O Gauge Trains

O Gauge Trains and Track

You can easily tell O gauge trains, they're the ones big enough to look like real scale models of proper old locomotives, often famous steam trains or else early electrics. Those big displays you see in department stores in the run up to Christmas, or in a section of a restored steam pumping house pr signal shed attached to a heritage railway, that's all usually O Gauge too.

Brief history of O Gauge Trains

The train set layouts are then big enough to have very realist scenes depicted alongside the track, with little wooden bridges, identifiable people and die cast road vehicles such as cars and lorries, cranes and buses. Technically, the O Gauge was based on something called zero scale, which at the time - about 1930 - was believed to be the smallest scale at which it would ever be possible to manufacture model railways that work, based on the clockwork and primitive electric motor technology of the era. As things progressed, the smaller double o, 00 or dublo scale became dominant with Hornby in particular popularising that gauge in the UK. So for some time after that o Gauge trains were considered to be toys for smaller children, whilst older children and adults could build more elaborate railway set layouts in a smaller space using the standard double O gauge.

O Gauge trains in resurgence

Then something interesting happened. One company called Ace Trains started manufacturing excellent quality replica engines in the O gauge. These trains quickly became popular amongst collectors and enthusiasts of greatly detailed authentic models rather than just people who wanted to operate a working train set. And so the resurgence of O gauge trains and track began, and it's still going from strength to strength with a thriving second hand collectors market on Ebay as well as all the local collectors fairs and railway memorabilia meet ups.