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What Are the Different Gauges of Model Trains?

In the early days of American railroading, each company manufactured trains and tracks in different sizes. Finally, the government stepped in and standardized the width of railroad tracks. This never happened with model railroads. The different companies ̵1; and sometimes the same company ̵1; make trains and tracks in any size they want, The most popular scales (ratio of model train to real train) are standardized as "gauges." A gauge is defined by the distance between the tracks.

  1. G Gauge

    • G gauge is the largest of commonly available model trains. The tracks are 45 mm apart (1.8 inches). Because they are usually the choice for outside trains, many people think that the G stands for "Garden" because these outside trains are also known as "garden trains." Actually, the G comes from the German word "Große" (big). This gauge is popular with Americans who want to model the American narrow-gauge railroads, because the scale is almost exactly 1 to 20.

    O Gauge

    • The O gauge came to the U.S. from Germany around 1900. By the 1930s, O was the most popular American gauge and still is with hobbyists who like to run trains ̵1; and crash them ̵1; more than they like to detail and exhibit them. The distance between tracks is 32 mm. American gauges actually varied a bit and finally settled on 1-1/2 inches, about 1/4 more than the original 32 mm. The name comes from the German words for zero gauge, because it was thought to be the smallest scale anyone would ever make.

    S Gauge

    • The S gauge ̵1; S for Standard ̵1; is designed at a 1/64 scale. This dates back to an 1896 English model. The actual gauge is 22.42 mm (0.883 in), which was the gauge of the immensely popular American Flyer brand of model trains.

    HO Gauge

    • The HO gauge has this name because it is (approximately) half the size of the O gauge. It is now the most popular size, both in the U.S. and around the world. The distance between the tracks is 16.5 mm (3/4 of an inch). Its scale ratio is 1 to 87. It is the gauge that started the tabletop style of track layout.

    N Gauge

    • N-gauge trains have 9 mm (0.36 inches) between tracks. The name comes from the word "nine." They are very popular in Japan (almost as popular as HO) where space is more limited. The ratio to large trains is anywhere from 1 to 148 up to 1 to 160. At these small scales the wheels are deliberately made out of proportion to make the trains run better.

    Z Gauge

    • Z-gauge trains are so small that a locomotive is less than two inches long and can comfortably rest in the palm of a hand. The distance between tracks is 6.5 mm (0.256 in). The gauge was introduced in Germany in 1972 and given this name because it is thought to be the smallest scale anyone would be interested in making. Z is the last letter of the German alphabet.

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Model Railroads

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