Understanding Model Railroad Gauges

How old you are can play a big part in the trains you'll select. Very young kids may be fascinated by electric trains, but they positively won't be able to set them up and run them. Many people think that children shouldn't be given electric trains until they are nine years old or older. In my opinion think six is a good age to transition from toy trains and battery operated trains to real electric trains.

I recommend GeoTrax to many people with young children because the curves are designed so that no matter how how you put it together,r the track pieces will always assemble correctly. It's the only product I found that had this capability. With GeoTrax children can easily learn about laying out the tracks without the frustration of having to redo sections of it because the pieces don't fit properly.

Electric Train Scales

When choosing a scale, its significant to remember, that the bigger the number in the proportions the smaller the model will be. For instance, HO is 1:87.1, or about half the size of O gauge at 1:48.

If referring to a narrow gauge railroad, it'll be to see n3 or in the case of O scale there's "n3", "n2" & "n30" The “N” refers to narrow, and the next number refers to the gauge (or width)

The more popular scales are HO, N & O common scales have a bigger manufacturer base, thus making it somewhat easier to locate.

Space becomes a large concern when picking a scale. It's important to pick a scale that will work well in the area you have. Don’t choose a O scale if you only have two square feet of space.

You can find lots of layout plans on the web. Model railroaders' home pages and model railroad manufacturers websites are good places to look. If your looking to buy a model electric train, parts and supplies have a look at http://electrictrain.org/.