Product Code Database
N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer (or country), the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. Effectively the scale is 1:159, 9 mm to , which is the width of standard gauge railway. However the scale may vary to simulate wide or narrow-gauge rail. In all cases, the gauge (the distance between the rails) is . The term N gauge refers to the track dimensions, but in the United Kingdom in particular British N gauge refers to a 1:148 scale with 1:160 () track gauge modelling. The terms N scale and N gauge are often inaccurately used interchangeably, as scale is defined as ratio or proportion of the model, and gauge only as a distance between rails. The scale 1:148 defines the rail-to-rail gauge equal to 9 mm exactly (at the cost of scale exactness), so when calculating the rail or track use 1:160 and for engines and car wheel base use 1:148.
All rails are spaced 9 mm apart but the height can differ. Rail height (in thousandths of an inch) is expressed as a "code": thus, Code 55 rails are high while Code 80 rails have a height of . Common real railroad rails are at least tall and can be taller on some roads, so at true scale the rails would be about high. Many older N-scale models may not run well on Code 55 track as their flanges are often unrealistically large, causing the wheels to bounce along the ties instead of ride along the railhead. Wheelsets with these large flanges are colloquially known as 'pizza cutters' due to a resemblance to the kitchen utensil.
An advantage of N scale is that it allows to build layouts that take up less space than HO scale, or put longer track runs into the same amount of space, because the models are smaller (by nearly a half) than they are in HO scale (1:87). While N scale is quite small, it is not the smallest commercially available scale, as Z scale is smaller yet at 1:220 and T scale is 1:450 or 1:480. N scale is considered generally compatible with for miniature wargaming.
N scale has a large worldwide following. Models are made of very many standard gauge from every continent. N scale's popularity is second only to that of HO. In Japan, where space in homes is more limited, N scale is the most popular scale, and HO scale is considered large. Not all modellers select N because they have small spaces; some use N scale to build more complex or more visually expansive models.
N scale in Australia has become more popular over the years. Modellers use mainly US, British, and European prototypes because for a long time, the Australian market had no N-scale models of local prototypes. The creation of local prototypes is now a flourishing "cottage" industry, making Australia N-scale modelling more popular each year.
N-gauge track and components are also used with larger scales, in particular H0e (or "HOe") and 00-9 scale for modelling narrow-gauge railways. N-scale models on Z scale track are used to model metre gauge (Nn3). A small amount of 2-foot (Nn2) industrial narrow-gauge modelling in N scale using custom track is done, but suppliers of parts are few. Nn18 layouts use T-scale track and mechanisms to represent minimum-gauge railways. N-scale trains and structures are often used on HO or larger layouts to create forced perspective, or the illusion that an object is further away than it actually is.
N scale locomotives are powered by Direct current motors which accept a maximum of 12 V DC. In traditional DC control, the speed of the train is determined by the amount of voltage supplied to the rails. The direction of the train is determined by the polarity of the power to the rails. Since the end of the 20th century, an increasing number of enthusiasts have started using digital train control systems to determine the speed and direction of their trains. This has in part been made possible by surface mount technology and new motors that draw very little current (typically 0.2 amps). The most popular digital control systems used in N scale model railways are NMRA-DCC and Selectrix.
The initial agreed-to standard coupling was known as a 'Rapido' coupler from the manufacturer (Arnold); this coupler had been produced under a license from TT-manufacturer Rokal. Most companies developed their own variants of this coupler to avoid Arnold patents on the spring system. Graham Farish initially adopted a plastic flexible U rather than a spring, Peco used a compatible weighted coupler system (Elsie), and Fleischmann cunningly sidestepped the problem by using a sprung plate. All were compatible, though.
The Rapido coupler system works well, but is difficult to use for automatic uncoupling and also relatively large. In the US, Canada, and Australia, it has been largely superseded by a more realistic-looking magnetic knuckle coupler, originally made by Micro-Trains and branded Magne-Matic. The MT couplers (as they are known) are more delicate and closer to scale North American appearance than Rapido couplers. Also, they can be opened by a magnet placed under the track. Other manufacturers, such as Atlas, McHenry and Kato, are now making couplers that mate with Micro Trains couplers.
European modellers have the option to convert the couplings on their rolling stock to the Fleischmann Profi-Coupler system for more reliable operation should they wish to do so, but most N scale rolling stock continues to be manufactured with Rapido couplers - a design which is fairly robust and easy to mold. Modern N scale stock uses a standard NEM socket for couplers which allows different coupling designs to be used by simply pulling out the old coupler and fitting a new one of a different design. In the UK, vendors are increasingly shipping both NEM sockets for couplers and buckeye (knuckle) couplers. It is also very easy to use for coupling and uncoupling.
In the United States and Europe, models of standard gauge trains are built to 1:160 scale and made so that they run on N gauge track, but in some other countries changes are made. Finescale modellers also use variants of normal N scale.
In Britain, some N-scale models are built to "2 mm scale" for "2 mm to the foot" which calculates to a 1:152 proportion. Early N scale was also known as "OOO" or "treble-O" in reference to O scale and OO gauge and was also 1:152, though for an entirely different reason.
Electrified models followed soon after. The track gauge was widened to a nominal and rails were isolated with nonconductive ties (sleepers) for Direct current operation. Gearing between the motor and the axles at such a small scale was done by rubber bands, rather than the usual worm gear. A different coupling based on a shrunken OO scale coupling was fitted. The OOO couplings and specifications have long since been replaced by commercial N scale manufacturers.
Manufacturers have started to engage Chinese manufacturers to produce very high quality wagons and locomotives. The Victorian producer Aust-N-Rail pioneered this approach, while in 2011, BadgerBits released Australia's first ready-to-run N gauge locomotive, a 48 class retailing for around A$240. A new manufacturer has arrived on the scene (November 2011) with Australia-N Railways using both Australian locally manufactured detail accessories and top end Chinese factories to produce their new locomotives and rolling stock. Other kits continue to be released using the more usual method of resin-based castings and it is now possible obtain models of railways running in most states, although the coverage is highly variable.
|
|
