Editing Scale model (section)

====Trains====
[[Image:HO Layout 1.jpg|thumb|right|An [[HO scale]] [[model railroad]]]]
[[Image:Virginia Farmlands Rwy 2 SW8 @ Doorstown 6-17-2007.JPG|thumb|right|An [[N scale]] locomotive]]
[[Image:Livesteamtrain.jpg|thumb|A propane fired 1:8 scale [[live steam]] train running on the [[Finnish Railway Museum]]'s miniature track]]
{{Main|Rail transport modelling}}
Model railroading (US and Canada; known as ''railway modelling'' in UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) is done in a variety of scales from 1:4 to 1:450 ([[T scale]]). Each scale has its own strengths and weaknesses, and fills a different niche in the hobby:
* The largest scales are used outdoors, for "[[Live steam]]" railroads with trains large enough for people to ride on, as much as {{convert|3|m|ft|sp=us}} longs are built in several scales  such as 1-1/2", 1", and 3/4 inches to the foot. Common gauges are 7-1/2" (Western US) and 7-1/4" (Eastern US & rest of the world), 5", and 4-3/4". Smaller live steam gauges do exist, but as the scale gets smaller, pulling power decreases. One of the smallest gauges on which a live steam engine can pull a passenger is the now almost defunct {{frac|2|1|2}}-inch gauge.
* The next largest scale range, [[G scale]] (1:22.5) in the US and [[16 mm scale]] (1:19.05) in the UK, and as large as 1:12 scale, is too small for riding but is used for outdoor [[garden railway]]s, which allow use of natural [[landscaping]]. G scale is also sometimes used indoors, with the track mounted adjacent to walls at eye level of standing adults. A franchise chain of restaurants and [[coffeehouse]]s named [[Výtopna]] in the [[Czech Republic]] acquired a trademark for the use of G-scale trains mounted on the countertops to serve customers beverages, and pick up their orders and empty glasses.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/video/2011/12/29/model-train-delivers-restaurant-drinks?videoId=227620002 | title=Model train delivers restaurant drinks | publisher=[[Reuters]] | access-date=7 December 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/czech-republic/prague/review-591689.html Vytopna Prague Review | Fodor's<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name="RadioPrague">{{cite web | url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/spotlight/pragues-vytopna-restaurant-a-hit-with-families-tourists-train-fans | title=Prague's Výtopna restaurant a hit with families, tourists & train fans | publisher=[[Radio Prague]] | date=March 14, 2012 | access-date=7 December 2013 | author=Velinger, Jan}}</ref>
* Smaller scales are used indoors. [[O scale]] (1:48) sets were introduced as early "toy trains" by companies such as [[Lionel Corporation]], but has developed a following among serious adult hobbyists. [[American Flyer]] purchased by [[A. C. Gilbert Company]] popularized [[S scale]] (1:64) trains starting in 1946. Even smaller scales have become the most popular, allowing larger, more complex layouts to be built in smaller spaces. Dedicated model railroaders often mount indoor layouts on homemade plywood tables, at a height in the range of {{convert|30|to|42|in|cm}}, putting the track optimally close to eye level for children or adults.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-01-07 |title=Benchwork |url=https://www.nmra.org/beginner/benchwork |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=National Model Railroad Association |language=en}}</ref> As of 2022, the two most popular sizes are [[HO scale]] (1:87) and [[N scale]] (1:160).<ref name=RMC2016>{{cite web| url=http://rrmodelcraftsman.com/model-train-scale-gauge/| title=Model Train Scale and Gauge| website=Railroad Model Craftsman| publisher=White River Productions| date=December 25, 2016| access-date=May 3, 2020}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Model railroad scales
!Name
!Scale
!Standard
gauge
!Narrow
gauge
!Use
|-
|T
|1:450
|
|
|Indoor
|-
|ZZ
|1:300
|
|
|Indoor
|-
|Z
|1:220
|
|
|Indoor
|-
|N
|1:160
|
| 9&nbsp;mm
|Indoor
|-
|2mm
|1:152
|
|
|Indoor
|-
|[[TT scale|TT]]
|1:120
|12 mm
|
|Indoor
|-
|3mm
|1:101
|
|
|Indoor
|-
|HO
|1:87
|16.5&nbsp;mm
|
|Indoor
|-
|OO
|1:76.2
|16.5&nbsp;mm
|
|Indoor
|-
|S
|1:64
|
|
|Indoor
|-
|O
|1:48
|
|
|Indoor
|-
|1
|1:32
|44.45
|
|Garden;<br/> live steam
|-
|H
|1:24
|45&nbsp;mm
|
|Garden;<br/> live steam
|-
|G
|1:22.5
|45&nbsp;mm
|
|Garden;<br/> live steam
|-
| 
|1:12
|
|
|Garden;<br/> live steam
|-
| 
|1:4
|
|
|Live steam
|}

=====Gauge vs scale=====
Model railroads originally used the term ''[[Rail gauge|gauge]]'', which refers to the distance between the [[Rail tracks|rail]]s, just as full-size [[Rail transport|railroads]] continue to do. Although model railroads were also built to different gauges, [[standard gauge]] in full-size railroads is 4' 8.5". Therefore, a model railroad reduces that standard to scale. An HO scale model railroad runs on track that is 1/87 of 4' 8.5", or 0.649" from rail to rail. Today model railroads are more typically referred to using the term ''scale'' instead of "gauge" in most usages.

Confusion arises from indiscriminate use of "scale" and "gauge" synonymously. The word "scale" strictly refers to the proportional size of the model, while "gauge" strictly applies to the measurement between the inside faces of the rails. It is completely incorrect to refer to the mainstream scales as "HO gauge", "N gauge, "Z gauge", etc. This is further complicated by the fact some scales use several different gauges; for example, HO scale uses 16.5&nbsp;mm as the standard gauge of {{RailGauge|ussg}}, 12&nbsp;mm to represent {{RailGauge|1000mm}} gauge (HOm), and {{RailGauge|3ft6in}} (HOn3-1/2), and 9&nbsp;mm to represent a prototype gauge of {{RailGauge|2ft}}.

The most popular scale to go with a given gauge was often arrived at through the following roundabout process: German artisans would take strips of metal of standard metric size to construct their products from blueprints dimensioned in inches. "Four mm to the foot" yielded the 1:76.2 size of the British "OO scale", which is anomalously used on the standard HO/OO scale (16.5&nbsp;mm gauge from 3.5&nbsp;mm/foot scale) tracks, because early electric motors weren't available commercially in smaller sizes. Today, most scale sizes are internationally standardized, with the notable exceptions of [[O scale]] and N scale.

There are three different versions of the "O" scale, each of which uses tracks of 32&nbsp;mm for the standard gauge. The American version follows a dollhouse scale of 1:48, sometimes called "quarter-gauge" as in "one-quarter-inch to the foot". The British version continued the pattern of sub-contracting to Germans, so, at 7&nbsp;mm to the foot, it works out to a scale of 1:43.5. Later, the European authority of model railroad firms [[MOROP]] declared that the "O" gauge (still 32&nbsp;mm) must use the scale of 1:45, to allow wheel, [[railway tire|tire]], and [[splasher]] clearance for smaller than realistic curved sections.

N scale trains were first commercially produced at 1:160 scale in 1962 by the [[Arnold (models)|Arnold company]] of [[Nuremberg]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/shop/brands/arnold-n-1-160.html| title=The German pioneer of N gauge| website=Hornby Arnold| publisher=Hornby Hobbies| access-date=May 3, 2020}}</ref><ref name=RMC2016/> This standard size was imported to the US by firms such as the [[Aurora Plastics Corporation]]. However, the early N-scale motors would not fit in the smaller models of British locomotives, so the [[British N gauge]] was standardized to allow a slightly larger body size. Similar sizing problems with Japanese prototypes led to adoption of a 1:150 scale standard there. Since space is more limited in Japanese houses, N scale has become more popular there than HO scale.