Subject:
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Re: New Poll
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Tue, 7 Jan 2003 18:22:40 GMT
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Viewed:
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1649 times
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On Tue, 7 Jan 2003 01:31:02 GMT, John wrote:
> *Ideally*, given that the gauge of the track is just under 5 studs, the correct
> train width would be 10 studs wide (assuming standard gauge of 4 feet 8 1/2
> inches). That puts you at a scale of 1 stud = 1 foot.
>
> That makes minifigs about 5 feet high, which is okay, I guess, but it ends up
> making the wheels look noticeably small.
This reminds me of the legend of the current standard gauge, - that it
was passed down from Roman times because that's what their chariot
wheel widths were. Well, in the case of Lego where did our gauge come
from?
Where did 9V gauge come from?
9V guage (1990): Designers used the same guage as 12V for backward
compatibility
Where did 12V gauge come from?
12V guage (early 70's?): Designers used the same guage as 4.5V for
backward compatibility. Note that we are now historically before the
invention of the minifigure or its precursor, the faceless-armless
figure.
Where did 4.5V gauge come from?
4.5V guage (1960's): There were no Lego people at all when the
first 4.5V trains were produced. Designers chose the guage based on
the first wheel guage, which had 4 studs between wheels. Remember
that the earliest trains used standard wheels without tires. The
wheels had both inner and outer flanges on their rims.
Where did the first Lego wheel gauge come from?
The first wheels were produced almost before the invention of plates
(I believe). They were based on the 2x4 brick, the standard Lego
element of the day.
How did the 2x4 brick get sized like it is?
I'm not brushed up enough on my ancient Lego history to answer that
right now but I'm sure someone could continue this story...
But suffice to say that our gauge has been handed down through the
generations. Same with our curve radius (same curve as in the
1960's). It may not be practical any more but we are stuck with it
now!
We are just lucky that it is roughly to scale with minifig height. If
someones car width bothers you, then remember that the guage is not to
scale with minifig width either (boy those guys are fat - or maybe
just short!) 3 or 4 regular people can comfortably lay side by side
between the rails. By that dimension Lego train track guage should be
6 to 8 studs between the rails!
-Matt :)
-----------------------------------------------------
www.insidethevault.com - mattchiles@gorge.net
Matt Chiles
1006 Horseshoe Bend Rd
Centerville, WA 98613 USA
Phone: 509-773-5724
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: New Poll
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| In lugnet.trains, Matthew J. Chiles writes: <snip history of LEGO train gauge> (...) "thin challenged"? (...) Ahh, my new favorite pet scale: 8wide....GAUGE:-) (1:24 scale) Of course you are right, Matt. When I model "prototypically", it is really (...) (22 years ago, 8-Jan-03, to lugnet.trains)
| | | Re: New Poll // Train History
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| (...) Hi Matt, that is not correct as far as I know. All train always used special train wheels (except from none-track based ones like 323 + 396). But you are right: in the early years (from 1966 - 1971) they used the standard wheel blocks. First (...) (22 years ago, 9-Jan-03, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: New Poll
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| (...) *Ideally*, given that the gauge of the track is just under 5 studs, the correct train width would be 10 studs wide (assuming standard gauge of 4 feet 8 1/2 inches). That puts you at a scale of 1 stud = 1 foot. That makes minifigs about 5 feet (...) (22 years ago, 7-Jan-03, to lugnet.trains)
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