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Tinscale 3/16"
The Louis Marx Company had mastered the use of tin lithography. It was able to use sheet metal economically and at the same time create a wide array of products. Marx used its tin-litho proficiency to create a line of 3/16" scale rail cars. These were perhaps the most realistic models ever created in tin! They remain a prime example of the best of toy train making.
Marx was the most prodigious producer of tin litho. They flooded the market with an endless flow of 6 inch toy train cars for 027. For more realistic sizing, Marx started to make a 7 inch car line. The scale bug bit hard, and Marx abandoned the 7 inch cars to make 1/64 scale to run on its 027 track.
Not to be outdone, Marx also produced a vast assortment of tin litho trackside buildings and accessories. There were stations, gantry cranes, gatemen and crossing signals. Some were in the toy sizes ,but some were close to 3/16. The "Girard" type stations had lithography that made them pretty close to scale.
Thanks to Marx, it is possible to run an 0-64 operation in tin litho. There might have to be more tolerances for scale anomalies. The litho was not a precise scale. It often had aspects of two or more scales in one place.
The tin-plate and tin-litho side of 0-64 is a world of possibilities for the tinplate operator. While a consistent scale might be unobtainable, it is possible to hie close to the 1/64 scale standard whenever possible. Tin is more art than anything else. The impression of realism is the goal, rather than true scale realism itself.
It is possible to run a tinscale 0-64 pike using the scale cars or the 6" cars. Once again, it is the impression of realism that counts with tinscale work.
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