| I think I first became aware of G scale trains | | | | weather proofness. That's right - you can lay the |
| back in the late '70s, in those lost years after I | | | | track outside and leave it there. The tracks are |
| had sold my first electric train set, bought a | | | | spaced 45 millimeters wide; to get an idea of how |
| guitar, grown my hair - and sublimated what | | | | big that is, HO track is 16.5 mm and N track is |
| remained of the railroading urge into a little, | | | | 9mm. A number of manufacturers make trains in |
| sneaky 1/35th scale military vehicle modeling. | | | | G scale; in the USA, you are most likely to see |
| Trains were even more uncool than WW2 tanks | | | | Bachmann's products, although Lionel makes a nice |
| and armored cars, but you could hide all evidence | | | | - and inexpensive - G scale Polar Express set, |
| of the latter a whole lot easier and quicker. | | | | though this is aimed more at the young end of |
| Modeling in the closet, if you get what I mean. | | | | the market. Bachmann have been particularly |
| And then one day, I saw a G scale train in a | | | | clever with their marketing, because they make |
| military modeling magazine. HO gauge I knew, | | | | not one, but two G scale ranges. The first is |
| because that was what all my friends had. O | | | | termed "Large Scale" (it's G, trust me, because |
| gauge I knew, because I read the train | | | | the track is 45mm) and then there is the more |
| magazines, but G scale? This was new - and big! | | | | upmarket Large Scale Spectrum Range. |
| G Scale! What's that! | | | | How expensive? |
| G scale: I'd never heard of it, but it was obvious it | | | | How long is a piece of string? It's more expensive |
| was something special. The locos in the featured | | | | than the popular indoor scales, HO and N, but it |
| layout were 0-4-0 tank engines, of decidedly | | | | gives you so-o-o-o much more! The Bachmann |
| Germanic appearance. Little, but big! This layout | | | | Mountaineer set, consisting of their beautifully |
| wasn't in the spare room or the basement: it was | | | | detailed 4-6-0 steamer and two coaches, track, |
| in the owner's garden! That's right - outside, open | | | | power pack and instructional DVD all in the box |
| to the weather and the elements, in the garden. | | | | has a recommended retail price of $440.00. That's |
| And clearly, from the look of the roadbed, the | | | | an awful lot of train for a very modest outlay of |
| track stayed out there all year round. This G | | | | dollars. At the top of the Spectrum range, the |
| scale train immediately reminded of one of those | | | | heartbreaking beautiful D&RGW K27 Mikado is |
| great, classic Donald Duck cartoons of the late | | | | $1575.00. But how much does a set of golf clubs |
| 40s or 50s. You can find it on YouTube. Chip and | | | | cost? Or a fully configured and tricked out X-Box, |
| Dale, the chipmunks invade Donald's house - the | | | | with a dozen or so games? G scale trains get you |
| basement to be more precise - where Donald has | | | | off the couch and into the garden. |
| a large-scale model railroad. Big enough for Donald | | | | The market today is a little more populated than |
| to ride the tender of lovely 4-4-0 American. What | | | | in 1969, when I saw my first G scale train. Is G |
| a fantasy that was - riding your own rails! Chip | | | | scale OK for kids? Well, if it wasn't, I don't think |
| and Dale manage to get Donald riled to the point | | | | Bachmann would have bothered marketing their |
| where then railroad gets wrecked and I never | | | | Thomas with Annie and Clarabel set in G scale. If |
| found that funny, funnily enough. But the image of | | | | G scale trains can survive blizzards and twisters, |
| these big trains that held out the promise of being | | | | they should stand a better than average chance |
| able to ride your own layout was the bit that | | | | with your 5 years old. Big has the advantage of |
| stuck for me. | | | | being easier to handle and most of the locos |
| Now G scale trains aren't big enough to ride, not | | | | made by the above manufacturers have |
| even for kids. But big they are and you can | | | | comparatively simple wheel arrangements, so are |
| operate them outside. In model railroad terms, G | | | | easier for small hands to align with the tracks. |
| scale trains are built to a scale of 1:22.5 (that's | | | | G scale trains are just one more option that the |
| twenty two and a half times smaller than the real | | | | model-railroader of any age has to enjoy this |
| thing) and they run on brass track - hence the | | | | great hobby. |