Model Forum / General / Railroads / December 2005

Bachmann's are also 265mm. There is a gap of about 6mm between the
inside corners of the coaches when being pulled around the 18"R track,
and 3mm when pushed. Just enough. Also, it looks like the bogies are
close to the limits of their swing on this curve, so I can understand
the need to enlarge the slot for 2nd radius running.

The 15" and 18" curves allow for wide enough track separation to avoid
sideswiping of trains passing each other. The 22" curve is the largest
that will fit on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Since the largest market for
sectional track was and is the USA, these are the "international
standards," in that HO sectional track is made to these radii by many
different makers, including the ones who are now making track with
molded-on ballast (in mutually incompatible versions of course.)
Generally speaking, more or less serious compromises are made with
running gear to enable rolling stock to negotiate 18" radius curves. All
other radii (Hornby, Marklin, etc) are proprietary.

<begin rant>
It's pretty obvious that Marklin, Fleischmann, Hornby, Triang, etc
adopted their own track geometry and wheel standards to prevent people
from buying other makers' products. In the short run this works, in the
long run it's lethal. (It's also very bad for the hobby as a whole.)
Lionel did the same over here with respect to O scale, with the result
that it went under. (The current Lionel shares only the trademark with
the original company, and supplies a niche market which is a fraction of
what Lionel had in its glory days.) People preferred HO for its smaller
size, sure, but the real advantage was compatibility among different
makers' products. For a decade or so in the mid-20th century, O scale
might IMO have confirmed its "largest minority" share of the hobby and
retained it to this day, if the major maker, Lionel, had conformed to
NMRA standards. The smaller size of HO was at first seen as a
disadvantage, actually, since it implied higher standards of precision
than the "average hobbyist" was assumed to be capable of.

Looking at the chequered history of Hornby/Triang and the recent
financial woes of Marklin, I think that what I call the Lionel** effect
was and is at work (among many other factors, granted.) Marklin for
example has a large and loyal fan base, but if it wants to grow, it must
cater to those of us, the majority as it happens, who want products
compatible with industry-wide standards. Marklin's undoubted superior
quality isn't enough in many people's eyes to offset the disadvantage of
incompatibility with NMRA/NEM standards, especially its continued use of
AC. Marklin has recognised this, as its Trix marque, built to NMRA
standards, shows. But it may be too little too late: the Chinese factor
will likely be the spoiler, what with a BLI's GG1 retailing at less than
half the price of Trix's, for example. (The GG1 is the large electric
loco of the Pennsylvania Railroad that was styled by Raymond Loewy, and
became an icon of the PRR. Some consider it the most beautiful electric
loco in the world. IMO it ranks up there with the Swiss/Austrian
Krokodil. I recall watching a GG1 sweep past me near Elizabeth, NJ, in
March 1968 - it was doing about 80mph, and looked like it was enjoying a
Sunday stroll. And it was _big_.)

** Considering the history of Apple, one might call it the Mac effect now.

<end rant>