N Scale Model Trains
When you enter a new job or career you can feel bombarded with a myriad of technical phrases and acronyms, but you soon get to speak the new language as fluently as anyone else. The same is true as you enter the exciting world of model trains. Don’t be intimidated by talk of scales, gauges and N scale model trains; you will quickly learn what these terms mean and you’ll love the ability to converse with other train enthusiasts about the technical intricacies of this hobby.
As you set up the landscape and scenery for your model railway, one of the big considerations to consider is the overall size of your project. There are many different manufacturers producing different model trains and different tracks, for a variety of purposes. Thankfully, with such a choice, you’ll definitely find something just right for you. You see, in order to ensure that any brand of train will fit on any brand of track, the train makers make the tracks and trains in accordance with specific standards of size, referred to as scale and gauge. The scale of the train refers to, just that, the scale or size of the model train in comparison with the life size locomotive. It is defined as the ratio and the different letters assigned to the scales define different set ratios.
So to the N scale model train – this is one of the smaller scales used in the model train hobby. It is, in fact, the smallest of the four most popular scales at a ratio of 1:160. This means the N scale train is one hundred and sixtieth the size of its life size counter part. Or put another way, you could line up 160 n scale model trains in a line next to the full size train.
In relation to the next sized scale (in the four more popular scales), the HO scale; we find the N scale is just a little over half the size of HO. The HO scale is 1:87. This is preferable for those hobbyists who enjoy expansive scenery or simply don’t have much room for their layout. This is where the n scale model trains can come into their own, as they do take up less space, and they also have the advantage of having more detail than some of the other smaller scales. Another advantage of N scale trains is that with smaller rail car and tracks then the larger and more impressive the scenery will appear around them.
N scale trains are relatively modern, coming into common use in the 1960’s, unlike the O scale, HO scale and standard scale which have all been around for over 100 years. You may wonder where the name N scale comes from? Well it stands for 9mm because this is the distance between the rails (known as the gauge). One other piece of terminology to become familiar with is code. The code refers to the height of rail – which is of course a much smaller measurement than the gauge.
Whatever scale trains you opt for you’ll have plenty of fun in this hobby, but take some time to consider if you need to go for this smaller scale to maybe make the most of a smaller amount of space available to explore your train hobby.
