HO Scale

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.

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.

Bachmann Trains - Overland Limited/Union Pacific - Click On Picture

Scale, Category: HO Scale - Sets Item No: 00614 Name: Overland Limited Roadname: Union Pacific Description: The biggest and the best for serious railroad enthusiasts. From a powerful 4-8-4 steam locomotive, to an impressive consist of nine cars, this set has it all! The Overland Limited comes complete with Bachmann's exclusive E-Z Track snap-
fit track and roadbed system, plus: Union Pacific 4-8-4 steam locomotive and tender with operating smoke and headlight features grain car 3-dome tank car flat car with logs center-flow hopper open quad offset hopper 2 plug-door box cars wood stock car wide-vision caboose 65? x 38? oval E-Z Track set with 12 pieces of curved track, 5 pieces of straight track and 1 plug-in terminal rerailer UL listed power pack illustrated instruction manual Standard Pack: 3

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.

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.

Manufacturers of HO trains!

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.

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).

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.

Bachmann Trains - The Frontiersman/Rock Island - Click On Picture

Scale, Category: HO Scale - Sets Item No: 01125 Name: The Frontiersman Roadname: Rock Island Description: Frontiersman freight sets come complete with Bachmann's exclusive E-Z Track snap-fit track and roadbed system, plus: a Baldwin 2-8-0 locomotive with tender and operating headlight open quad hopper plug door box car extended vision caboose 56? x 38? oval of nickel silver E-Z Track including 12 pieces of curved track, 3 pieces straight track and 1 plug-in terminal rerailer Spectrum power pack VHS video with assembly instructions The Baldwin 2-8-0 locomotives in The Frontiersman train set were voted "1998 Product of the Year" by the readers of Model Railroader magazine. Standard Pack: 4

Bachmann Trains - Mckinley Explorer - HO Gauge - Click On Picture

Scale, Category: HO Scale - Sets Item No: 00624 Name: McKinley Explorer Description: Treating passengers to breathtaking views of the Alaskan wilderness in special vista-dome cars is the McKinley Explorer. Operating today from Anchorage to Fairbanks, and running through Denali National Park, this train's lucky riders might thrill to the sight of bear, moose, sheep and bald eagles. The McKinley Explorer comes complete with: EMD GP40 diesel locomotive with operating headlight four full dome passenger cars (the Talkeetna, Kenai, Knik and Deshka, all named after Alaskan rivers) 63? x 45? oval of E-Z Track including 16 pieces of 22? radius curved track, 3 pieces of straight track and 1 plug-in terminal rerailer UL listed power pack illustrated instruction manual Standard Pack: 3

If you enjoyed this site, please help support us by shopping through our sponsor links!

While we have built this site in an attempt to bring HO guage railroading related imformation, pictures and suppliers together, a lot of the imformation found here comes from Wikipedia! It is recommended that you visit Wikipedia for more imformation on HO guage railroading.

All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

For train t-shirts, buttons and gifts, visit Dene's Place! We're adding new designs daily!