Model railways are built to a variety of scales and the track that trains run on can be a variety of widths, or “gauges”. People sometimes talk about the scale and gauge inter-changeably, which can be confusing!
Let’s try to de-mystify the terminology for you.
N gauge and it’s scale explained
The ‘N’ refers to the distance in millimetres that the rails are apart – nine -, which is the gauge of the track.
The scale ratio for British outline models is 1:148 which means that a real life item one foot long would be represented in model form by being a one hundred and forty eighth of a foot long; just a fraction over 2 mm.
The scale ratio is slightly different for Continental and American railways (or railroads, as they are referred to) at 1:160 and for Japanese is 1:150. But importantly all the models run on the same track 9mm gauge track – hence, we call it “N Gauge”.
How does N Gauge compare to other modelling gauges and scales?
The most popular gauge / scale combination used by railway modellers in the UK is OO gauge and 4mm scale; this equates to a scale ration of 1:76. N Gauge modelling is arguably the second most popular gauge and scale.
You may now start to realise that in general terms N Gauge is about half the size in any linear dimension compares to OO Gauge.
When we think about the area of a model N Gauge is a quarter the size of OO Gauge. And when we think about the volume of an N gauge model compared to OO Gauge it’s an eighth.
What’s this mean for the railway modeller?
From the explanation above you’ll start to appreciate that compared to the larger gauges and scales, such as OO, you can get a lot more layout in the space you have available. Or, if you are really space starved and thought that you might not be able to have a layout at all, then N gauge is very likely to be something to actively consider.
N Gauge is the only scale that allows the spacious natural look and feel of real railways. It gives you the opportunity to create dramatic landscapes and run full scale length trains. N Gauge and its fine scale equivalent of 2mm, enables realistic layouts to be built in a small space.
In the following section we round off this tour of N Gauge and it’s scales, where you can see the differences between British outline, Continental and American, and Japanese variants.
British N Gauge
- Scale ratio – 1:148
- Track gauge – (N) 9mm
Scale equivalents;
- gauge: 4ft 4.5ins
- scale: 2.06mm represents 1 foot
Continental and American N Gauge
- Scale ratio – 1:160
- Track gauge – (N) 9mm
Scale equivalents;
- gauge: 4ft 8.5ins
- scale: 1.9mm represents 1 foot
Japanese N Gauge (and professional architectural modelling)
- Scale ratio – 1:150 (3ft 6ins gauge trains) 1:160 (4ft 8.5ins gauge trains)
- Track gauge – (N) 9mm
Scale equivalents;
- gauge: 4ft 5.1ins
- scale: 2.03mm represents 1 foot
The above variations are only very slight and in many cases hardly noticeable. Locomotives and rolling stock from each can be run on standard N Gauge track.
2mm fine scale
- Scale ratio -1:152
- Track gauge – 9.42mm
Scale equivalents;
- gauge: 4ft 8.5ins
- scale: 2mm represents 1 foot
This is a specialist scale and is not really part of the N Gauge family. However, although locomotives and rolling stock are not compatible with N Gauge track, the buildings and accessories from the scale can be used on N Gauge layouts.
In conclusion…
This explanation of what N Gauge is all about may have whetted your appetite for this small, but exquisite, railway modelling genre.
If you’re wondering how to get started a great way is to join the N Gauge Society where you’ll get lots of help and advice from other N Gauge modellers.
We very much look forward to welcoming you to the Society and hope you enjoy your journey into N Gauge modelling.