A Japanese H0e scale model railroad
One of the smallest (Z scale, 1:220) placed on the buffer bar of one of the larger (live steam, 1:8) model locomotives
HO scale (1:87) model of a North American center cab switcher shown with a pencil for scale
Z scale (1:220) scene of a 2-6-0 steam locomotive being turned. A scratch-built Russell snow plow is parked on a stub (Val Ease Central Railroad).

Railway modelling (British English) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale.

The earliest model railways were the carpet railways in the 1840s. The first documented model railway was the Railway of the Prince Imperial (French: Chemin de fer du Prince Impérial), built in 1859 by Emperor Napoleon III for his then three-year-old son, also Napoleon, in the grounds of the Château de Saint-Cloud in Paris. It was powered by clockwork and ran in a figure-of-eight.

The world's oldest working model railway is a model designed to train signalmen on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. It is located in the National Railway Museum, in York, England, and dates back to 1912; it remained in use until 1995. The model was built as a training exercise by apprentices of the company's Horwich Works and supplied with rolling stock by Bassett-Lowke.

General description

Bekonscot in Buckinghamshire is the oldest model village and includes a model railway, dating from the 1930s. The world's largest model railroad is the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany in H0 scale. The largest live steam layout, with 25 miles (40km) of track is Train Mountain in Chiloquin, Oregon, U.S. Operations form an important aspect of rail transport modelling with many layouts being dedicated to emulating the operational aspects of a working railway. These layouts can become extremely complex with multiple routes, movement patterns and timetabled operation. The British outline model railway of Banbury Connections in New South Wales, Australia, is one of the world's most complicated model railways.

Model railroad clubs exist where enthusiasts meet. The Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) at MIT in the 1950s pioneered automatic control of track-switching by using telephone relays.

A 242A1 locomotive and standard gauge track at some model railway scales

The largest common scale is 1:8, with 1:4 sometimes used for park rides. G scale (Garden, 1:24 scale) is most popular for backyard modelling. It is easier to fit a G scale model into a garden and keep scenery proportional to the trains. Gauge 1 and Gauge 3 are also popular for gardens. O, S, HO, and N scale are more often used indoors.

In 1938, Hornby, a manufacturer of 'O' scale model trains in the UK, launched a range of 'OO' scale electric trains (Hornby Dublo) with 1/76 scale rolling stock using 1/87 scale 16.5 mm wide track with a third centre rail. The power supply was 12 V DC and the track was equipped with an electrically insulated central rail and two non-insulated running rails. In 1959 Hornby abandoned its three-rail track in favour of a two-rail track for its 'OO' scale electric trains.[bettersourceneeded]

DC motors with more powerful magnets began to be used for model trains in the 1950s.

Engines powered by live steam are often built in large outdoor gauges of 5 inches (130mm) and 7+1⁄2inches (190mm), are also available in Gauge 1, G scale, 16 mm scale and can be found in O and OO/HO. Hornby Railways produce live steam locomotives in OO, based on designs first arrived at by an amateur modeller. Other modellers have built live steam models in HO/OO, OO9 and N, and there is one in Z in Australia.

Model railway manufacturers

Model train display at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry

Layout standards organizations

Several organizations exist to set standardizations for connectibility between individual layout sections (commonly called "modules").[citation needed]

  • ausTRAK,
  • FREMO
  • Free-mo
  • MOROP[citation needed]
  • NEM[citation needed]
  • NMRA[citation needed]
  • N-orma
  • oNeTRAK
  • Sipping and Switching Society of NC
  • sTTandard
  • T-TRAK
  • Z-Bend Track

See also

Displays and famous layouts

Groups dedicated to railway modelling

External links

  • – the largest model railroad organization in the world
  • – the oldest known society in the world – established 1910
  • – One of the most important group of rail enthusiasts end railways modellers active in Sicily and all over Italy founded in 2006