Model railway trains is a surprisingly popular hobby, even today. Maybe it’s the fact that model trains can be enjoyed by people of any age that helps them remain such a hit with young and old alike. Whatever the reason, every year more people discover the magic of model trains, despite them being considered by many as an old fashioned toy.

It’s a wonder that model trains are still so popular, what with all the games consoles that kids love so much. So how come trains manage to keep their appeal? Maybe it’s because they provide a way for children, and grownups, to turn your imagination into something physical.

They can choose what trains to run, what track layouts to have, whether to have scenery, tunnels, bridges or level crossings. And when they’ve decided, they can create it and watch it run. That’s got to be very rewarding from a child’s perspective.

Plus, as model railway enthusiasts get older there’s much more scope for getting into the nitty gritty details. The model trains you can buy these days are so much more realistic that they used to be and the level of details is incredible. It’s not difficult to spend weeks on a project getting the trains and scenery looking just right.

Speaking of scales, these days model railway trains come in specific sizes. They range from G scale to Z scale. G scale is the largest and Z scale the smallest. Probably the most popular size is the HO model train. It’s a nice balance and is a good size for indoor layouts. Being such a popular size, it also comes with a larger range of engines and accessories.

You might wonder where the letters came from. H actually stands for half, ,and the letter O stands for ordinary or standard scale. Put them together and you get HO which is half the size of the standard gauge. It makes sense when you think about it. Well, apart from the fact there is no real standard, so standard scale could mean anything really.

Not surprisingly, model trains used to be powered by hand in the old days. I’m sure they had all the other accessories such as scenery, tunnels and bridges, but electrical model trains didn’t come along until quite a bit later. Of course these days almost all trains are electrical, many of them controlled by a computer. Just like in the real world!

I love the fact that collecting model railway trains is a hobby that everyone can enjoy. You can start off as small as you like and build up as much as you like. Your imagination (and your wallet) is the only limit to what you can do. And the reward that you get out of this hobby really does increase with the enthusiasm that you put into it. A complex and detailed railroad layout that takes ages to build will bring with it a huge sense of satisfaction and achievement when it’s complete.