My friend Steve asked me how my 7mm scale British Railways Class 08 (the “Gronk”) measures up to a standard North American 40-foot freight car. Since I happen to have some, I grabbed an O scale PFE refrigerator car and shot the following comparison:
The two are roughly the same height and have the same sort of presence, although the refrigerator car is longer. Keep in mind that as a 7mm model, the diesel is a slightly larger scale (1:43.5) than the O scale (1:48) freight car.
While I had the camera out, I thought it would also be fun to compare this mid-century modern diesel with the Edwardian era steam that is my primary interest in 7mm. So here are two photos of the Gronk vs a GWR 517 Class 0-4-2 tank engine:
As the photos show, the two are roughly the same length but the diesel’s boxy structure makes it look huge next to that delicate steamer.
The Model Railway Show 
They both have their charm but in their very different ways! You have most excellent and singular taste, Trevor. And that’s before we get to the freight motors . . .
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Excellent photos showing the relative size of the models! My principal confusion regarded whether the Gronk is more akin to a Plymouth or Whitcomb ‘critter’ or more like an Alco or EMD switcher. The overall lines and the height and width of that hood settle it for me—the Gronk is a stout, brawny switcher of substance, something like a high-hood Alco or FM. Something I am still surprised by are the slimmer, smaller profiles of European rolling stock, with modern diesel and electric switchers on the continent often resembling tractors more than their North American counterparts. The difference between the Gronk and the 517 Class is particularly startling—I’ll bet that wispy 517 makes good use of a KeepAlive decoder, with so few places to conceal weight.
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