32mm or 45mm, thats the question?

[-steves-]

Of course I have read about this topic a few times, but never the less I find myself in a situation where I don't really know what to do.

I have a number of Accucraft loco's, which are all re-gaugeable and some rolling stock, most of which I have 32mm and 45mm wheels for.

I was originally going to go 45mm and purchased a fair bit of track, but this was mainly down to my step father running gauge one and 16mm on the same track. Now I have moved a good number of miles away and even he has 2 tracks, one of each size.

I have no fixed garden railway at the moment and don't know which one to go for. I "could" run either, but I would prefer to go with the majority so people could use my track and I could use theirs, but it appears there is no one else in the Cambridge area with a railway (other than Garrett's which I don't have)

So what are peoples thoughts on the most popular gauge to use?

It also looks like I will be travelling to Peterborough and join their club, which I think run both sizes of track.

What's your thoughts or what do you run?

[Gralyn]

I found that after I had decided to go 32mm that there were no very local groups that used 32mm. One thing I had hoped to do was visit other railways, this is now only possible with a relatively long car journey. I had also hoped that there would be a local group of the 16 mm Association but to my great surprise the nearest are The West Yorks group based around Huddersfield to the East or the Cheshire, Merseyside & East Clwyd to the West, Nothing in the Greater Manchester area at all.

So If you plan to go visiting, find out what the local groups are running.

[-steves-]

I found that after I had decided to go 32mm that there were no very local groups that used 32mm. One thing I had hoped to do was visit other railways, this is now only possible with a relatively long car journey. I had also hoped that there would be a local group of the 16 mm Association but to my great surprise the nearest are The West Yorks group based around Huddersfield  to the East or the Cheshire, Merseyside & East Clwyd to the West, Nothing in the Greater Manchester area at all.

So If you plan to go visiting, find out what the local groups are running.

That sounds like a good idea, now all I have to do is try and find anyone local or at least localish that runs any gauge at all around the Cambridge area, lol. Even that is proving very tricky

[TonyW]

For me it was only ever going to be 32mm, if only because the track is cheaper and I always wanted a 16mm/foot Quarry Hunslet!

You may wish to consider whether you do or will ever want to have accurate models of full-size locos and rolling stock. There are loads of 2 foot gauge railways around with models to match in 32mm, but no 2 feet 10 inches railways (which is what 45mm works out to be at 16mm/foot) so for most prototype stuff 45mm will always be something of a compromise.

[Maple]

for me it would always be 32mm for 16mm and 45 for 7/8s .

[-steves-]

What I am beginning to think here is putting down a 45mm and a 32mm track side by side, does that sound reasonable? Would it look ok? Thoughts??

[bazzer42]

I have seen a garden rail article where a 32mm rail, was added inside a 45mm track. The author also bought multigauge " points" that allowed the 32mm to diverge without a switch.
I would have gone 32mm but started with lgb. Some of the comments in the 16mm magazine make me feel that 45mm is seen as a poor relation and being an awkward cuss I prefer it for that reason. I plough my own furrow so visiting other layouts doesn't appeal too much otherwise there would be too much regauging as 32mm is more common.
If I was starting out from scratch I would go 32mm. Small wagons don't work so well on 45mm.

[-steves-]

I have seen a garden rail article where a 32mm rail, was added inside a 45mm track. The author also bought multigauge " points" that allowed the 32mm to diverge without a switch.
I would have gone 32mm but started with lgb. Some of the comments in the 16mm magazine make me feel that 45mm is seen as a poor relation and being an awkward cuss I prefer it for that reason.  I plough my own furrow so visiting other layouts doesn't appeal too much otherwise there would be too much regauging as 32mm is more common.
If I was starting out from scratch I would go 32mm. Small wagons don't work so well on 45mm.

I too have seen some 32mm people disrespect others with 45mm saying its not a proper gauge etc, yet they have no problem running 2'6" prototypes on their line, which is further from their gauge than running it on 45mm. The original slogan of 16mm assoc was, there are no rules, I guess some feel they are better than others, but that happens in all hobbies, if you speak to a gauge 1 person, then 16mm people are just playing with toys, but then a 3.5" gauge says the same about a gauge 1 and so it goes up the line till you get to full size. The thing is, we are all "playing with toys" and why not, if it wasn't fun, then we wouldn't bother. It was the same with radio controlled planes, motorbike clubs etc etc.

To be fair, I don't want to turn this into a 32mm and 45mm debate, I am sure everyone has had enough of those, they certainly annoy me.

I am just looking for most common across the UK and particularly common across the Cambridge area. I personally am happy to run both track sizes and respect those with either.

I do know what you mean about small wagons on 45mm though, I was having the same thought myself and I think the option of running both is looking better and better, that way I can have a small mining diesel and small tipper trucks running against a Vale of Rheidol rake of coaches or whatever takes my fancy, As I said, most of my stuff is re-gaugeable, and whatever isn't, I can just use on the other line.

Its good to hear what other have or would have done if they were starting again

[Dwayne]

As I prefer the bulk of 1:13.7 scale, 45mm is my choice. Over here 45mm is the default standard track width whereas it seems 32mm is prevalent over where ya'll live. If I were leaving towards running on other people's layouts I'd go with what is most common to achieve that goal.

[Maple]

i think a lunatic mixed gauge layout would look brilliant, could get some really crazy point work on the go. dual gauge single slip?

[IrishPeter]

It depends on what floats your boat prototype wise.  I prefer 3' and 2'6" gauge prototypes, so 1.75 inch gauge was the obvious choice, especially as 15/16mm scale locomotives tend to be a little on the chunky side.  

FWIW, 2'6" gauge equipment tends to be similar sized to 3' gauge equipment anyway.  For example, the Zillertalbahn coaches on the W&LLR are wider than anything that ran on the 3' gauge in Britain and Ireland (though the NCC Boat Train carriages were close) whilst the NCC Boat train stock was the only UK 3' gauge stock I know of that was longer than the Leek and Manifold's carriages!  The longest vehicle on my line is based on L&M/Barsi Light Railway practice and is 678mm long, whilst the longest 3' vehicle is 560mm!

If I were interested in 2' gauge I would have gone with 32mm gauge, but apart from the WDLR, I am basically not all that interested in 60cm/2' and thereabouts. If I ever get the 32mm bug it will probably be for a Ruston hauling a coupler of tipplers, which is a scene familiar from my childhood. That can easily be accommodated via a short industrial feeder as something to play with when I don't fancy boiling the kettle.

Around here 45mm gauge/15mm scale is dominant because when American's think narrow gauge they tend to start from the lines in Colorado and work outwards.

Peter in AZ

[MDLR]

You also need to look at the railways near to you: if you're the only 45mm gauge line in your area, you won't get many visitors wanting to come and run. This does, of course, depend on how sociable you want to be!

[Enginehouse]

[/quote]

That sounds like a good idea, now all I have to do is try and find anyone local or at least localish that runs any gauge at all around the Cambridge area, lol. Even that is proving very tricky [/quote]

Not been looking very hard then have you? There is a very active Peterborough Group of the 16mm Assoc. it's very widely advertised both on the net and in 16mm circles. We meet monthly, organise our own coach trips to Statfold Barn, major shows etc. We run
both Gauges and have members that have garden railways in both 32/45mm and some even run both. (I personally like 7/8 scale on 45mm gauge and small highly detailed quarry stock on 32mm). We also tend to overlap into the Mid Beds group country and they into ours to visit various members railways in both gauges.

Best idea is to visit as many garden railways close to home as possible and have a play to see which you like best. We don't have a member yet who runs three rail to accommodate both gauges, (unlike Mid Beds Group who do) but I have been thinking about it purely to save space.

You are very welcome to come along to our Peterborough Group meets or PM or give me a ring for further info. Our details are on the web and on the 16mm Assoc site under the Group's heading.

[Enginehouse]

for me it would always be 32mm for 16mm and 45 for 7/8s .

Having built and run 7/8 stock on both gauges I tend to agree with you. I have both 45 and 32 tracks in the garden, but after seeing a very good three rail 45/32 portable layout (Carol's at Mid Beds 16mm Group) I am tempted to convert the garden layout over to three rail. As its all raised that would not be too stressful to do and I rather like the challenge of building the points. However rail choice is a moot point. I am tempted to use Piko or LGB brass rail (ducks to avoid flack) as I work much better with brass.

[IrishPeter]

The funny thing is that although I am the same gauge as most folks around here, I still tend to be the odd man out. I suspect that this is not just because I model European prototypes, but because I favour live steam, ground level, no electricity, a minimum 4' radius, and a tight loading gauge, which is not the culture here. Most Fn3 lines in these parts are electrically powered, raised, and somewhat like On3 or HOn3 layouts on steroids. A few are even inside! It has never been expressed quite this bluntly, but they don't want my moving kettles spraying oil and water all over the place, and making a mess of their scale models. OTOH, there is no juice for their highly detailed electric rats here.

On the other hand, there is a lot of mutual respect, though I think they stray dangerously close to rivet counting with some of their creations, whilst they think I am a little nuts. I have yet to convert any of them to live steam other than as a novelty, and I have no wish to come into contact with the sort of fetishism one gets among scale modellers, with the emphasis on scale.

Cheers,
Peter in AZ

[-steves-]

Not been looking very hard then have you?  There is a very active Peterborough Group of the 16mm Assoc. it's very widely advertised both on the net and in 16mm circles. We meet monthly, organise our own coach trips to Statfold Barn, major shows etc. We run
both Gauges and have members that have garden railways in both 32/45mm and some even run both. (I personally like 7/8 scale on 45mm gauge and small highly detailed quarry stock on 32mm). We also tend to overlap into the Mid Beds group country and they into ours to visit various members railways in both gauges.

Best idea is to visit as many garden railways close to home as possible and have a play to see which you like best. We don't have a member yet who runs three rail to accommodate both gauges, (unlike Mid Beds Group who do) but I have been thinking about it purely to save space.  

You are very welcome to come along to our Peterborough Group meets or PM or give me a ring for further info. Our details are on the web and on the 16mm Assoc site under the Group's heading.

Hi Roy

I think you will find that you already know me.

The problem is, I said the Cambridge area as the Peterborough club is nearly a 100 mile round trip for us.  I intend coming along to your next meet on the third Saturday of September as a guest. I would have been there in August but unfortunately I was on call. I am sure you and others will recognise me  :lol:

I wish there was something similar and local to me, such a shame

[Enginehouse]

[quote="

I think you will find that you already know me.

The problem is, I said the Cambridge area as the Peterborough club is nearly a 100 mile round trip for us.  I intend coming along to your next meet on the third Saturday of September as a guest. I would have been there in August but unfortunately I was on call. I am sure you and others will recognise me  :lol:

I wish there was something similar and local to me, such a shame

I will admit that I am surprised that there in no Cambridge Group of 16mm. Mid Beds is quite a way from here but sharing transport is how we usually manage to get there. I have just last week changed the car for one with a much bigger boot to accommodate all of the gear when four of us are out visiting. Our group ex secretary has just started another 16mm group at Wisbech and some of our members are much further down the A1 as far as Sandy. Maybe starting a Cambridge Group might be the answer. I thought you were known to some of us by the way ;O))

[maxi-model]

I think for maximum flexibility of trackage and operation ; live steam/battery/DC/DCC, availability of prototypes and scale ; 7/78th/16 mm/15 mm/1:22,5/1:29 etc', then code 332 45 mm gauge is the way to go.

Accucraft UK locos and stock and Roundhouse locos are generally readily re-gaugable for visiting 32 mm line operators. Either by simple resetting the wheels with an Allen key or swapping out axles with alternatives that are usually supplied "in the box". Other bogie rolling stock can usually be equipped with alternate gauge bogies that swap out with ease, e.g. IP, Swift 16 and Yatton products.

A lot of people who started out with LGB and similar appear to be migrating to or mixing in 16/15 mm live steam/battery and joining up with the 16 mm NGM society.

IMHO I see 32 mm as a historical start point for the hobby in the UK that is now more in line with those who prefer "fine scale" modelling and evoking the spirit of the typical bucolic NG line. Max.

[laurence703]

The West Herts Group have a good mixture of gauges and the East Anglia group isn't too far ish?

[bessytractor]

45mm gauge as I model in gauge one, although not a fair example as I am aware that this is a predominantly 16mm forum.