A reader says:

I own a number of Hawthorne Village buildings and figures. Do you know if all Hawthorne Village products are to the same scale? And does it equate to any of the popular model railroading scales. Thanx. I appreciate the help. I really enjoyed your news letter.

-----------Paul's Answer--------You may add your own below, but be nice. -------

Most Hawthorne Village figures are about O scale. The buildings average out to about S scale, but they're more interested in having them blend in with other buildings than being the same scale. So a skyscraper might really be in something closer to N, and a news stand will be larger than O, but otherwise the news stand would get lost and the skyscraper (even if modeled in HO scale) would bump your ceiling. Generally the buildings that represent 2-story houses, storefronts, etc., will be close to S, but they do vary. (Remember, most O-27 trains are closer to S than O in height and length, so that's not as bad as yo umight think.)

If you use buildings from the same series they'll look right together, which may be all you need.

Another reader writes:

Is the IH tractor town scene and the snoopy scene the right scale for O guage Lionel? The page doesn't say and it's difficult from the photos provided to get a sense of scale. Suggest you put a train in the photos to help. Thanks! I know you put the size information out, but that doesn't help much.

------Paul's Reply - Feel free to add yours below, but be nice. ------------

Most Hawthorne village buildings average around S scale. Which is fine, since most O27 trains average around S scale in height and length.

The smaller pieces (like news stands, sheds, Snoopy's doghouse, etc.) will be larger, so they don't get lost in the clutter. The larger pieces (like skyscrapers, ball parks, etc.) will be much smaller so they don't take over your living room. So most 2-story houses and storefronts will look about right with your trains, though they might seem a tad small. On30 trains go very well with them, because they have a similar level of detail. And even though they're actually O scale, they're models of trains that were very tiny in the first place.

P.S. the farm equipment-themed sets tend to sell out quickly. They cost more to license than some of the other sets since Ertl also licenses them. So Bradford Exchange doesn't order very big runs.

Hope this helps; please let me know if you have any other questions.

Paul Race
www.BigChristmasTrains.com
www.BigIndoorTrains.com

A reader writes:

Interested in scale used for department 56 chritmas setting

----Our Reply-----------------Feel free to add your own below, but be nice. --------------

Dept 56 buildings average about O scale, 1:48. Models of big buildings tend to be scaled down so they don't take over your house. Models of little buildings, like magazine stands tend to be scaled up. Their people tend to be a little bigger, maybe 1:32, so they don't disappear into the clutter when you set your village up. Big animals, like horses may be a bit smaller and tiny animals like birds will be larger in scale. There is no fixed standard. You can use Lionel O gauge trains with them, but I tend to recommend On30 trains. Those are actually the same scale, but they're models of smaller trains and have more detail.

Hope this helps, please let me know if you have any more questions,

Paul

A reader writes:

My wife bought a Christmas Village which came with figurines of an adult male being 2 inches tall. Can you advise what size/scale train I should purchase. Brand name and anything else you can share would be greatly appreciated.

I've been looking at some of the Hawthorne pieces recently online; it's tough to get a sense of what "scale" they are, so thanks for the info. I'll presume most generally fall in the 1/48-1/64 range (O and S scale for toy train fans).