Railway modelling or model railroading is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale.
HO or H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale. It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced 16.5 millimetres (0.650 in) apart for modelling 1,435 mm standard gauge tracks and trains in HO.
N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer, the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. Effectively the scale is 1:159, 9 mm to 1,435 mm, which is the width of standard gauge railway. However the scale may vary to simulate wide or narrow gauge rail. In all cases, the gauge is 9 mm or 0.354 in. The term N gauge refers to the track dimensions, but in the United Kingdom in particular British N gauge refers to a 1:148 scale with 1:160 track gauge modelling. The terms N scale and N gauge are often inaccurately used interchangeably, as scale is defined as ratio or proportion of the model, and gauge only as a distance between rails. The scale 1:148 defines the rail-to-rail gauge equal to 9 mm exactly, so when calculating the rail or track use 1:160 and for engines and car wheel base use 1:148.
2 mm scale, often 2 mm finescale is a specification used for railway modelling, largely for modelling British railway prototypes. It uses a scale of 2 mm on the model to 1 foot on the prototype, which scales out to 1:152. The track gauge used to represent prototype standard gauge is 9.42 mm. Track and wheels are closer to dead scale replicas than commercial British N.
TT scale is a model railroading scale at 1:120 scale with a Track gauge of 12 mm between the rails. It is placed between HO scale (1:87) and N scale (1:160). Its original purpose, as the name suggests, was to make a train set small enough to assemble and operate on a tabletop.
Hornby Hobbies Limited is a British-owned scale model manufacturing company which has been focused on model railways. Its roots date back to 1901 in Liverpool, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first OO gauge train. In 1964, Hornby and Meccano were bought by their competitor, Tri-ang Railways, and sold when Tri-ang went into receivership. Hornby Railways became independent again in the 1980s, and became listed on the London Stock Exchange, but due to financial troubles reported in June 2017, became majority owned by British turnaround specialist Phoenix Asset Management.
4 mm scale is the most popular model railway scale used in the United Kingdom. The term refers to the use of 4 millimeters on the model equating to a distance of 1 foot (305 mm) on the prototype (1:76.2). It is also used for military modelling.
5972 Olton Hall is a preserved Great Western Railway Hall class locomotive made famous for its role hauling the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter film series.
Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam may be used to operate stationary or moving equipment.
Lima S.p.A. is an Italian brand and former manufacturing company of model railways. The company was headquartered in Vicenza for almost 50 years, from the early 1950s until the company ceased trading in 2004. Lima was a popular, affordable brand of 00 gauge and N gauge model railway material in the UK, more detailed H0 and N gauge models in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the United States as well as South Africa, Scandinavia and Australia. Lima also produced a small range of 0 gauge models. Lima partnered with various distributors and manufacturers, selling under brands such as A.H.M., Model Power, and Minitrain. Market pressures from superior Far Eastern produce in the mid-1990s led to Lima merging with Rivarossi, Arnold, and Jouef. Ultimately, these consolidations failed and operations ceased in 2004.
O14 is a set of model railway standards for accurately modelling 2 ft narrow-gauge railways in 1:43.5 using 14 mm (0.551 in) gauge track.
Diecast Collector is a British magazine dedicated to the hobby of collecting diecast metal vehicles. Published monthly, it is a thick, glossy magazine featuring a variety of articles on toy and model cars, trucks, and buses, and aircraft. Beyond information on the collectables themselves, the magazine is also a source of hobby information such as auction results, collectors' fairs schedules, specialized dealer information, etc.
British N gauge is a model railway scale and gauge, rolling stock is to a scale of 1:148, track is 9 mm width as with all other N gauges making track and rolling stock approximately 10% out of scale with respect to each other. The 9 mm track width derives from a scale of 1:160 for 1,435 mmstandard gauge rails.
Modelling British railway prototypes is a hobby where railway modelling is applied to British prototypes. For historical reasons, British model scales have developed somewhat separately from those in other countries, and the commercial standards; 00 gauge and British N gauge are unique to British prototypes. The railways in Britain were for the most part standard gauge, and consequently most support focuses on these scales. Narrow gauge, and broad gauge standards also exist. British modellers tend to focus on British subjects, and most of the commercial support is British-based, but modellers of British prototypes exist across national boundaries.
Minories is a 'deceptively simple' design for a model railway layout, designed by C. J. Freezer. The design was first published in Railway Modeller in 1957 and it became a regular of Peco's many collected plans books afterwards. It is notable as an influential design, more than as a single instance of the model. The design was an attempt to model an interesting urban passenger terminus in the minimum space, allowing much opportunity for operating trains, rather than scenic modelling. Freezer was the editor of Railway Modeller and Minories, with its developments, made regular appearances throughout the years.
White River Productions is an independent publishing company that specializes in books and magazines targeted to railroad enthusiasts and historians. Kevin EuDaly founded the company in 1992 to published the book Missouri Pacific Diesel Power, which he also authored. Several other titles followed, and the company became his full-time venture beginning in 1996. The company expanded when it took on publishing newsletters and managing membership databases for several railroad historical societies. The company is headquartered in Bucklin, Missouri.
Presflo and Prestwin were the designation for two types of goods wagon designed by British Railways in the 1950s for the carriage of powdered goods. The Presflo design was specifically for carriage of powdered cement but wagons to this design were subsequently used to transport other powdered commodities. The later Prestwin wagons were designed to overcome problems encountered with using the Presflo design for certain powdered commodities. Both types of wagon were loaded by gravity but unloaded using compressed air.
Iain Alexander Rice was a British model railway enthusiast, writer and illustrator who authored more than 20 books and 400 articles on model railways over five decades. Railway Modeller described Rice as one of the hobby's "most influential and prominent enthusiasts of the last fifty years".
