HO is 1/87 scale. If the prototype is 87 feet long, the HO model of it would be 1 foot long, right? But what about weight? ...and horsepower? I just thought it would be fun to think about...
But...molecules and atoms are always 1:1, so how can anything actually scale down? Here we are in some point in time and space. Welcome to TB. I don't know how it works, but someone here may have an opinion.
Weight relates to volume which is a cube law; so the weight should be 1/87^3 (I think) = 1/658503. So a 100 ton (224000 lb) loco or car in HO would be 0.34 lb or 5.44 oz. NMRA weight for a 10" HO car is 6 oz (1 + 1/2 per inch), so that seems pretty close actually . Horsepower? Hmm, good question But Flash is right, some stuff doesn't scale well. Water is a classic one.
Im going to do some math here just to fuel this fascinating discussion. Let's take a GP30, for example. The actual weight is 253,500 lbs. In HO Scale, that would be 2,914 pounds. The tractive effort (63,375lb) in HO would be 728 lbs. and produce horsepower (2250hp) in HO scale at 26hp. I don't think there is HO scale track on the market than can handle a 2,914 lb locomotive. Also, the freightcars them selves are not scaled, down. Let's use a 1937 USRA-type Steel Boxcar. Unloaded this car weighs 44,900 lb...that's 516 lb in HO scale. Loaded at maximum capacity (124,100) that would be 1,426 lb. Ok, there is a few examples of how prototypes would scale down. Pretty obvious why not everything is perfectly scaled down. It'd take a crane to put you locomotive on the tracks, just like the real ones.
CP&E: What Mike Sheridan is saying is that the 1:87 is linear. You have to multiply 87 x 87 x 87 to get the scale equivalent of weight and horsepower. Thus, the 253,500 pound engine would weigh 253,500 divided by 658503 or 0.38 pounds or 6.1 ounces. I used to call this course Magic 101.
I never considered myself good at math and stuff, LOL. Something about an HO scale locomotive weighing 2,000 lb just didn't seem quite right
But just think about how many cars it would pull if it did weigh 2,000 pounds. That would be closer to prototype than the new plastic engines. I still have some steel HO rail that if spiked to hard wood ties would hold it up! Give me a big all metal steamer any day!
