Regina Railway Modellers Association
MODEL RAILROAD SCALES
There are many scales in which you can model trains. The smallest common scale is Z scale (1:220) and the largest indoor scale is G scale (approx. 1:24). The three most common scales are HO, O and N scales. The table below lists each scale and its ratio (e.g. 1:x where 1 inch on the scale model represents x inches in real life).
Let's say we have a GE ES44AC model. This is a photo of the real thing used to illustrate scale.
Z scale
N scale
TT scale
HO scale
S scale
O scale
G scale
The table below lists each scale and its ratio (e.g. 1:x where 1 inch on the scale model represents x inches in real life).
| SCALE | RATIO | SCALE | NOTES | |||
| Z |
1:220 |
1/16 inch to 1 foot | ||||
| N | 1:160 |
5/64 inch to 1 foot |
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| TT | 1:120 | 3/32 inch to 1 foot | ||||
| HO | 1:87 | 1/8 inch to 1 foot | ||||
| S | 1:64 | 3/16 inch to 1 foot | ||||
| O | 1:43/1:48 | 1/4 inch to 1 foot |
1/43 in Europe; 1/48 in North America |
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| G | 1:22.5 | 1/2 inch to 1 foot |
Size varies according to manufacturer |
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| HOn3 | 1:87 | HO scale rolling stock on narrow guage (N scale) track | ||||
| On3 | 1:43/1:48 | O scale rolling stock on narrow guage (HO scale) track |
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