Barry Melek Electric Train Sets

Tyco Bachmann

HO has a ratio of 1:87 approximately, with a slight variation from the European variety to the American. Most manufacturers of this scale use the 16.5 millimeter gauge track.

The HO originated in the 1930's, but was not popular at that time. It had new life in the 1950's, during the heyday of model trains. Most of the trains built since that time have been of standard to good quality, except in the 1970's when Tyco Toys and Life-Like produced an inferior product that ran on the 16.5 millimeter track. These under detailed, oversized, and cheap additions are not highly sought by collectors.

The size of the HO affords a modest setup in a 3 foot by 8 foot area. This might be a little cramped for the hobbyist wanting a large setup, but it is a large section to take out of a small room. It is not something that could be setup in a normal size bedroom and left to operate long term without dismantling repeatedly.

The reason for the popularity of this size is that the scenery is larger and more detailed than the other popular size N scale. For instance, the figurines for people in the N scale are tiny and indiscernible, where you do have some amount of detail when they are twice as large.

HO trains, for the most part, run on the two rail track and have DC power. This affords the operator to slow the train or speed it up by adjusting the voltage to the rail. A flip of the switch reverses the polarity and changes the direction of the train. This works well, even in the most simplistic of setups.

There are a few variations to track gauges between suppliers that bear mentioning. If you see notations like "Hon3" and "HOm," this means that the track is not 16.5 millimeters, and it won't work with your train, unless you bought one of those in the beginning. Most suppliers know what track you need based on the model of train you have. If you are walking in a hobby store to purchase track, take a section of your existing track with you.

Suppliers for scenery in the HO scale include Bachmann, Walthers, Cooch Enterprises, Model Railstuff, and Vollmer, just to name a few. You can find train trestles, roads, bridge abutments, trees, rocks, and just about any kind of building you could want. If you are not the type to build your own scenery, you will be able to get almost everything you want.

Some train sizes are too small to work with, and they don't have much detail in the smaller parts of the scenery, while others are too large to fit into a limited space. You won't have either problem with HO model railroads.

Brady Smith is a model train aficionado. For information on HO Model Trains, visit http://model-trains-online-guide.com/.

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