All About HO Model Trains

By Ferdinand Emy

Model trains have been around for nearly as long as real trains have. They have been designed and manufactured by companies from various parts of the world, with very various specifications. This is specially true for models built in the first decades of the last century.

As time passed by, scales and standards were established between companies that produced model trains and accessories for them. Companies who began working with other companies had to establish standards so as to make products and accessories that were compatible.

On the other hand, the fair and the customers discovered that they liked a good number of trains excellent than others, and so the specifications that were preferred stayed, and those that were not tended to disappear.

Scales are one of the most common standards that are used for model trains. A scale is a measure of the relationship of dimensions of a model train compared to a actual train. It's measured in ratios. A ratio consists of 2 numbers separated by a colon. The first number is Regularly one, while the second number represents how much of a given measurement corresponds to actual dimensions.

For example, a scale of 1:40 means that if something measures one inch on a model train, it will measure 40 inches on a actual train

The most common scale used in English speaking countries is the HO scale. HO model trains use this scale to keep their proportions equal to the proportions of the trains they are representing.

Although the nomenclature is HO model trains, in the United States of America, Japan and Australia, the rest of the countries know it as H0 model trains, with the letter O replaced by the number zero. Both nomenclatures HO model trains and H0 model trains pronounce the letter O or the zero as oh.

HO model trains employ a scale of 1:87, which makes then one of the littleest model trains in the shop . In fact the term HO model trains, comes from the fact that they are almost twice as little as the O scale, which is 1:43. Therefore, they were called Half model trains, or HO model trains for short.

HO model trains are so renowned that there are literally thousands of models created with diverse materials. Prices can be as cheap as fifty or a hundred dollars or they can range up to thousands of dollars, depending on quality, materials, and level of assembly needed. Their popularity also means that its relatively easy to buy HO model trains accessories and tracks.

All in all, HO model trains are a very good choice for taking up model railroading. They can be inexpensive, simple to get and with a good balance between detail and size. - 21392

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