Would anyone here know if Bachmann 20' containers fit on Micro Trains 89' flat cars made for 20 footers? Thanks for the help
For something as basic as a container, I'm surprised how much variation there is between manufacturers. I mean, the measurements are literally in the name of the container, how can they get 20 feet wrong? Even in HO scale, there are issues with a few well cars and certain brand containers not fitting in properly.
I've always been baffled by this as well. Makes you wonder how far off other models are (locos, etc.) where dimensional errors are not as apparent as on a 20' or 40' container.
I have the same issues with other items not made in the USA. The inch to meter conversions seem to vary. Even at the same place. I ordered three t-shirts and all three x-large varied by three inches in length and fit. The same for metric allen wrenches. Isn't international trade wonderful.
In a few cases, for manufacturers who are not based in North America, as is the case with certain brands of vehicles, depending upon the market that a product has been designed for, the proportions for N can be 1:160, 1:150, (in Japan) or 1:148 scale (in the United Kingdom).
It sure would be nice if we (USA) would just bite the bullet and go metric. US military is already metric, and has been for decades. Among other (and more economically consequential) advantages, the metric system has a very convenient relationship between weight, distance and volume of water: A milli-liter (ml) is a cubic centimeter (cc), which of water ways a gram. Therefore, a cubic meter (a million CCs) of water weighs a million grams, or 1000 kg, aka a metric ton.
In practice it depends. I’m still in the Army-some things are metric others aren’t. As a tanker, we would use metic for distance but when we talked about liquids, we used English, most of the time. For ordering supplies-gallons of JP-8 (fuel) quarts of hydraulic fluid or oil, etc. But if the mechanics needed to take a sample of some fluid to run a diagnostic test, they used metric. When talking weight (for people and equipment) we still use English. And height is still measured in English…despite distance being in metric. Speedometers on ground vehicles are in English and metric, but the only time we used metric to discuss speeds for convoy movement was on Korean roads because the speed limit signs were metric. In Iraq, training in the field (in Korea and US), and US streets we used mph. I can’t speak with much certainty for the other services expect that the Navy guys I work with in my current job talk sometimes talk about things in terms of knots and nautical miles, but they will use metric as well. I like metric-it’s simpler and the weight/volume relationship you described is very useful. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A company like Bachmann doesn't care about scale. For them, a container is nothing but a rectangular box, so they've decided to make one in a size they see fit, as long as it fits in one of their appropriate rolling stock. They do not care whether it fits in other manufacturers' rolling stock or stacks with other manufacturers' containers. That's just the way they operate, you can't change it...
Seeing that this is just a hobby. Fun and artistic but, just a hobby. It's how it affects real life that matters. The speed-o-meters on Japanese motorbikes are way off. 35 really means 29 and that gal in the Corvette behind gets agitated.