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Railway Modelling Track Gauges Scale Chart. On the real railroads as well as model trains, gauge refers to the distance between the outside rails of the track that the train runs on. Different Gauges have different track distance. Here you will be able to see common gauges used in railway modelling and their track measurements.
O Gauge: Larger and more detailed, O gauge measures 32 mm. S Gauge: Popularized by American Flyer, S gauge features a 22.5 mm track gauge. In the next section, we’ll explore the scales that correspond to these gauges. The most common scales used in model railways? Matching the right scale to the gauge is key to realistic model railroading.
In this section, we will explore the four most popular model train sizes: N scale, HO scale, O scale, and G scale. N Scale. N scale, also known as N gauge, is the smallest of the common model train sizes. It has a ratio of 1:160, meaning that 1 foot in real life is represented by 160 feet on the model train layout.
- Train Models
- Model Train Scales Explained
- G Scale Model Trains
- O Gauge Trains
- S Scale Trains
- Ho Model Trains
- Oo Gauge Trains
- N Gauge Train Sets
- Ho vs N Scale
- Z Scale Model Trains
The history of train models dates all the way back to the 1860s when the first documented toy trains were made from metal and wood. In 1891 the first mass market model trains were produced by Märklin in Germany. A number of other model train manufacturers followed suit in the subsequent years. These early train models weren't built to any standard ...
Model trains are available in a range of different sizes, known as "scales". The scale of a model is its relative size in proportion to the real-world equivalent. For example, an HO scale model train is 1/87th the size of the real thing. So, for an HO scale model of the Flying Scotsman, you'd need 87 of them in order to match the length of the orig...
LGB (Lehmann Gross Bahn) were responsible for introducing G scale trains to the model railroad industry. These model trains were first produced by Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk in the 1960s and then by Märklinfrom 2007 onwards. G scale model trains are most commonly used in outdoor garden railways due to their size and robustness. Many of these tra...
O gauge trains were first introduced by German manufacturer Märklinin the early 1900s. By the 1930s O gauge became the most popular model railroad scale in the USA where it remained until the 1960s. Over the years O gauge trains decreased in popularity as the hobby evolved from being solely focused on toy trains into producing models with far highe...
S scale trains are one of the oldest railway modelling scales. According to many in the industry, their popularity peaked during the 1950s. However, in subsequent years the demand for these trains slowly declined due to the introduction of other model railway gauges. In recent years there's been somewhat of a resurgence in the popularity of S scale...
Up until the 1960s O gauge was the most popular model train scale. However, these trains proved quite large - taking up a lot of space in the average home - and were becoming more expensive to produce. Manufacturers wanted to provide a more suitable alternative for smaller home layouts and needed the production process to be more cost effective. HO...
Although HO model trains are the most popular model train scale in the majority of the world, this is not the case in the UK where OO gauge trains are the market leading model train gauge. OO gauge model railways were orignally launched in 1921 by German company Bing, and were known as the "Table Railway". The following year the first British locom...
N gauge is a smaller model train scale that's established itself as one of the most popular commercially available scales. It's often the model train gauge that hobbyists go to when moving on from their first model railway. It's a good gauge to experiment with the different aspects of railroad modelling at a smaller scale. While N gauge train sets ...
One of the main advantages of N scale is that it allows modellers to build layouts that take up significantly less space than HO scale. The smaller size of the models allow more interest to be included in the available space. However, N scale model trains often prove to be less cost effective than their HO scale counterparts due to the reduced choi...
A relatively modern train scale in comparison to other gauges, Z scale model trains were first introduced by Märklin in 1972. In its infancy Z gauge was primarily thought of as a European train scale. However, over time it has aquired more of a following in other regions such as North America and Asia. As Z scale has matured it has developed a larg...
Mar 1, 2023 · The accompanying chart lists common model rail sizes in each scale, along with the corresponding prototype rail each represents. Use this for help in choosing model rail sizes. On the prototype, rail size is measured not by height, but by weight.
Jul 28, 2023 · Common model railroad scales include HO scale (1:87), N scale (1:160), O scale (1:48), and G scale (1:22.5), among others. Gauge: Gauge, on the other hand, pertains to the distance between the two rails on the tracks. It is typically measured in millimeters or inches.
Jul 19, 2004 · This model railroad scale conversion chart will help you convert measurements between 8 popular and obscure scales so you can adapt plans to your needs.
