Electric Model Trains - A Brief History

There might not be a single person in any of theoften the products from different manufacturers
industrialized countries that has not visited andid not fit each other. Luckily, things have changed
amusement park or seen one on TV. Somethingand now model trains and their components are
you will find in any amusement park worth its salt,built according to standardized scaling systems.
is a very large model train. It is so large in fact,This allows for interchangeability between
that adults can ride around on it. Most kids andmanufacturers.
many adults cannot pass up the opportunity to aZ scale is the smallest of the scaled trains, it is
ride on such amazing mini-engines. Some of them1:220. G scale is largest train and its ratio is 1:22.5.
are electric and others are steam driven, but theG scale trains are mostly used outdoors either in
fun remains same.amusement parks or in your back yard. The
In the late 1960s, in America and in a handful ofmost popular electric train among the railroaders is
other countries, buying scaled model trainsHO scale and its ratio is 1:87. The last scale we will
became a national past time. It has become onediscuss is the 0 scale with a ratio of 1:48. If
of the most popular hobbies of all time. In thesomeone wants to purchase an electric model
USA, these model train fans are described withtrain for kids as a toy, then the 0 scale will be the
the term "model railroader". In Britain, they alsomost suitable.
have train lovers and the term they use to referToday, the electric model train industry is very
them there is "railroad modelers".standardized and uses standard scaling systems
All of the industrialized nations use trains forto measure and manufacture products; most of
transportation and they have done so for a verythe model railroaders use different brands from
long time, especially to transport heavy items ordifferent manufacturers. This allows them to fully
large numbers of goods from one place tocustomize the look and feel of their model railroad.
another. Although traveling by train is not theThere are many companies who manufacture
fastest way to travel, it is still one of the mostmodel trains, some of them are Marx, Lionel
popular modes of transport.Bachmann and American Flyer. These are the
Many people enjoy trains so much they dedicategiant companies in the model train industry.
a portion of their home to building model railroadIf you are serious about the model railroading
layouts. In the past, it was pretty difficult to buildhobby I suggest that you join a model railroad
the exact layout you wanted because not everyclub, society or association. They can be a lot of
manufacturer made everything and eachfun and you can learn a lot in a short amount of
manufacturer used their own scaling system. So,time.