I decided to measure my Containers and got close to the same measurements.
mm Length Width Height
LGB Small Container mm = 170 x 90 x 90 (right hand side below)
Piko Large Container mm = 300 x 102 x 107(centre below)
View attachment 316918
I believe that the Piko Large Container (centre above) which is basically the same size
as the large LGB one (left above) is supposed to represent a standard 20' dry container not a 40' one.
Starting from the external measurements of an actual dry 20' standard container
which is 6.06m x 2.44m x 2.6m and then dividing by 22.5, which is the common scale used by LGB, I get the following results in mm (after x 1000 and rounded off to whole numbers) and assuming LGB models of the White Pass are 1:22.5 (White Pass track gauge is actually 3 foot not one metre) then a.....
20' container to scale should measure as follows...
gauge | scale | L (mm) | W (mm) | H (mm) |
metre | 1:22.5 | 269 | 108 | 116 |
3' | 1:20.3 | 299 | 120 | 128 |
3'6" | 1:24 | 253 | 102 | 108 |
| 1:29 | 209 | 84 | 90 |
standard gauge | 1:32 | 189 | 76 | 81 |
Piko / LGB container | | 300 | 102 | 107 |
Thus width and height measurements are closest to 1:24 and length to 1:20.3
This is why the container looks too long proportionally to height.
My first thought why this has happened is that originally LGB modelled the container for the White Pass which pioneered Containers in the 50s long before they became common and containers were standardized. The White Pass called itself "The Container Route".
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Its large containers were 25,3' x 8' x 8' or 7.71144m long (see above)
At 1:22.5 scale 25.3' measures 343mm which is too long so maybe that theory is wrong.
View attachment 316919
LGB's version of the White Pass container.
My other thought was the LGB White Pass flat car was originally designed for carrying 2 anvil ore containers which were unique to the WP and look prototypically accurate. The flat car then would have been too short for the 20' container so maybe the container was shortened to fit this car. But it does look right so I am probably wrong and/or my calculations are screwed!
However in the end it looks good rather than looks right?
So I enjoy my container train and never get bored watching it.
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