Scales
and Gauges Used
We use several different scales at the club, specifically
OO and N gauge. Some of our members have an interest in other
scales but these form part of their personal collections.
Although the club only uses OO and N gauge in its own layouts,
we are quite willing for members to introduce other gauges
or scales, or bring these along to meetings. At the end of
the day, a model railway is a model railway. At present we
limit ourselves to the most common gauges in the interests
of simplicity.
00 Gauge | N
Gauge
OO Gauge
00 gauge was developed by Being in 1921 as a 'table-top'
railway. In 1922, the first british prototypes were launched.
These were initially powered by clockwork motors but in August
1923 electric motors were introduced.
The 00 gauge was based on HO gauge, which used a scale of
3.5mm to the foot (1:87) but the motors were too big to fit
inside the british prototype rolling stock, so the larger
scale was developed, but without altering the track size.
In 1932 the Bing company collapsed. The concept was continued
by a company called Trix who correct the scale to 3.5mm to
the foot and named the gauge HO. In 1939 the Meccano company,
founded by Frank Hornby, launched a new range of 00 gauge
trains under the trade name of Hornby DublO. Hornby is now
one of the oldest and most successful manufacturers of 00
gauge model railways. They continue to market a range of rolling
stock and train sets, bought by beginners and enthusiasts
alike.
A second company, Bachmann
Branchline from the United States of America has now taken
Hornby's
crown as the largest seller of 00 gauge in the world.
00 gauge is based on a scale of 4mm to the foot, or 1:76.2.
The track gauge however, is 16.5mm, which is inaccurate for
this scale. Many modellers find this scale inadequate as it
is not accurate, preferring instead EM or the new P4 gauge.
00 is the most popular model gauge however, as there are
many manufactures that support it. There is a wide range of
track and rolling stock available at a relatively low price.
We do not believe in the purists' view that 00 is a flawed
scale. Our philosophy is to enjoy out hobby rather than strive
to create an accurate reproduction. We do however, welcome
members with interests in any gauge and scale; their knowledge
and experience is greatly appreciated.
Adapted from TheFreeDictionary.com,
© 2004
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N Gauge
N gauge is based on a scale of 2mm to the foot using 9mm
track. This is where the name is derived from: Nine
millimetre. Several scales are used throughout the world.
1:160 is used worldwide, with the exceptions of the United
Kingdom where 1:144 is used, to allow for the the mechanisms
to be fitted into the smaller british trains, and 1:150 used
in Japan.
N gauge is second only to HO gauge for its world-wide popularity.
It allows modellers use create layouts in much smaller spaces
than HO or 00. A longer run or greater detail is also possible
in the same space as an HO or 00 layout.
N gauge was initially seen as early as 1927, but did not
appear in its present form until 1962. The standard was quickly
adopted and includes standards for gauge, voltage, track polarity
and the height of and type of couplers.
Adapted from thefreedictionary.com
© 2004
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