| HOe | |
| Egger-bahn Steam Tram | |
| Scale per foot: | 3.5 mm to 1 foot |
| Scale ratio: | 1:87 |
| Gauge: | 9 mm (0.354 in) |
| Prototype Gauge: | 760 mm (2 ft 5 7⁄8 in) (Narrow gauge) |
| HOn30 | |
| Chivers Finelines Forney 2-4-4, built by Peter Bartlett | |
| Scale per foot: | 3.5 mm to 1 foot |
| Scale ratio: | 1:87 |
| Gauge: | 9 mm (0.354 in) |
| Prototype Gauge: | 2 ft (610 mm) (Narrow gauge) |
| HOn30 / HOe track comparison | |
| From left to right: HO, HOn30/HOe, N scale | |
| Scale per foot: | 3.5 mm to 1 foot |
| Scale ratio: | 1:87 |
| Gauge: | 9 mm (0.354 in) |
| Prototype Gauge: | 2 ft (610 mm) (Narrow gauge) |
HOe or HOn30 is a popular rail transport modelling scale/gauge combination widely used by modellers of European, American, and Japanese narrow gauge railways.
The term HOn30 (and sometimes HOn2½) is generally used when modelling American prototypes while H0e is used for European prototypes. In the Britain the term HO9 is sometimes used.[1] All these terms refer to models of narrow gauge railways built to the world's most popular model railway scale of HO (1:87) but using a track gauge of 9 mm (0.354 in)—the gauge used for N scale models of standard gauge railways.
The scale was invented by Egger-bahn in 1963.[2]
HOe is one of the gauge/scale combinations defined by NEM.[3] According to that standard, HOe represents narrow gauges between 650–850 mm (25.59–33.46 in) though it's often used to represent 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) gauge railways as well. In strict scale HOe represents a true gauge of 783 mm (2 ft 6.83 in) so is very close to the gauge of the 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) and 760 mm (2 ft 5 7⁄8 in) gauge railways most widely used in Germany and the former Austro-Hungarian empire as well as to the 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge used in parts of the British Empire.
HOn30 is often used to model the 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railroads in the US state of Maine.[4] The first HOn30 / HOn2½ RTR brand introduced in the US was the AHM MinitrainS.,[5] initially manufactured by Egger-bahn and later by Roco and Mehanoteknika Izola, also known as Mehano.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of HOn30 is that RTR models are still scarce. One exception is The Minitrains line that has recently been upgraded and reintroduced under the brand BCH MinitrainS.[6]
Contents |
In 1965 Bob Hayden and Dave Frary stumbled upon an Associated Hobby Manufacturer’s AHM[5] "Minitrains" HOn2½ (now named HOn30) train set at a Woolworth's department store. It looked like the perfect way to model the Maine 2-foot railroads in HO scale.
The AHM Minitrains line came along just a couple of years after N scale appeared in Europe. Minitrains was North American prototype HO scale, using N gauge track. AHM offered two industrial locomotives, a Plymouth diesel and a Baldwin steamer.
Bob and Dave used the AHM trains to model a HOn2½ 3' x 5' portable model railroad called the Elk River Line. The layout appeared in articles starting in the April 1970 issue of RMC.
Their next HOn2½ layout was called Thatcher's Inlet. It was a 6’ x 30" shelf-type switching layout. It was inspired by the Wiscasset waterfront of the Maine 2-foot railroads. The equipment was based more on available N gauge products than on the AHM Minitrains line - it reflected the growing variety of N gauge equipment and accessories available in the early 1970s.
Next came Dave Frary's 12' x 26' HOn2½ Carrabasset & Dead River Ry (C&DR). It was the first large model railroad to utilize HOn2½. It appeared in the Nov 1979 and Feb 1980 issues of MR.
During the mid 1970's a Japanese company, Sango, made a kit for a 2-6-0 Baldwin engine which showed a great improvement in running ability. This started a growing interest in HOn2-1/2 in Japan. From 1978 to 1982, Joe Works, Sango, and Flying Zoo kits and and built-up brass models came on the scene. There was a thriving interest in 2-footers in Japan, using N gauge track. You could put a lot of HO scale operation in a limited space.
In 1974 Bob started his own version of the C&DR. Its first engine was a reworked AHM Minitrains steamer. The first C&DR road diesels, No. 25 and 26, were based on Minitrix N gauge Fairbanks-Morse switchers. Bob's C&DR was featured in MR’s Great Model Railroads 1991 annual.
Both of these layouts are now gone, but HOn30 is still alive and well with a large community of model railroaders enjoying this unique scale and gauge combination around the world.
The other NEM defined narrow gauges for HO scale are HOm (using 12 mm/0.472 in gauge originally TT scale track) for models of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge and similar prototypes and HOi (using Z scale 6.5 mm/0.256 in track - also known as HOf) for prototypes around 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in)- the most popular gauge for industrial (or Feldbahn) railways.
In the United Kingdom where the most popular railway modelling scale is 4 mm/ft or 1:76 scale, the narrow gauge equivalents to HOe and HOm are OO9 and OOn3 for modelling 3 ft (914 mm) gauge railways—widely used in Ireland and the Isle of Man—on 12 mm (0.472 in) gauge track.
In the United States the NMRA have developed many standards [7] for narrow gauge modelling, including those modelling in HOn30 and its related gauges.
The following table lists other combinations that are close to HOe/HOn30 in either scale or gauge;
| Name | Scale | Gauge | Prototype gauge | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOn2 | 3.5 mm | 7mm (0.276 in) | 2 ft (610 mm) | American |
| OO9 | 4 mm/foot | 9 mm (0.354 in) | 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) | British Isles |
| OOn12 | 4 mm/foot | 12 mm (0.472 in) | 3 ft (914 mm) | British Isles |
| Sn2 | 4.8 mm/foot | 9 mm (0.354 in) or 10.5 mm (0.413 in) | 2 ft (610 mm) | American |
| HOm | 3.5 mm | 12 mm (0.472 in) | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | European |
| HOn3 | 3.5 mm | 10.5 mm (0.413 in) | 3 ft (914 mm) | American |