Industry size in O scale
For me, the best thing about O scale is that it is BIG. The trains are
big and heavy, which lets them represent the mass of the real thing
in ways the smaller scales can’t. A nine- or 10-pound locomotive
and a string of 16 - 18-ounce freight cars crossing a set of diamonds
or even some rail joints results in great sound. Structures can also
be large and imposing. Large buildings and mountaintops can rise
well above eye level. A typical mountain on my layout is Mount
Chapman which tops out at 77” above the floor. Thirty-inch-tall
Summit Trestle curves in front of Mount Chapman.
On the other hand, the worst thing about O scale is that it is big.
Track planning must be done carefully, since everything takes up so
much space. Those large industrial structures also are real space-
eaters. Altoona Brewing Company is 46” long, 12” tall and 13”
deep. The strategy I’ve used to maximize the number of industrial
switching areas on the railroad is to include a very few large com-
plete structures (such as the brewery), but to place most of the
large industries either along
the backdrop or in the aisle
space. The Pennsylvania
House furniture factory is
a large structure with two
doors leading to interior
unloading docks and a third
shipping dock tucked under
the structure. The factory
is set back as a semi-flat
23: J.E. Baker is one of
the larger industries tow-
ering above the trains.
23
Pennsylvania &Western RR - 1
MRH-Mar 2013
