Is T Guage about Dead?

[u18b]

At one time, I was really excited about T Guage.

I saw T as being in a similar situation a N in the 60s.  Somewhat primitive equipment.  Fairly poor performance, but the cool factor was high.
It was in the "Pioneering days."

I saw a starter set at a show and bought it.  I fell in love with the possibilities.

Then two things changed.

Better mechanisms came out.  This was a big plus.  A huge step forward.  This was about when my entrance came.

Then Shapeways.  People started making some shells to replace the Japanese stock stuff.

DKS was a great inspiration to me.   It looked like maybe T would begin the first baby steps of moving out of the pioneering stage.

It was at this time that I started having really grandiose ideas.
At that point.... most (though not all) people were making layouts in a suitcase.
Cute- but not for me.

I began dreaming (and even researching and planning) an almost scale layout in the shape of a L about 8 on one side and 6 on the other.
Imagine the possibilities of a BIG layout in T.

When I came to a stopping point on some of my projects.... I was going to jump in.

And then it just died.
Almost everything has dried up.

There is hardly anything out there.

There are still a couple of vendors.  And I may try my hand at my idea one day.

But I must confess..... I'm pretty disappointed.

And..... it's kind of a reminder of what COULD have happened to N in the 60s.

[peteski]

Ron, are you sure you posted this in the correct forum?! 

You all seen this coming, didn't ya?  And yes, it is a JOKE!  Seriously! 

[u18b]

Ron, are you sure you posted this in the correct forum?! 

I think that's the point.  There's no T gauge forum!
 

[u18b]

Besides, I never know how to spell gage  guage  gauge   

[CBQ Fan]

Just refer to it as T Scale!!  Lol

[narrowminded]

I think that's the point.  There's no T gauge forum!
 

It's there.   Just too small to see.

[u18b]

Just refer to it as T Scale!!  Lol

Yeah.

But using gauge focuses on the space between the rails-  3 mm.
I think most people see these trains as 1:400, but I don't think all did/do.

In the same way the early N stuff was not 1:160.  Charlie VlK (IIRC) has argued in the past that while there were differing stuff at first in 1960 when "N" first came out... a consistent scale did not appear until the mid to late 60s.

But I'm ok with T scale.

[Chris333]

I never got mine to run nice and slow. Still have it all in a baggie. Flatcar is N scale.

[Catt]

The newer T scale stuff has a much smaller more efficient motor that is about half the size of the original motor.T like Z is rapidly becoming the expensive scale.

[Mark W]

T Gauge is still there, and new stuff continues to come out too, but it's definitely a DIY scale.  I too have dreams of an open spaces T Gauge layout, and am very slowly accumulating supplies.  Lack of a state side vendor is a huge hurdle though.   It's always fun to share just how small T is compared to N and Z.




There's some awesome stuff being done in T Gauge over in the UK.  The Forth Bridge is one of the more incredible feats of 3D printing and modeling I've yet seen:

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[Bobster]

Aye to be back in Scotland again!

Back in 2010 I rode the train down from Inverness to Edinburgh.  Felt like we were only doing 5 to 10 MPH across that bridge, just creeping along.  For those who may not know the bridge crosses the Firth of Forth.  Hence the name.   Having that Brit nuclear sub going under is a nice touch.  Proves the builder knows a little more about the area than the post cards show.  Or maybe its something to keep those rowdy Scots under control. :s

Bobster out     

[DKS]

I wouldn't say T is "about dead." I'd say it's progressed from a "novelty" to a "specialty" scale. There are just enough products and interested modelers to keep it alive. @Mark W put it best: It's a "DIY" scale. Definitely for modelers with abundant patience and serious small-scale skills, and there are some modelers out there who have done extraordinary things. There are some overseas vendors who can help you out if you feel adventurous. Me, I've long since left the scale behind; my physical limitations have made it all but impossible to pursue, not to mention that performance will always be an issue, given the physics involved with such small models. I still have some flex track, though, to use as industrial narrow gauge in N Scale...

As an aside, Eishindo, the developer, did something very strange. Japan has a number of different track gauges, although they're all pretty close. But when Eishindo expanded their line to include different rail lines, they broke with the original 1:450 scale so that the 3mm track gauge would work for different 1:1 gauges. I think this was seriously stupid: for one thing, the difference in track gauges, at 1:450, was less than the margin of error in manufacturing 3mm track! It also meant that accessories made for their first 1:450 trains couldn't be used for the newer ones (assuming the modeler even cared).

Wanders off shaking head...

[nkalanaga]

"Japan has a number of different track gauges, although they're all pretty close."

And here I though they only had two:  42 inch (1067 mm) and standard.  Learn something new every day.  What are the others?

[peteski]

I'm also not sure how to interpret DKS' statement.
I also thought there were only 2 main gauges in Japan: the local trains (narrow) and the Shinkansen or bullet trains (standard). I suspect that maybe there are multiple narrow gauges, but the are all fairly close to each other.

But why would the accessories not be compatible?  In N scale Japanese are modeling in 1:150, but we often use the 1:150 items in 1:160.

[C62-2]

Some of the lines in Japan are 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in). Shinjuku station has at least three gauges (on various lines): 4' 8" for the Marunouchi subway line, 4' 6" for the Keio line, and 3' 6" for JR, Odakyu, and Seibu lines. The Japanese N scale manufactures release models with each of these prototypes to run on the same 9 mm track, so it's not surprising that they would do that for T, too.