August 9, 2009

All About HO Model Trains


By Ferdinand Emy

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

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

On the other hand, the shop and the customers discovered that they liked a good number of trains good 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 employd for model trains. A scale is a measure of the relationship of dimensions of a model train compared to a real train. It is measured in ratios. A ratio consists of 2 numbers separated by a colon. The first number is Always one, while the 2nd number represents how much of a given measurement corresponds to actual dimensions.

For instance, a scale of 1:40 means that if a good number ofthing measures one inch on a model train, it will measure 40 inches on a real train

The most common scale utilized in English speaking countries is the HO scale. HO model trains employ 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 utilize 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 small 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 known that there're literally thousands of models produced with various 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 required. Their popularity also means that its relatively simple to purchase 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 incostly, easy to get and with a good balance between detail and size.

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