Editing Rail transport modelling (section)

== General description ==
Involvement ranges from possession of a train set to spending hours and large sums of money on a large and exacting model of a [[railroad]] and the scenery through which it passes, called a "layout". Hobbyists, called "railway modellers" or "model railroaders", may maintain models large enough to ride (see ''[[Live steam]], [[Ridable miniature railway]]'' and ''[[Backyard railroad]]'').

Modellers may collect model trains, building a landscape for the trains to pass through. They may also operate their own railroad in miniature. For some modellers, the goal of building a layout is to eventually run it as if it were a real railroad (if the layout is based on the fancy of the builder) or as the real railroad did (if the layout is based on a prototype). If modellers choose to model a prototype, they may reproduce track-by-track reproductions of the real railroad in miniature, often using prototype track diagrams and historic maps.

[[Model railroad layout|Layouts]] vary from a circle or oval of track to realistic reproductions of real places modelled to scale. Probably the largest model landscape in the UK is in the [[Pendon Museum]] in [[Oxfordshire]], [[United Kingdom|UK]], where an EM gauge (same [[4 mm scale|1:76.2 scale]] as [[00 gauge|00]] but with more accurate track gauge) model of the [[Vale of White Horse]] in the 1930s is under construction. The museum also houses one of the earliest scenic models – the Madder Valley layout built by [[John H. Ahern|John Ahern]]. This was built in the late 1930s to late 1950s and brought in realistic modelling, receiving coverage on both sides of the Atlantic in the magazines ''Model Railway News'' and ''[[Model Railroader]]''. [[Bekonscot]] in [[Buckinghamshire]] is the oldest model village and includes a model railway, dating from the 1930s. The world's largest model railroad in [[H0 scale]] is the ''[[Miniatur Wunderland]]'' in [[Hamburg]], [[Germany]]. The largest live steam layout, with {{convert|25|mi|km|0}} of track is [[Train Mountain Railroad|Train Mountain]] in [[Chiloquin, Oregon]], U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trainmountain.org/|title=TMRR|work=trainmountain.org|access-date=2005-10-29|archive-date=2020-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930033751/http://trainmountain.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Operations form an important aspect of rail transport modelling with many layouts being dedicated to emulating the operational aspects of a working railway. These layouts can become extremely complex with multiple routes, movement patterns and timetabled operation. The British outline model railway of Banbury Connections in [[New South Wales]], Australia, is one of the world's most complicated model railways.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://banburyconnections.weebly.com | title=Banbury Connections}}</ref>

[[List of model railroad clubs|Model railroad clubs]] exist where enthusiasts meet. Clubs often display models for the public. One specialist branch concentrates on larger scales and [[Rail gauge|gauges]], commonly using track gauges from {{convert|3.5|to|7.5|in|mm|0}}. Models in these scales are usually hand-built and powered by [[live steam]], or diesel-hydraulic, and the engines are often powerful enough to haul dozens of human passengers.
[[File:Ferrovipathes.Calais.jpg|thumb|A railway modelling club in [[Calais]]]]

The [[Tech Model Railroad Club]] (TMRC) at [[MIT]] in the 1950s pioneered automatic control of track-switching by using telephone relays.

The oldest society is 'The Model Railway Club'<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themodelrailwayclub.org/|title=Home|work=themodelrailwayclub.org}}</ref> (established 1910), near [[Kings Cross, London]], UK. As well as building model railways, it has 5,000 books and periodicals. Similarly, 'The Historical Model Railway Society'<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hmrs.org.uk/|title=HMRS: HMRS|work=hmrs.org.uk}}</ref> at [[Butterley]], near [[Ripley, Derbyshire]] specialises in historical matters and has archives available to members and non-members.