Monday, September 27, 2010

A Guide To Gauges For Model Trains

By Frank Keenan

Building model railroad layouts is a pastime that can provide many hours of enjoyment for those who love trains and who like paying attention to detail. There is a wide range of interest in the hobby all over the world with many websites and magazines and other publications dedicated to the subject.

Model railroading began in the 1800?s and took off in the 1900?s with the new and wide-spread availability of electricity in people's homes. The hobby has developed from the stages of running a replica of a train around a tree to complex layouts the can fill up entire buildings. The more detailed layouts will quit often represent scaled-down versions of actual places. A train yard in Chicago or Berlin or Tokyo, for example.

There are a wide variety of building materials for model railroad layouts ranging from prefabricated buildings, mountains and trees to hand-crafted objects made from sources around the house and at the hobby shop. In addition, the trains themselves have just as many facets to think about as do full-scale trains.

There are many manufacturers of model trains and multiple gauges. Some gauges have tracks that are barely wider than a fork and train cars and engines that aren?t much bigger than the handle of a screwdriver. Other model trains are big enough to carry a dozen people or so, usually set up in an outdoors layout.

Model railroaders will often present the most miniscule details they can in a layout. These will often include cars, trees, parks, rivers and lakes, and even people. Since it takes electricity to run the tracks, many have also included miniature streetlamps or lights inside of buildings that turn on and off at the operator's command.

There are museums that are dedicated to model railroading, and these places are where some of the most fantastic layouts are. A person might have to walk behind fabricated mountains and under bridges to follow one of the many trains progress on the tracks. Many people, though, simply build them in their homes in their spare time. Some work for years on their layouts, and since it is an individual's creation, a layout is never really done. Tracks can be switched, roads can be rerouted, new buildings constructed.

Model railroading is a great hobby for those who enjoy spending hours giving loving attention to details, and who have a love for and appreciation of trains. But there aren't any limits, and anybody can appreciate a wonderful layout!

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