Train Scales

There are different sizes of model/hobby trains and I have a brief description below of each one from the smallest to the largest before commercial types are on this page.

• Z scale is one of the smallest commercially available model railway scales (1:220), with a track gauge of 6.5 mm / 0.256 in. Introduced by Märklin in 1972, Z scale trains operate on 0–10 volts DC and offer the same operating characteristics as all other two-rail, direct-current, analog model railways.

• N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer (or country), the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. Effectively the scale is 1:159, 9 mm to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1/2 in), which is the width of standard gauge railway.

• TT scale (from "table top") is a model railroading scale at 1:120 scale with a Track gauge of 12 mm between the rails. It is placed between HO scale (1:87) and N scale (1:160). Its original purpose, as the name suggests, was to make a train set small enough to assemble and operate on a tabletop.

• H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale (3.5 mm to 1 foot). It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced 16.5 millimetres (0.650 in) apart for modelling 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1/2 in) standard gauge tracks and trains in HO. The name H0 comes from 1:87 scale being half that of 0 scale.

• S scale (or S gauge) is a model railroad scale modeled at 1:64 scale, S scale track gauge (space between the rails) is 22.48 mm (0.885 in). S gauge trains are manufactured in both DC and AC powered varieties.

• O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scale in the United States and remained so until the early 1960s.

• 1 gauge, gauge 1 or gauge one is a model railway and toy train standard that was popular in the early 20th century, particularly with European manufacturers. Its track measures 1.75 in (44.45 mm), making it larger than 0 gauge but slightly smaller than wide gauge, which came to be the dominant U.S. standard during the 1920s.

• G scale or G gauge, also called large scale (45 mm or 1+3/4 inches), is a track gauge for model railways which is often used for outdoor garden railways because of its size and durability.

• Gauge 2 (also called 2 gauge or II gauge) is a model railway gauge, originally 64 mm (2+1/2 in), then standardised in 1909 at 2 in (50.8 mm), a 20% reduction and a change in definition: from mm to inch. It has since fallen into disuse.