Thinking about making a model railway? You probably have lots of questions. How much will it cost? How much space will I need? What scale should I choose? Am I looking to model modern or vintage railways? Should I create a UK- or overseas-themed layout? Am I looking to create an intricate reproduction of the real thing or do I just want to have fun ‘playing trains’?
There are so many decisions to make when getting into railway modelling that it can put some people off from even starting. If this is you, let’s see if I can help you on your journey.
“Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good.” Don’t put off starting until everything is in place. That may never happen, and it’s far better to get started, have fun doing what is possible now, learn from mistakes and develop as time goes on.
In this post I’m looking at choosing a scale for your layout, which affects how much space you require and how many features you can fit into that space.
In the UK there are three main scales which are used for railway modelling: the largest of these is OO; in the middle is TT:120; and the smallest is N.
Outside these ranges are: O, which can be too large for indoor layouts in modern houses; Z, which is tiny and does not have many models aimed at the UK market; and the even smaller T, which does have some UK train sets.
Train sets can be the best way to get started as they provide you with a loco, wagons or carriages, track and power supply to get you up and running, often at a cheaper price than buying individual items. Using examples of train sets I am going to show you how much space a typical starter layout takes up in each scale.
OO is by far the most common scale in the UK, with the largest range of models and manufacturers to choose from. It also has the widest selection of starter train sets. As an example of a starter set I have chosen the Hornby Network Traveller, a cheap and cheerful train set featuring BR Class 06 diesel loco and three wagons.
The set comes with a starter oval of track (approximately 107cm x 90cm) and a track mat to lay it on (which requires a space of 160cm x 118cm). The set can be expanded to match the layout on the mat by adding various track packs.
TT:120 is a smaller scale aiming to allow “table top” (hence ‘TT’) layouts. TT:120 hadn’t been popular in the UK but has seen an upsurge of interest following the recent entry of Hornby into this market. At the moment there is not a large selection of UK models to choose from. For this comparison I have chosen the Hornby Easterner train set.
The track in the TT:120 train sets consists of an oval with a siding, making it a little more interesting. The space required is 137cm x 91cm, smaller than the OO set, but with more features.
Finally in this comparison comes N scale, the smallest of the three. I am going to start by looking at the Western Rambler train set from Graham Farish.
The track oval in this set occupies a mere 72cm x 54cm, way smaller than both OO and TT:120, making it the perfect choice for cramped spaces. However, another way of looking at N scale is that you can make a more interesting layout, such as the Gaugemaster Kato Azuma train set, in the space that a ‘boring’ OO layout would take. One of the best features of N scale is the ability to run more realistic length trains; even with limited space, trains with 10 or more carriages can be run.
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