by Anne Davey

Created on: March 17, 2008   Last Updated: August 19, 2011

Model railways have long been a pastime which keeps many a small boy or girl occupied, not just in childhood, but for many well into adulthood, too.

One question every modeller has to ask him or herself is which gauge do I wish to collect? Once you've begun, you will want to build a lifetime collection, so starting with the right gauge is crucial. There are five main scales used by railway modellers, as well as a considerable number of other, non-standard gauges, but it is certainly the case in the US that most modellers will be devoted to HO.

But why have generations of modellers come to the conclusion that HO gauge is the one on which they wish to focus? HO gauge is 1:87 which means of course that the model train is one eighty-seventh the size of the real one. Now in the largest model size, G-scale, trains can be as large as 1:4 and whilst this might be ideal for sit-and-ride light railways round country estates, that's a niche market. Most of us only have a garage or spare bedroom to work with and so the important balance to achieve is something small enough to allow a reasonable layout in a three metre square space, but with trains and accessories large enough that modellers can sculpt small details with accuracy and enjoyment. The smallness of HO gauge means that tracks can be made to curve tightly and trains are lighter so can run quickly, but the parts are on the whole large enough that anxious parents need not worry their children will accidently swallow them and choke. It's the perfect size then! Happily, manufacturers also found HO the most economical size to make and hence produced large quantities and varieties of stock relatively cheaply.

If we go back in time, we can see it was not always so. O-gauge was where the first model railways began at the turn of the nineteenth century (that's why it's called O gauge it was the ordinary gauge people worked with when modelling). This is 1:48 in the US and is twice as large as HO (so called because it is Half Ordinary gauge).

The other main scales around are N-gauge, which is used by some, but is so delicate that small fingers and good eyesight are needed for detailed modelling as it's 1:148 in the UK and 1:160 in the US. Whilst you can make an interesting, complex and detailed layout with something this size, you can't get the tiny details quite so right, as a lot of things become just too small. Z-gauge is minute at 1:220 and this seriously limits what you can do with it. The keen collector wants to be

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