Narrow gauge trains were more human sized versions of the trains we see today. Narrow gauge means the rails were closer together, so everything about these trains were smaller.
Narrow gauge trains became a phenomenon during Reconstruction after the Civil War. Smaller trains meant smaller prices, so every town that wasn't on the main line could afford to build a smaller inexpensive connecting line.
These little trains were great for the job, but by the late 1880s the new practice of interchanging railcars from one railroad to the next made the differences in gauge a quaint nuisance.
When there was money for the job, many of the small railroads broadened their gauge, moving the rails apart and buying new cars and engines to become "Standard Gauge" railroads. Most of the tiny railroads had become standard gauge (or failed) by the early twentieth century. Only a few were too curvy or too specialized to bother changing their gauge, and the few of those that are left are now prized museum railroads.
Part of the charm of the narrow gauge is that they are now mostly gone; their delicate nineteenth century trackwork never saw the massive lumbering steel behemoths of mid-twentieth century steam, or rumbling strings of connected diesels. Their equipment wore much of their working gear on the outside where it could be seen. Tiny trains were supported by smaller shops. A big yard might have only a few tracks. A fully loaded boxcar was considered a big shipment, and a man of today’s normal stature would have to stoop a bit to walk into the boxcar without banging his head.
At that time, the only competition on the road were the horse and cart. Other than a gunshot, the whistle of a steam engine might have been the loudest man-made noise most folks had ever heard. Electric lights were only shining in some distant cities. The chain driven bicycle was brand new.
Why On30
It’s the sound that did it. Tsunami sound decoders are too good. Now I have to run the trains if I'm going to let the sound out. And that means I need some track. In planning I reflected:
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I've come to appreciate shelf railroads: a foot of mainline for every square foot of scenery. -
I like modules too: easy to service (just stand them on edge) and easy to stash away.
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Years of work with tiny temperamental HOn3 models led me to look into On30. They are a nice size to model, and they WORK.
So I started working on a plan for a narrow sectional O scale layout. The story of the layout.
The Plans
The layout was planned to be both a modular railroad and a shelf railroad. I developed a standard to build the sections; The Berrett Hill Sectional Guidelines
These guidelines are just what worked out for me. Use them as you wish. Contact me if you have questions. Find the info at:
Berrett Hill Trains :: www.berretthill.com/trains
