CHOOSING THE RIGHT SCALE FOR YOU
Modelling in the right scale for you is an important factor for enjoying the hobby.
Everyone’s personal circumstances are different and so what may be the right scale for your model railway may not be right for another modeller. We all have different amounts of space, time, knowledge and money. Some of us may long for a large layout, while others are content with a compact line. The skill when considering the various scales is to choose the one that will give you the most satisfaction.
This superb night-time scene is based on the Busch mining train system. The HO scale system uses a track system of 6.5mm rail gauge and two radii of curves plus straights and points. There is a central magnetic strip that runs centrally between the rails that can be disguised by ballast.
HOW TO NARROW DOWN YOUR CHOICE
Around two-thirds of railway modellers in the UK work in OO scale. Both OO and N scales provide very good starting points, because a large number of manufacturers are currently producing all the necessary bits and pieces for each scale. The number of products now being produced in O scale in particular is increasing all the time.
Some modellers find that as they get older the larger scales are more suitable to their eyesight and the flexibility of their hands and fingers. There are some superb O-scale layouts to be seen now at model railway shows and the number of ready-to-run O-scale locomotives, rolling stock and accessories now available from companies including Dapol, Heljan, Ixion and Peco make O scale a much easier modelling proposition compared to just a few years ago.
An O-scale layout, this time John Emerson’s Gifford Street, which displays good quality scenic work. O scale is destined to become much more popular in the near future as various companies begin to make ready-to-run O-scale locomotives at prices not much more expensive than OO-scale DCC-ready locomotives.
Ian Futers is one of the UK’s most prolific layout builders. Here is a glimpse of one of his many Scottish essays in O scale, called Victoria Square.
If the space you have for a layout is small, why not try the Busch Feldbahn system, which is HO scale but with Z-scale track.
These two Ford Explorer road vehicles are made by US manufacturer Atlas (www.atlasrr.com), highlighting the big size difference between HO and N scales. The N-scale vehicle is effectively a quarter of the size of the HO one.
If the room that you have available for a model railway is small, then N scale may your best option. It might help you to get sweeping curves and trains running ‘in the landscape’ rather than just trackwork filling up a narrow baseboard in OO and O scales.
If the layout is for a child or a young person, OO scale might be the best because its locomotives and rolling stock are easier for small hands to hold. If you enjoy fine-detailing locomotives and making scenes, then OO might again be the most suitable scale to begin with. The number of available accessories is greater in OO scale than any other scale. OO scale is 1/72 and HO scale is 1/87, but they use the same track. That is why we sometimes see the term OO/HO. UK manufacturers work to OO scale, whilst European and US manufacturers work to HO scale.
Wharfedale Road is an OO-scale compact layout built especially for the Right Track DVD, Layout Planning and Design. It shows what can be achieved by using mainly ‘off the peg’ products. For more information go to: www.model-railway-dvd.co.uk/right_track19.php.
This compact layout built by Chris Nevard provides a lot of visual interest, including both industrial buildings and a wharf.
Z gauge has for a long time been the smallest scale for ready-to-run products, using a scale of 1/220. It enables a layout to be built on a coffee table, a window sill or just a shelf in your bookcase. Märklin manufactures a variety of Z-scale equipment. T Gauge at 1/450 scale is now the smallest model railway scale in the world, with a track gauge of only 3mm. The models are powered by 4.5V DC motors and motor coaches feature magnetic wheels. In the UK it is available from Gaugemaster.
Of course, some modellers like more than one scale and have layouts (or at least dioramas) in each of the scales that are their favourites.
IS N SCALE A GOOD STARTING POINT?
N scale can be a very good starting point in the hobby because of the proactive manufacturer support for the scale. The last few years have seen a huge increase in good-quality products for N scale, including locomotives, rolling stock, buildings and many accessories. If the room that is available for a model railway is small, N scale may be your best option. That way, you can watch trains running ‘in the landscape’, with long, sweeping curves and proper hillsides.
One corner of an N-scale Minitrix demonstration layout seen at the 2014 Nuremberg Toy Fair showing the good scenic potential of the smaller scales.
A finished Woodland Scenics Lightweight Scenic Ridge layout fitted snugly into a Vauxhall Vectra hatchback car. Because the baseboard was made from hard foam, it was moveable in one hand. The Woodland Scenics Lightweight Scenic Ridge Layout Kit (stock number ST1482) contains most of the parts to enable this 0.9 x 1.8m (3 x 6ft) N-scale layout to be built with inclines, hills, valleys, tunnels, bridges, roads and landscaping. The layout accommodates one train providing a run of over 6m (20ft).
The scenic skills required on N-scale layouts are somewhat different to those on OO and larger scales. Tall, static grass fibres do not really have a place on N layouts and it is probably best to stick with good-quality fine foam scatter, such as Woodland Scenics Fine Turf, for the main landscaping.
HELPFUL WEBSITES
Here are some websites that might help your decision-making process:
Kato Glacier Express – A Hybrid Train
The Glacier Express is one of the world’s most famous trains operating between the Swiss Alpine resorts of St Moritz to Zermatt. The prototype railway network uses 1m narrow-gauge track. To model such a network in HO scale, HOm track is usually used and Nm in N scale (this means 1m-scale track width in HO and N scales). However, Kato has produced a locomotive and coaches to run on N-scale standard-gauge track. So while this is not exactly prototypical, it does open up more modelling possibilities for those wanting to model Swiss narrowgauge trains on the more readily available N-scale track.
There are two sets that together make up the complete train and incidentally Bemo, the manufacturer of models of Swiss narrow-gauge railways mainly in HOm scale, has announced that it is going to produce models of Swiss narrow-gauge trains to run on standard-gauge HO track.
For more information go to http://www.katomodels.com/product/nmi/glacier_exp_e.shtml. In the UK, Kato products are distributed by Gaugemaster (www.gaugemaster.com).
Kato makes N-scale models of the metre-gauge Glacier Express trains to run on standard-gauge N-scale track. Noch and other companies make N-scale preformed layouts such as the one seen here.
Busch Feldbahn System Offers a Lot of Railway in a Small Space
The Feldbahn (field railway) system by Busch offers great potential for narrow-gauge modelling in small spaces. The HO-scale track system consists of 6.5mm rail gauge and two radii of curves, plus straights and points. There is a central magnetic strip that runs between the rails, which can be disguised by ballast. There are several starter sets, plus a number of different wagons.
Busch expands this system year on year with different themes, including a paper mill with a gatehouse, factory, warehouse, paper rolls and cellulose bales, along with a matching narrow-gauge locomotive, wagons and matching vans, trucks and excavators.
For more information, go to www.busch-model.com. In the UK, Busch products are distributed by Golden Valley Hobbies (www.goldenvalleyhobbies.com).
This HO-scale layout is basically an oval of track with a loop and a couple of sidings. It uses 6.5mm track from Busch and the entire scenic layout measures just over 1 x 0.5m (3.3 x 1.6ft).
The Busch Feldbahn system offers a lot of railway in a very small space. This scene features narrow-gauge and standard-gauge railways.
The Busch Feldbahn system has a brickworks train with a range of suitable buildings and accessories.
ADAPTING N-SCALE EQUIPMENT TO REPRESENT A MINIATURE RAILWAY
Did you say that you had no room for a layout? Why not use N-scale track to represent a miniature railway? This tiny layout will be made up from four different scenes and measures just 75 x 60cm (30 x 24in).
This is a part of a farmyard scene on the quartet of miniature railway scenes. Loco modifications by Dave Lowery.
This miniature railway uses Graham Farish N-scale rolling stock, but G-scale figures have been added to create the illusion of a miniature railway. Here are the finished four parts comprising of a zoo, a stately home, a farm and a beach scene. This layout was built especially for the Bachmann Times, which is the quarterly magazine of the Bachmann Collectors Club.
Cavalata, a Swiss-based layout, was made by Stephan Kraus. The track is HOm scale with rolling stock by Bemo.
Another scene of Stephan Kraus’s Cavalata layout.
Just one distinctive feature of a real location can set the theme for a layout. Here the very narrow road bridge on the Auchmuty branch in Scotland is under construction.
The finished bridge in OO scale. BR Class 08 locomotives really did squeeze that tightly through the bridge!
Timber loading sidings do not take up a lot of room, but can add visual interest to a corner of a layout.
Peco’s relay boxes and trunking are good ways to make the lineside more complete on modern image layouts.
These clumps of daffodils were made by adding yellow foam scatter material on to the tops of grass tufts with a little PVA adhesive.