Two newbie questions

Philip

Member
1. What and where are the S13.5 Track and Wheel Standards?

2. Putting aside what the prototype did, is flat bottom rail more commonly used than bullhead rail in G3, or is it hard to say?

Thanks.

Philip
 

Ian_T

Western Thunderer
Do you mean the S01 track standard Philip? If so it gives the recommended dimensions for track and wheel sizes that allow G3 locos and stock to run on any compliant G3 track. This is important in G3 (as opposed to most MES tracks) as we have turnouts (points) that require certain clearances.

Both the original G3S brass rail and the current Cliff Barker rail are bullhead and this is what most G3 tracks are built with. There is (was?) another (64mm) track made by GRS that was designed to be compatible with LGB 'elephant' (45mm) track and that might be flat bottomed (been a while since I've seen any). There may also be some folk using FB rail for particular purposes on exhibition/micro layouts - but Cliff Barker is pretty much the norm these days.

Regards (and Welcome)

IanT
 

AndyB

Western Thunderer
Hello Philip, and welcome.

1) I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'S13.5 Track and Wheel Standards' but the Gauge 3 Society standards are here: https://www.gauge3.org.uk/technical-standards

2) There are 2 main suppliers of G3 track - GRS (flat bottom) and Cliff Barker (Bullhead). They might be prepared to tell you how many metres of each type they have sold.....

There is a good amount of each type in use - I would have to look back at pictures from GTG's to see what is used on various people's lines, but some other G3 Thunderers might have more immediate recollections of who uses what.

Andy
 

Philip

Member
Do you mean the S01 track standard Philip? If so it gives the recommended dimensions for track and wheel sizes that allow G3 locos and stock to run on any compliant G3 track. This is important in G3 (as opposed to most MES tracks) as we have turnouts (points) that require certain clearances.

IanT

Thanks Ian. In the thread entitled "BG13.5 Broad Gauge in Gauge 3" a poster made the statement "Unfortunately there is no official set of S13.5 track and wheel standards for Gauge 3 1:22.6 13.5mm/foot scale". On re-reading this statement I can see that I mis-interpreted it. I initially read it as meaning there was a standard but it was not official. I am the co-chair of a standards committee for a model railway organisation and I am almost always keen to learn about standards for other scales and gauges.

I have always used flat bottom rail in the smaller scales and was surprised to see so many references to bullhead rail for G3 during my internet browsing over the last few days. Your comment on the relative use of flat bottom and bullhead is in accord with my browsing.

Philip
 

Attachments

  • upload_2020-10-8_21-58-1.png
    upload_2020-10-8_21-58-1.png
    64.7 KB · Views: 7

Philip

Member
Thanks Andy for the welcome and the information about FB and BH rail. You will see from my reply to IanT that I had mis-interpreted a statement about S13.5 in another G3 thread.

Philip
 

geoff_nicholls

Western Thunderer
the thread entitled "BG13.5 Broad Gauge in Gauge 3" a poster
This thread was discussing modelling the British Broad Gauge, the 7' gauge promoted by Brunel and implemented by the Great Western Railway until the 1890s. The G3 Society standards posted by AndyB are for the standard gauge 4' 8 1/2".
 

Philip

Member
This thread was discussing modelling the British Broad Gauge, the 7' gauge promoted by Brunel and implemented by the Great Western Railway until the 1890s. The G3 Society standards posted by AndyB are for the standard gauge 4' 8 1/2".

Thanks for the clarification.

I have read a bit about Brunel's work and the GWR from 1833 to 1947 but there is still a lot more to read.

Philip
 
Top