While work continues slowly on the railway station layout, I thought I'd take some time to compare the size of the high speed passenger trains in my collection. I've never had all of them sitting next to each other at the same time. My collection at present, include two Shinkansens, one TGV and four ICEs (Unlike the ICE1s, the two ICE3s in my possession are identical so I've elected to show just the one). The ICEs are built by MiniTrix and the others by Kato. I was curious whether there was a noticeable difference in size. I know that they are N-scale, but having read articles about the variability of structures between different vendors, I was curious whether this also applied to trains. I have no pictures to compare these trains at 1:1 scale. This is simply a relative visual comparison with no physical measurements to base upon.
Even if the models are not exactly 1:160 scale, it would be difficult to discern any difference. In all honesty, I wouldn't be able to tell if there were any discrepancies in scale. From the top view, you can see that the ICE1 locomotives are the shortest in this group followed by the TGV. Both ICE3 and Shinkansen E4 Max are about the same length. At least they are at N-scale. The longest is the Shinkansen 700. I haven't had a chance to connect all the cars together to see their complete length. I'll wait until the layout is completed before I pull them out of their boxes.
You can see from the front view that the Shinkansen is the wider of the high speed passsenger trains followed by the ICE1s. Then the ICE3 and finally the TGV. I thought this might be attributed to the track gauge employed in Japan was different than that used in Europe. However, the ICE, TGV and Shinkansen all operate on standard gauge track, which is 4' 8.5" wide. I had to look this up on Wikipedia. I recall feeling confined while riding in the Shinkansen. Several factors contributed to this feeling. The seats were packed closely to maximize the number of passengers. The other reason was due to the small cabin windows. I felt as if I was flying in a passenger airliner. This differed significantly from the ICE3, which I thought was spacious. Of course, the large reclining seats in first class probably helped to create that sense of openness as the European landscape sped past the expansive windows. It is no secret that North Americans are larger (okay, obese) than their asian counterparts. Perhaps this is the reason for the smaller seats in Japan. I hated flying JAL because of the lack of leg room.
Nice comparison and I agree based on my own experiences. I do have at least one narrow gauge Japanese EMU that I am curious to see if it looks too large relative to the mostly 1:160 items.
The Shinkansens appear to be slightly wider than the Minitrix. I tested them on my urban railway platforms and they almost rub against the platform edge. My ICEs and TGV don't have that problem as there is ample space.
It was your blog entry that got me to thinking about the sizes of my trains and the different manufacturers.
Because Shinkansen travelled more people than TGV and ICE, especially on Tokaido Shinkansen. It's the busiest high speed rail line in the world with more than 300.000 people per day. So it design with such cabin with little space to fit more passengers
It was 1994 and I was working in Doha helping CGIS implement a nation wide GIS. My vacation was coming up and I had decided to head over to Europe instead of going back home for a visit. It was my first time traveling alone and my first visit to Europe. I was young and naive, which were two great characteristics to possess when experiencing new cultures. It certainly helped me to adjust to middle eastern ways for two and a half years. I arrived in Amsterdam with no itinerary and just an Eurorail pass in my hands. I journeyed from Amsterdam to Bruxelles to Paris to Lyon to Milano to Firenze to Verona to Venice to Vienna to Salzburg to München to Frankfurt to Köln and full circle back to Amsterdam. It was wonderful traveling across Europe by train. Sometimes I was unable to find accommodations so I slept in train stations, but enjoyed it nonetheless. That was back in the days when it was still safe to do so. That particular trip had a profound impact on me and was the catalyst for my interest in this hobby. My model trains help me to relive those wonderful memories of my first trip across Europe.
While work continues slowly on the railway station layout, I thought I'd take some time to compare the size of the high speed passenger trains in my collection. I've never had all of them sitting next to each other at the same time. My collection at present, include two Shinkansens, one TGV and four ICEs (Unlike the ICE1s, the two ICE3s in my possession are identical so I've elected to show just the one). The ICEs are built by MiniTrix and the others by Kato. I was curious whether there was a noticeable difference in size. I know that they are N-scale, but having read articles about the variability of structures between different vendors, I was curious whether this also applied to trains. I have no pictures to compare these trains at 1:1 scale. This is simply a relative visual comparison with no physical measurements to base upon.
Even if the models are not exactly 1:160 scale, it would be difficult to discern any difference. In all honesty, I wouldn't be able to tell if there were any discrepancies in scale. From the top view, you can see that the ICE1 locomotives are the shortest in this group followed by the TGV. Both ICE3 and Shinkansen E4 Max are about the same length. At least they are at N-scale. The longest is the Shinkansen 700. I haven't had a chance to connect all the cars together to see their complete length. I'll wait until the layout is completed before I pull them out of their boxes.
You can see from the front view that the Shinkansen is the wider of the high speed passsenger trains followed by the ICE1s. Then the ICE3 and finally the TGV. I thought this might be attributed to the track gauge employed in Japan was different than that used in Europe. However, the ICE, TGV and Shinkansen all operate on standard gauge track, which is 4' 8.5" wide. I had to look this up on Wikipedia. I recall feeling confined while riding in the Shinkansen. Several factors contributed to this feeling. The seats were packed closely to maximize the number of passengers. The other reason was due to the small cabin windows. I felt as if I was flying in a passenger airliner. This differed significantly from the ICE3, which I thought was spacious. Of course, the large reclining seats in first class probably helped to create that sense of openness as the European landscape sped past the expansive windows. It is no secret that North Americans are larger (okay, obese) than their asian counterparts. Perhaps this is the reason for the smaller seats in Japan. I hated flying JAL because of the lack of leg room.
3 comments:
Nice comparison and I agree based on my own experiences. I do have at least one narrow gauge Japanese EMU that I am curious to see if it looks too large relative to the mostly 1:160 items.
The Shinkansens appear to be slightly wider than the Minitrix. I tested them on my urban railway platforms and they almost rub against the platform edge. My ICEs and TGV don't have that problem as there is ample space.
It was your blog entry that got me to thinking about the sizes of my trains and the different manufacturers.
Because Shinkansen travelled more people than TGV and ICE, especially on Tokaido Shinkansen. It's the busiest high speed rail line in the world with more than 300.000 people per day. So it design with such cabin with little space to fit more passengers
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