Do you want narrow gauge to look like that picture running on THREE FOOT TRACK?.  On30 won't do it, On3 won't do it, Sn3 won't do it. This is a great idea to do it, believe me. Common carrier narrow gauge railroads in the United States were THREE FOOT gauge.

Here is how it goes, HO track is 16.5mm. If we divide 16.5 by 3 we get 5.5mm. Strange scale right, 1/55? Military modeling has 1/56 or 28mm figures, there are figures, wagons, vehicles in the 28mm world. Why not make the models to 5.5mm/ft?

Won't we have to scratchbuild everything? Where will we get cars and locomotives? Bachmann On30 gives us the inside frame 4-4-0 and HO locomotives can be converted. Bachmann On30 freight cars convert to 55n3 easily.

The On30 Bachmann inside frame 4-4-0 is really too small to be a 1/48 scale locomotive. In 1/55 it is great. Looks like the picture, eh! The other Bachmann On30 locomotives are too large for 55n3.

The Bachmann On30 freight cars are very small early 3 foot prototypes. They scale better as 1/55 cars than 1/48. The ladders and grabs are the right size and placement also. The figure is a modified 1/50 Preiser.

Three foot locomotives can be made from HO locomotives. The Mantua HO ten-wheeler is a good starting point for a 5.5mm/foot three foot gauge loco.

This website will post articles about modeling in 5.5mm scale on HO track. Hopefully someone will follow me in this venture.

 I guess it has to have a name, Scale55 sounds good, we don't want to go into that "letter jungle" . Sorta like the proto guys with P:87 and P:48. 55n3 being a subset.

People
Google "28mm vehicles" and you will find a wide variety of options. There is a wide variety of nineteenth century vehicles and horsepower.
Comments and Ideas, Click here to E-mail me at:
hminky@yahoo.com
Please make the subject: Scale 55

HO Locomotives as 55n3
A Mantua HO Ten-Wheeler against a 1/55 scale plan of a Pacific Coast Railway Mogul. It can be converted to many 55n3 configurations.
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The Bachmann On30 cars boxcars match the early cars of the Pacfic Coast Railway.

The Bachmann On30 gondolas and flats need be narrowed a scale foot to represent a typical narrow gauge gondola. An hour is all that it takes to narrow a gondola. We wil have an article shortly.

The Bachmann On30 stock car has no known prototype except Bachmann's large scale rendition using a standard gauge car. It will suffice.


 
"We DON'T need no stinkin' letter!!!"
  5.5mm/ft - 1:55 - Scale 55 Sounds good

A classic On30 car modeled after Yosemite valley plans in Railroad Model Craftsman. I made this car in the mid-eighties. I thought that United States narrow gauge couldn't be modeled on HO track using HO components and tried Sn3.5. At that time there were very few small HO mechanisms suitable for Sn3.5. The car has handscribed styrene, S scale grab irons and MDC archbars. Geez, if I had only figured out Scale 55 then.
A Jeff Saxton "On30" model based on an HO chassis, looks like 55n3 to me. Click here to see more Jeff Saxton models.
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A Boulder Valley"On30" Shay based on Bachmann's HO three truck chassis, looks like 55n3 to me. Click here to Visit Boulder Valley Models to see all the items suitiable for 55n3
On30 freight cars as 55n3
The Original On30, was it really 55n3 and didn't know it
Ever have one of those D-oh!!! moments. Looking through my photos from the old On30 site I found this one. I took this picture while whining, yes I whined, about the On30 4-4-0 was too small for O scale narrow gauge. Why didn't I see the light then? Now that looks like three foot narrow gauge. That was my handlaid On30 track that looked so very "sucky" trying to represent 3 foot narrow gauge track in 1/48 looks perfect if you project those locos as three foot in Scale 55.

Oh so very dumb!!!!!!!!!!

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On30 passenger cars as 55n3
The passenger cars go well with our high drivered 4-4-0.

The 12 foot height matches cars from the Waynesburg & Washington and the Ohio River & Western. The body height matches this early "duck-bill" car. So they can be used without modification.

The windows match this Pacific Coast Railway Coach.  The cars become 40-1/2 feet in 55n3, a big improvement, the width is 8-1/2 feet to match the plan.

Click here to visit Ted Hawkins old 55n3 layouts
Others have been here
Two foot in 5.5mm Scale
There has been modeling 2 foot prototypes. They have been modeling in 5.5mm/foot since 1963.
Here is Malcom Savage's model of Tasmania's North-East Dundas Tramway locomotive K1 - the first Beyer-Garratt.
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Click here to visit "The 5.5 Association" website they have a "55 News" newsletter
HO Track IS Scale 55 Three Foot Track
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Narrow Gauge track usually had the ties closer together because of the dirt roadbed. Look at the pictures of narrow gauge track, most ties are about a tie width apart. They are usually spaced close to keep from sinking in the dirt.

This Model Power HO Code 83 track gives us a 55n3 ties of 6 inch wide x 5.5 feet long on 15 inch centers. The code 83 rail weighs in at 60 pounds.

Atlas HO code 83 track is similar in size. The track under the lowered boxcar below is Atlas.

Preiser offers well sculpted figures in 1/50 scale that can be altered to 1/55. The little unpainted figure in the pictures is a shortened 1/50. The Preiser figures tend to be "leggy" so the alteration isn't that difficult.
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First's ya needs a scale rule - OVER 550 DOWNLOADS Join the FUN
Click here to download a Scale55 "Ruler"
Click here for more pictures of the late Dave Scott's 55n3 layout
Duh!!!!!
Click here to visit Ted Hawkins 55n3 models
Malcolm Savage has a line of figures as well as a wonderful line of 55n2 items.
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Click here for Malcolm Savages line of figures and 55n2.

Bachmann's 55n3 4-4-0 with a lowered Bachmann On30 boxcar
Click here to convert a Bachmann On30 box car to 55n3
Click here for Our Site Map
What is on the Website

Structures
Structures probably could be made from O or S Scale kits. Since no one I know can afford them, there are other sources. There are many HO scale structures that can be used. Structures won't have to be scratchbuilt. Print out our scale rule and measure structures at the hobby shop. There are more Scale55 structures available than one can imagine.
Click here for a free paper Scale55 Saloon
The first thing you need is a "scale", click our link .
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Whitewash City offers paper buildings in Scale 55, ignore their 1/60 scale. Print the saloon out and make one of cardstock. See what Scale55 offers in size.
That is Atlas Code 83 HO track under our boxcar. Sure looks like three foot narrow gauge track.
If you have visited before it is best to reload this page, we change quite often
Click here to convert a Bachmann On30 Caboose to 55n3
Forums and Associations discussing 5.5mm/ft
Click to join 55NG

Click to join 55NG

There is also their Yahoo Forum
Buildings Unlimited(Ameri-towne) offers inexpensive plastic O scale buildings suitable for Scale 55.
The doors will need a typical transom added to reduce their height.
This garage will make a nice freight house.

This website presents  modeling 3 foot narrow gauge in the nineteenth century.
Click here to convert a Bachmann On30 gondola to 55n3
What does only 10-15% scale difference mean?
A linear difference of 10-15% doesn't sound like much, right. Here is our rogues gallery of figures of major scales HO(3.5mm, 1/87), OO(4mm, 1/76), S(3/16",1/64), 55(5.5mm, 1/55), American O(1/4", 1/48). Notice the big difference in volume. That is our HO gauge track representing   three foot track in Scale55 next to PSC On3 track. Big difference, more railroad in less space.
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The real thing at the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum , compare it to the converted boxcar.
Objects aren't  "N, HO...S, O, etc. SCALE". An object is what it measures.
Click here for Our Review of Bachmann's 55n3 4-4-0
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Click here to make Bachmann's 55n3 4-4-0 a long leggity beasty. Put big drivers on the 4-4-0.
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Click here to Visit Our Locomotive Resource Page - Lets Build LOCOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friend of the Scale and proprietor of Boulder Valley Models Dallas Mallerich is building a Micro Layout in 55n3 on The Rail-Line Forum.
Click here to follow Dallas on The Rail-Line Forum
 Some new things
Why 55n3?
55n3 gives a modeler the ability to model the heyday of THREE FOOT American narrow gauge in the same space as HO scale within a realizable budget. It is a format that EVERYONE can build in and AFFORD. There is enough available to accomplish this goal, more than any other scale.  55n3 uses track available at the local hobby shop, no other narrow gauge scale can say that.

 Hope you join me in this endeavor.

REAL American Narrow Gauge for EVERYONE
Track is what sets 55n3 apart from other scales. You can go to your hobby shop and buy 55n3 track, it is ALWAYS readily available HO gauge track!!!
How about 55w6?
While looking for a possible other scale track for a standard gauge interchange, I realized HO was half O scale. The 7mm one not the American one. O scale track isn't twice HO, falling short by a millimeter. It comes out to 69" which is almost the Erie Railroad's six foot gauge. All broadgauge disappeared with the standardization in 1886, the Erie converting in 1881.

I found this Erie 6-foot gauge loco and scaled it to Scale55, interesting?

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This is the Blue Moon Manufacturing Army Supply wagon. It is composed of excellent white metal castings and a resin body. (Click Images to Enlarge)
Tamiya has 1/48 WWII figure sets. The figures are long legged with short torsos and can be converted. There are also separate arms. (Click Image to Enlarge)
A photo from Friend of the Scale Dallas Mallerich, proprietor of Boulder Valley Models. It shows two 28mm Dixon Wild West figures and our 5'-6" MTH figure. The giant is Scale48. Scale55 will offer more railroad in less space.
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Click here to Visit Our Locomotive Resource Page - Lets Build LOCOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Knuckleduster offers this Studebaker farm wagon in Resin and white metal. Included is a well sculpted driver
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Imex has this 1/72 wagon train. It offers more delicate wheels and wagon frames. Everything else is too small. It is "soft" plastic and requires special primer for painting. There are ten sets of wheels and frames for about $30 with shipping on the net or $3 a set, cheap.
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Why Narrow Gauge? Click here and read about why there was narrow gauge in America in an 1876 treatise from Google Books. Download from the PDF tab in the upper right corner.
Wargames Factory offers "Zombies". They can be brought back to "life" with very little work. The set has   separate heads and arms and a torso with a "Duster". (Click Images to Enlarge)
This Model Power "HO" water tank and mine scales perfectly to Scale 55. Ya, just gotta look.
Work in progress conversion of a "Zombie" to "Engineer Bill"
click here to discuss HO roundhouse
Click here to Visit Our HO Roundhose as 55n3 page
Roundhouse HO locomotives become smaller mining and logging locomotives.
Click here to Visit Our HO Buildings Convertible to Scale55 Page.
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Wagons
Cars and Trucks
Company "B" offers these WWI era model T's. Click here
Blue Moon Manufacturing offers 1930's era vehicles
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Disney "Pixar" offers this Model T as "Lizzie"
HO Buildings converting to Scale55
These DPM storefronts can be used as Scale55 with minimal modification. The clapboard siding measures 3" and the doors just have to be rearranged. The brick storefront section has doors that work without modification.
Brick from the DPM and Walthers Packing House HO scale buildings measures 2x5, most brick is 2-1/2x8. The brick will hold up as Scale55.
This HO LifeLike Modular Stock Pen matches up to our 55n3 stock car.
Click here to Visit Our HO Buildings Convertible to Scale55 Page.
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Tichy and Grandtline HO windows can be used. S and O scale doors can be modified.
Scale 55 Standard Gauge
Where will we get standard gauge equipment for interchange?
On3 cars become standard gauge cars for the era. Bachmann On30 supplies 5 foot wheelbase trucks. These can be widened to accommodate 28" O scale wheels regauged to 1.015 to make Scale 55 standard gauge trucks.
The Bachmann On30 Mogul can be reworked to become a small 0-6-0 switching loco with a new frame and HO 80" drivers regauged to 1.015.
This Matchbox 1/50 steam tractor scales out well.
55n3 Will Fit Realistically into HO Scale Space
55n3 will fit into an HO sized space. Here is the NMRA HO Clearance Gage against a large heyday three foot narrow gauge locomotive, the D&RG Class 60 (C-16). The 55n3 track centers are  2-19/32", 12 foot, and HO is 2". So with minor adjustments HO track plans can be used. Since large HO buildings translate to 55n3, they will fit in the given space.
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Blue Moon Manufacturing has civilians. These are from their Wild West group. They also have a 1920's set and a Victorian set.
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MTH  makes this set of figures (MTH 30-11043). There are 10 poses. 10 each of the standing figures. The seated figures fit the Bachmann On30 seats perfectly. Available from $23-$30 The standing figure is 5'-6"
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55n3 has the only affordable Ready-to-Run 3 foot gauge 4-4-0
NEW
Click here for more pictures of the Steve Jones's 55n3 layout
Scroll down to Ahascragh

Click here to see the first train on the new 55n3 Pacific Coast Air Line Railway
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Click here to photos of Michael Yerina's in-progress 55n3 layout
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Click here!! The Favorite Spot has Bachmann 55n3 4-4-0's for $143
NEW
Click here for photos of Harvey Faulkner-Aston's Scale55
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click here to see harvey's work