Should We Move From OO to HO?

I have toyed with the idea of British H0 a few times, as 00 looks awful to my eyes. However the the fact that so much is available in 4mm scale has led me to adopt P4 in order to get the correct gauge for my models, I gave up on EM very quickly as it is just too much work.

I do tend to think that the best option for achieving a scale gauge for our models is for commercial models to be produced to H0 scale. There is no reason why it can't be done, if the H0 models are built with the same coupling as 00 models the 2 would be able to be used together on the same layout. While this wouldn't be ideal it would make for a smoother change over from 00 to H0 scale.

Lima introduced a British H0 scale range a while ago, and Fleischmann even got in on the act with a loco and some coaches. Unfortunately it failed and Lima went over to 00 while fleischmannn haven't been heard of since in the British market. Both of these ranges used the Continental coupling as standard, meaning that British outline modellers couldn't use the h0 stock on their existing 00 layout.

I once heard it mentioned that had Mainline brought their range out in H0 it would have given the scale a real boost and 00 would have died off as a result. Had Lima, Mainline, and Fleischmann pressed on with British H0 that would have left only Hornby and the unreliable Airfix range available in 00, both of whom surely would have changed over to the international standard H0 at some point.

Peco have always produced a semi usable track system for H0 models, and with a few modifications it could have been turned into a true British H0 track system, rather than the ambiguous range they have at present which suits neither 00 or H0.

Hornby may now have the Lima H0 scale moulds in their posession, so if British H0 is to become available in the future it will most probably be from them.

If British H0 were a viable scale I would certainly change over, however at the moment there are no ready to run models, very few kits, and no H0 track system suitable for British models. So for the time being I'll stick to P4, as it's easier than H0 or EM, and I don't consider 00 an option.

'OO' was created in the 1920's,probably around 1926.At the time 'HO' was around having come in from mainly Germany and the USA,but the smaller loading gauge of British locos made it near impossible to make British 'HO' with the motors available at that time.I know of at least 2 suppl;iers of British 'HO' at this time,Reidpath(Essar) and Meredith(Merco) and Hamblings,but their were others.As track,chassis and wheels/axles were already available,a small group of modellers/suppliers decided to just make the bodies bigger by half a mill to the foot.These were small time manufacturers,modellers themselves who were helping other modellers to create small scale Britsh model railways some ten years before Meccano hit the market with mass production of Hornby-Dublo.I doubt if any of these supplers would have dreamed of the future of what they had created,and that it would become so popular.By the late 1930's standards had been created for 'OO' so Hornby-Dublo just follwed suit.Rovex probably could have produced 'HO' on the 1950's,but they were just making a cheap toy to compete with Hornby-Dublo,and very successfully as they are still going as the current Hornby.Yes Lima tried British 'HO',but quickly changed to 'OO'.Matt Ascough at Hove,the Fleischmann importer,was going to kill of 'OO' by getting British 'HO' through Fleischmann,but they only made the Bulleid coaches,and never got round to any locos.I think it is too late now for us to change,but one benefit is that it is easier on the eye to mix 'OO' and European/USA 'HO' togeteher,anyone who has seen an American 'HO' loco with a British 'OO' will know what I mean.
homeofoo

I'm getting lost here somewhere. Surely any scale is correct if everything is built to that scale. I would model in 7mm if I had the space and could afford it as the larger sizes always look better to my eye, hence to me 4mm looks better than 3.5mm. Here in Spain where everything is H0 the rolling stock always looks too small to me for what it is. Sure the scale/gauge ratio may not be correct in 00 but when I think of all the other extreme compromises we make in the construction and appearance of our layouts then to me this becomes very small potatoes.
I know when I am viewing an oncoming train at eye level as it passes through scenery I have built, on track I have laid then my pleasure is complete.
Long live British 00.
I think I will have to have a lie down now for half an hour as I can feel a turn coming on.

What I cannot understand about OO, is how all the critics and rivet counters go on about the odd miniscule discrepancies here and there.

As soon as a new model arrives they pick it over like vultures at the end of a wilderbeast migration. They count the rivets, check out dimensions for scale, criticise slight colour variations, decals in slightly the wrong place, grain of the wood being vertical instead of horizontal, cab gauges with needles at zero indicating a dead loco etc. etc. etc.

Without fail, in every case, without exception, they ignore the fact that in a head on view the wheels are too close together!

Whilst I also collect OO scale, I cannot get it out of my head the wheels are to HO gauge.

This is why European continental HO is my first love, both for correct scale/gauge and quality, although British OO's quality has caught up in the lst few years.

Thats exactly the point. British locos are tichy to start with. Thats why we had 00 in the first place in the 1920's so that the motors around then would fit. If we start shrinking British outline models we simply won't have the space to put all the electronic gizmos in that DCC offers.

Its bad enougth at the moment fitting a chip. What about when sound comes in, and smoke?

Can N gauge modellers do any of this, and if they can at what price?

Miniaturization means more for less.

In terms of value how is the average British outline modeller going to feel when they are paying the same money (or more!) for something that is 15% smaller?

And HO has a reputation in Europe for being very expensive.

I say stay out of the Euro! Stick with the Pound!

You know it makes sense.

Happy modelling
Gary

QUOTE (bobknee @ 14 Oct 2005, 12:28)What I cannot understand about OO, is how all the critics and rivet counters go on about the odd miniscule discrepancies here and there.
Without fail, in every case, without exception, they ignore the fact that in a head on view the wheels are too close together!

Yes agree entirely, I've put this point across on the net a few times, and have been shot down by the 00 modellers as a rivet counter and elitist!

It's not just noticable from the front either, from the side the wheels are hidden deep in under the model, and the valvegear looks odd because of all the bends in the rods needed to suit the narrow gauge.

I'd love to see a magazine review saying something like "the model has an accurate body, but the chassis is a complete bodge up as the gauge is 2.33mm too narrow."

Do we all remember the dual gauge track mixing broad gauge and standard gauge across much of west Britain?

Maybe Hornby should take the initiative and start to produce dual gauge track so that P4 and OO locomotives and rolling stock can operate on the same layout!

And over time then can shift from one standard to the other!





Happy modelling
Gary