shopping continue!


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## BobS (Jun 18, 2015)

And, sometimes you find something that you really like the look of,and if it sort of fits, then it's just fine for you. Good (and inexpensive) vehicles are not easy to find in true N scale.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*"N-scale" structures*

22444


HRDawg said:


> Thanks gang. I guess I shouldn't be as hung up on it as I was. Let the shopping continue!


HRDawg;

As others have said, most non-scale items will be so close that they won't be noticeable. One out-of-scale commercial offering will be noticeable however. Pola, and some other European brands, market structure kits that are made in HO-scale (1/87th), but the exact same structure, in the same way-too-big scale, is also marketed as an "N-scale" model kit. The only difference between the HO, and "N" versions are inserts with smaller, supposedly N-scale doors, (and only occasionally windows) to plug most of the HO-scale opening (in the HO-scale wall, made of HO-scale bricks.) 
Apparently the manufacturers think that if the doors are approximately the right size for N-scale people to pass through them, then everything else will magically become N-scale. It doesn't!
Most N-scale structures are reasonably accurate. These "fits two different scales" items are the exception.

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Info for newbies*



HRDawg said:


> Brand spanking new, and I'm of the belief that for N scale, 1/160 is more accurate.
> 
> Some of these brands seem to call 1/150, even 1/144 "n scale".
> 
> ...


HRDawg;

The files attached below contain some general information that should be helpful to you since you are "Brand spanking new." (I responded to another part of your post with some structure scale specific info.)
Welcome to the hobby, and to this forum.

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:

View attachment Where do I start (revised version).pdf


View attachment MODEL RAILROADING ON A BUDGET.pdf


View attachment Model Railroad Terminology 2.1.pdf


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