HO scale (H0 scale in continental Europe) is the most popular scale of model railway in most of the world (outside the United Kingdom, where the slightly larger 00 gauge is most common). The name is derived from the fact that its 1:87 scale is approximately half that of O scale, hence H0 or 'half zero'. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1464x867, 200 KB) Photo by William J. Grimes of USNX 65-00044, HO scale GE 44 Tonner. ... For other uses, see Prototype (disambiguation). ... A modern US switcher, an EMD SW1500. ... Bachmann Industries is a Bermuda registered company that is based in Hong Kong, with its founding base and North American headquarters based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania specializing in model railroading. ... The concept of scale is applicable if a system is represented proportionally by another system. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. ... A scale model of the Tower of London. ... This article needs cleanup. ... (Redirected from 00 gauge) OO gauge model railways are the most popular standard in the United Kingdom, being one of several 4 mm scale standards (4 mm to the foot (305 mm), or 1:76. ... O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and model railroading. ...

In HO scale, 3.5 millimetres represents 1 real foot; this ratio works out to about 1:87.086. In HO, rails are usually spaced 16.5 millimeters apart which models the standard railroad gauge of 4' 8.5" or 1435mm.

The term HO in this context is pronounced "H-O" ("aitch-oh"), as if the letters are separate initials.

History

HO scale steam locomotives at the N&W RR museum in Crewe, VA.

A grain silo on the Chesapeake Bay & Western RR layout.

A Newport News Public Schools bus is seen here on the Chesapeake Bay & Western RR layout.

HO scale trains first appeared in the United Kingdom in the 1930s, originally as an alternative to 00 gauge, but could not make commercial headway against the established 00 gauge. However, it became very popular in the United States, where it took off in the late 1950s after interest in model railroads as toys began to decline and more emphasis began to be placed on realism in response to hobbyist demand. While HO scale is by nature more delicate than 0 scale, its smaller size allows modelers to fit more details and more scale miles into a comparable area. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 506 pixelsFull resolution (950 × 601 pixel, file size: 568 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) HO model @ the N&W railroad museum in Crewe, VA, photo by William J. Grimes. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 506 pixelsFull resolution (950 × 601 pixel, file size: 568 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) HO model @ the N&W railroad museum in Crewe, VA, photo by William J. Grimes. ... Norfolk and Western Railway (AAR reporting mark: NW), a US class 1 railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. ... Crewe is a town located in Nottoway County, Virginia. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1177x954, 276 KB) Model by Chesapeak Bay & Western HO scale group. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1177x954, 276 KB) Model by Chesapeak Bay & Western HO scale group. ... This article is about Storage Silos. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 298 KB) Photo by William J. Grimes I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 298 KB) Photo by William J. Grimes I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Newport News is an independent city located in Virginia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known as the World Depression. ... (Redirected from 00 gauge) OO gauge model railways are the most popular standard in the United Kingdom, being one of several 4 mm scale standards (4 mm to the foot (305 mm), or 1:76. ... the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ... British outline O gauge model railway at Kew Pumping Station Australian O gauge model railway O scale (or 0 scale, O gauge or 0 gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and model railroading. ...

In the 1960s, as HO scale began to overtake 0 scale in popularity, even the stalwarts of other sizes, including Gilbert (makers of American Flyer) and Lionel Corporation began manufacturing HO trains. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... The A. C. Gilbert Company was an American toy company, once one of the largest toy companies in the world. ... This American Flyer S gauge 4-4-2 steam locomotive and tender dates from 1960 American Flyer was a popular brand of toy train and model railroad in the United States in the middle part of the 20th century. ... Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer, specializing in toy trains and model railroads. ...

Currently, HO is the most popular model railroad scale in both continental Europe and North America, whereas 00 gauge is still dominant in Britain. (Redirected from 00 gauge) OO gauge model railways are the most popular standard in the United Kingdom, being one of several 4 mm scale standards (4 mm to the foot (305 mm), or 1:76. ...

There are some modelers in Great Britain who use HO gauge. For them, the British 1:87 Scale Society was formed in 1994; it publishes a quarterly journal with news, views, and practical advice for modelers and collectors.

Today, HO locomotives, rolling stock (cars or carriages), buildings, and scenery are available from a large number of manufacturers in a variety of price brackets. Great Western Railway No. ... Rolling Stock banner Rolling Stock was a newspaper of ideas and a chronicle of the 1980s published in Boulder, Colorado by Ed Dorn and Jennifer Dunbar Dorn. ... Old Executive Office Building, Washington D.C. Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong, China In architecture, construction, engineering and real estate development the word building may refer to one of the following: Any man-made structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy, or An... Theatrical scenery is things that are used as setting for a theatrical production. ... Manufacturing is the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale, or intermediate processes involving the production or finishing of semi-manufactures. ... Price Points along a Demand curve Price points are prices for which demand is relatively high. ...

The Gauge

HO scale has several narrower gauges to represent narrow gauge railways in the same scale as their HO counterparts.

HOm Scale/Gauge is used to represent meter gauge trains in the same scale as HO scale. ... Narrow-gauge railways are railroads (railways) with track spaced at less than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8½ in (1. ... Modelling 3 gauge railroads is part of the hobby of rail transport modelling. ... This article needs cleanup. ... HOe is a popular rail transport modelling scale/gauge combination widely used by European narrow gauge modellers. ...

Controls

Modern HO trains run on realistic-looking two-rail track, which is powered by direct current (varying the voltage applied to the rails to change the speed, and polarity to change direction), or by Digital Command Control (sending commands to a decoder in each locomotive). Some trains, most notably by Märklin of Germany, run on alternating current, supplied by a "third rail" consisting of small bumps on each tie down the center of the track. Direct current (DC or continuous current) is the continuous flow of electricity through a conductor such as a wire from high to low potential. ... International safety symbol Caution, risk of electric shock (ISO 3864), colloquially known as high voltage symbol. ... This article is about velocity in physics. ... The polarity of an object is, in general, its physical alignment of atoms. ... A Digitrax DCC system Digital Command Control (DCC) is a scheme for controlling locomotives on a model railroad layout that allows one or more locomotives to be independently controlled on the same electrical section of track. ... Command has multiple meanings: An order. ... A Digitrax DH163AT DCC decoder in an Athearn locomotive before the shell goes on. ... An O scale Mitropa sleeping car made by Märklin Märklin (or Maerklin) is a German toy company, founded in 1859. ... City lights viewed in a motion blurred exposure. ... The use of a Third rail in model railroading is a technique that is sometimes applied in order to facilitate easier wiring. ...

On simple, usually temporary layouts, power is supplied by a power pack consisting of a transformer and rectifier, a rheostat or potentiometer for regulating voltage supplied to the track (and thus train speed), and a switch to control train direction — a double pole, double throw slide or toggle switch wired to reverse the polarity on the rails. On permanent layouts, multiple power supplies are traditionally used, with the trackage divided into electrically isolated sections called blocks; toggle or rotary switches (sometimes relays) are used to select which power supply controlled the train in a particular block. With the advent of digital command control, block divisions are largely eliminated, as the computerized controllers can control any train anywhere on the track at any time, with minor limitations. For other uses, see Transformer (disambiguation). ... AC, half-wave and full wave rectified signals A rectifier is an electrical device, comprising one or more semiconductive devices (such as diodes) or vacuum tubes arranged for converting alternating current to direct current. ... schematic symbol for a potentiometer In this article: Rheostat and potentiometer. ... It has been suggested that Determining emf of primary cells using potentiometer be merged into this article or section. ...

Curved track

Commonly manufactured curved track in HO scale may have a radius of as little as 18 inches (46 cm), which models a full-scale curved radius of 130 feet (40 m). This is an extremely tight curve, much tighter than on real railroads, except those found in streetcar or light rail systems, or sometimes in railroads found in mountain ranges. (Standard railroads utilize curves of much greater radii.) This prefabricated snap-together track, sometimes called "snap track" — a trade name used by Atlas Model Railroad, which manufactures the track used in many HO scale toy train sets in North America — is normally used only by casual hobbyists or temporary setups. On higher-quality permanent layouts larger radii are used, frequently made of "hand laid" track whereby the modeler lays individual wooden sleepers/crossties, then installs rails on top using very small railroad spikes, followed by a layer of scale gravel ballast. Another option is so-called flex track, which is compatible with snap track. Even so, the curve radii used are still much less than those on full-size railroads. For instance, a full-size railroad curve with a radius of 800 meters (roughly 2500 feet or about one half mile) would require a radius of a bit over 345 inches (876 cm), far more than a typical "gentle" curve using hand-laid track on a high-quality layout. Curvature equivalent to that used by real railroads is simply impractical because of the limited size of the layout. a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ... This article is about light rail systems in general. ... Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. ... “Miles” redirects here. ...

Availability of models and supplies

Because of HO scale's popularity, which is more than that of all other scales combined, a huge array of models, kits and supplies are manufactured. The annual HO scale catalog by Wm. K. Walthers, North America's largest model railroad supplier, lists more than 500 pages of products in that scale alone. Products run the gamut of toy train sets with ready-to-run trains and modular track, to craftsman-grade kits, supplies for building models from scratch, and even highly-detailed limited-edition locomotive models made of brass by companies based in Japan and South Korea. Wm. ... Great Western Railway No. ...

Because of the wide range of products available, the scale is popular with modelers of all incomes and degrees of seriousness. For instance, ready-to-run or easy-to-assemble plastic models of freight cars may sell for less than US $5.00, while imported brass models of steam locomotives may sell for thousands of dollars or euros.

Advantages compared to other scales

HO scale's popularity lies somewhat in its middle-of-the-road status. It is large enough to accommodate a great deal of detail in finer models, more so than the smaller N and Z scales, and can also be easily handled by children without as much fear of swallowing small parts. Models are usually less expensive than the smaller scales because of more exacting manufacturing process in N and Z, and also less expensive than S, O and G scales because of the smaller amount of material; the larger audience and the resultant economy of scale also drives HO prices down. The size lends itself to elaborate track plans in a reasonable amount of room space, not as much as N but considerably more than S or O. In short, HO scale provides the balance between the detail of larger scales and the lower space requirements of smaller scales. U.S. Prototype model of an N scale (1:160) Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 2-6-6-2 shown with a pencil for size N scale is the superior model railway size. ... Z scale (1:220) is the smallest commercially available model railway scale with its track gauge of only 6. ... S gauge is a scale in model railroading. ... O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and model railroading. ... G scale is a scale for model railways, and the most popular scale for garden railways - indeed this explains the name. ... ...

Proto:87

There also exists a finer, more prototype-accurate set of HO model railroad standards called Proto:87, designed to forego the usual compromises used in the manufacture of model railroad components. Its track gauge and scale are the same, but components like wheels and track have been narrowed down to correct 1:87 scale.

HO in Other Hobbies and in Marketing Usage

In other hobbies, the term HO is often used more loosely than in railroad modeling. In slot car racing, HO does not denote a precise scale of car, but a general size of track on which the cars can range from 1:87 to approximately 1:64 scale. Small plastic model soldiers are often popularly referred to as HO size if they are close to an inch in height, though the actual scale is usually 1:76 or 1:72. This does not cite its references or sources. ...

Even in model railroading, the term HO can be stretched. Some British producers have marketed railway accessories such as detail items and figures, as HO/OO in an attempt to make them attractive to modelers in either scale. Sometimes the actual scale was OO, sometimes it split the difference (about 1:82). These items may be marketed as HO, especially in the US. In addition, some manufacturers or importers tend to label any small-scale model, regardless of exact scale, as HO scale in order to increase sales to railroad modelers. The sizes of "HO" automobiles, for example, from different manufacturers, can vary surprisingly.

Manufacturers

Currently-active significant manufacturers and marketers of HO railroad equipment as of 2007, include:

• Athearn
• Atlas Model Railroad
• Brawa
• Bachmann Industries
• Broadway Limited Imports
• Bowser Manufacturing
• Electrotren
• Fleischmann
• Hamo - Two-rail version of Marklin
• Herpa
• Hornby Railways
• International Hobby Corp
• Ibertren
• Kato Precision Railroad Models
• Jouef
• Life Like
• Lilliput
• Lima
• Mantua
• Märklin
• Mehano
• MTH Electric Trains
• Peco
• Piko
• Precision Craft Models, Inc.
• Rivarossi
• Roco
• Summit USA
• Trix
• Wm. K. Walthers
• Showcase Miniatures. Makers of Structures and scenery details.
• Century Foundry established 1972 and still producing its line of neat little signals and lineside detail parts.

Significant historical manufacturers and marketers of HO equipment which are no longer active in HO, include Athearn makes model railroad equipment and is a subsidiary of Horizon Hobbies. ... Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. ... Bachmann Industries is a Bermuda registered company that is based in Hong Kong, with its founding base and North American headquarters based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania specializing in model railroading. ... Broadway Limited Imports, LLC is an American manufacturer of limited-run model railroad locomotives and rolling stock. ... Bowser Manufacturing is a United States manufacturer of model railroad equipment, located in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, USA. The company was founded in 1948 by Bill Bowser in California. ... Fleischmann die-cast steam loco with modern driving trailer, in HO scale Fleischmann is a German manufacturer of model railroad products. ... Märklin (or Maerklin) is a German toy company, founded in 1859. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Hornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. ... Old logo Ibertren logo since 2004 Ibertren is a Spanish brand of model railway, based in Barcelona. ... Kato N scale model of French TGV running on Unitrack Overview Kato is a Japanese maker of model trains which started as a division of a heavy equipment manufacturer by that name. ... Jouef were a French manufacturer of model railways. ... Life-Like Products LLC (now Life-Like Toy and Hobby division of Wm. ... Lilliput has several meanings: Lilliput and Blefuscu, two island nations in Jonathan Swifts novel Gullivers Travels. ... Lima S.p. ... Mantua (in Italian Mantova, in the local dialect of Emiliano-Romagnolo language Mantua) is an important city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province with the same name. ... An O scale Mitropa sleeping car made by Märklin Märklin (or Maerklin) is a German toy company, founded in 1859. ... Mehano is a Slovenian toy company, founded in 1952, currently producing a large range of both traditional and electronic toys, as well as model railroad equipment. ... MTH Electric Trains, formerly Mikes Train House, is an American toy train and model railroad designer, importer, and manufacturer, based in Columbia, Maryland. ... Peco is a UK-based manufacturer of model railway accessories, especially trackwork. ... Piko was once a state-owned enterprise in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) which produced model railways and accessories. ... Broadway Limited Imports, LLC (BLI) is an American manufacturer of limited-run model railroad locomotives and rolling stock. ... Roco, based in Salzburg, Austria, is a manufacturer of model railway equipment, The company was founded in 1960 by Ing. ... Trix may mean: [[Trix , a card game Trix (cereal), a breakfast cereal Trix (technical analysis), a technical analysis oscillator Trix (operating system), start for the first attempt at the GNU kernel. ... Wm. ...

• Associated Hobby Manufacturers (AHM)
• Aristo-Craft
• L.M. Cox
• Ken Kidder
• Lindberg Models
• Lionel
• Marx
• Pacific Fast Mail (PFM)
• Penn Line Manufacturing
• Revell
• Selley
• Tru-Scale
• TYCO
• Ulrich
• Varney Scale Models

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer, specializing in toy trains and model railroads. ... Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer from 1919 to 1978. ... Penn Line Manufacturing was a United States manufacturer of model railroad equipment, produced in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, USA. The companys history began in 1947, when founded by Abe Mercer, Linwood Stauffer and Bob Faust. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Monogram models. ... Tyco Toys is a division of the Mattel toy company. ... Varney was a United States manufacturer of model railroad equipment. ...

External links

• Atlas Model Railroad Co.
• http://www.british-ho.com/ For modelling the transport of Britain using the international H0 system
• Wm. K. Walthers Co.
• Layout Tours A-L
• Layout Tours M-Z
• Piko
• San Diego Model Railroad Museum
• Tony Cook's HO-Scale Trains Resource