Editing TT scale (section)

==History==
TT scale was invented in the United States by [[Hal Joyce]], a former automotive designer. He founded a company, H. P. Products, in 1945, and the first advertisement appeared in 1946. The product line included locomotive kits, passenger and freight car kits, track and detail parts. By the early 1950s, it had a following, offering less detail than HO—considered by some to be an advantage at the time—and a lower price than most other scales. Numerous other companies began offering TT scale trains, track, and accessories as well. In the immediate period afterward, several other American manufacturers also began production of TT items, notably the Kemtron Corporation (founded by [[Levon Kemalyan]]), which manufactured metal castings in several scales. 

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-K1126-328, TT-Eisenbahnen der Firma Zeuke - Wegwerth KG.jpg|thumb|Zeuke model trains became popular, and the models were produced in large quantities.]]

In Europe, [[Rokal]] and Zeuke (which became Berliner-TT-Bahnen and ultimately [[Tillig]]) began production in [[West Germany|West]] and [[East Germany]] respectively towards the end of the 1950s. British [[Tri-ang Railways]] also introduced the scale to the UK, but due to the smaller British loading gauge, the trains were scaled up to 1:101.6 (or 3{{nbsp}}mm scale) to have room for motors and other electric equipment. For a while the scale enjoyed considerable success, but it was not meant to last.

By the early 1960s, TT had been eclipsed in popularity by [[N scale]], which is even smaller. Tri-ang quit the scale in 1967, and H. P. Products discontinued manufacturing their TT line in 1968. In West Germany, Rokal was sold to competitor Wesa (which marketed their own 13{{nbsp}}mm-track, 1:100 scale), and production ended in 1969. 

In East Germany, then on the other side of the [[Iron Curtain]], production continued. Berliner-TT-Bahnen, which had superseded Zeuke, widened its offerings and exported trains and tracks over most of the Eastern Bloc. As the range became more and more comprehensive, offering not only trains and tracks but also accessories such as signals, lights and working catenaries, it became a serious contender to HO. During the 1980s, train sets were also exported to [[Western Bloc|the West]], offered as simple and cheap entry-models to the hobby and earning East Germany much-needed hard currency.

[[File:Modelleisenbahnen Spur TT.jpg|thumb|Model trains from Berliner-TT-Bahnen range in TT scale.]]

With the end of the [[Cold War]], the East German economy was liberalised. Berliner-TT-Bahnen started to update their offerings, but soon ran into financial hardship. The company eventually ended up in the hands of Tillig, still today the largest provider of TT equipment. The products were improved, with better technology and more details, to bring them up to date with the offer in other scales.

[[File:TT trains 01.jpg|thumb|Model trains from Kuehn and Piko in TT scale.]]
In the 1990s and 2000s, several other companies started to offer models in TT, including major brands such as Piko and Roco, but these decades also saw the emergence of brands such as Kuehn, Beckmann and Kres, which all have made their mark in the scale. Since then, interest in the scale has grown, and more models are now available than in Z scale, and TT has come close to rivaling N (at least for European models), not the least with the 2022 entry of British Hornby and their new TT:120 range.

There is also a number of Russian manufacturers such as Peresvet (Пересвет) and TT-Model (ТТ-Модель) which produce TT scale locomotives and wagons of various prototypes in many liveries and schemes. With the emergence of 3D modeling software and 3D printing, many modelists in Russia have started to produce a vast variety of rolling stock and locomotives of their own in TT scale. TT is currently the second most popular scale after HO in Russia with a 40.9% market share behind HO with 46.9%.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.railroads.ru:80/club/poll_hist.shtml | title = Какой модельный масштаб Вы предпочитаете? | publisher=railroads.ru |access-date=2024-05-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308105151/http://www.railroads.ru:80/club/poll_hist.shtml |archive-date=8 March 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref>