Scales

There are 6 main scales in the model railroading hobby; G, O, S, HO, N, and Z scale are all main that do not need to be hand built. There is also another scale that you have to build by yourself called Live Steam. Live Steam is larger than G, the largest pre-built scale trains. Live Steam can be ridden and requires more work than any others anywhere.

G is the largest, 1:25 scale to be exact. G takes up the most room (of the pre-built) and is most detailed. G can be run in the garden 24/7, though it's not the best thing to keep it there all the time. It requires more work outside.

O is just smaller than that, 1:48 to be exact. O takes up less room than G but more than S and HO. O is a good idea for anyone who is getting into modeling as they are the oldest out of all the model railroading trains, however being tied with S gauge means that they share the elder spot.

S is smaller than O, but larger than HO, 1:64 to be exact. S takes up less room than O but is not used widely. People, however, still use S today as their primary gauge, though with it being used less and less, not as many people choose it today. S is mostly tied with O scale.

HO is smaller than S and half of O, 1:87 to be exact. HO is the most-used throughout the world. HO is normally the best to start, though O is better for size if it's too tedious to put trains on track. I like HO for size and detail though the base sets are cheap and easily broken. There are many different trains, however, that are made more than the other sizes and scales.

N is the second smallest, just larger than Z at 1:160. N is another widely used scale. N stands for Nine millimeter as it is 9 mm between the rails. My favorite scale is N for the size and detail. If you take 2 of the same type of locomotives (F3A for example) and compare a N scale to a HO scale one, you would not find much difference except size and maybe the handrails. The N Scale trains are a bit more expensive, but it's hard to make these small trains as good as they are.

Z is the smallest of all the scales, 1:220 to be exact. Z is the newest out of all of them, but still is well detailed. Z scale has DCC Decoders as well, though it may not be as well sounding if you add a sound decoder. The Z scale and N scale trains are often mistaken for each other, but it is not the same. Z Scale is harder to work with due to it's size, but many people really like it. Z, however, is so much more expensive so it's not a perfect system to use them.

From left to right-N scale, HO scale, O scale track