H0 or HO is the popularst gauge of model trains of the model railrpading world
The Past of HO scale.
After the World War I there have been some attempts to release a model railroad about half the size of 0 scale that would be more suitable for smaller home layouts and cheaper to produce. HO was brought to market to fit these aims. For this new scale, a track width of 16.5 mm was developed to represent prototypical standard gauge tracks, and a model railroad scale of 1:87 was chosen. In 1922 the firm Bing in Nuremberg, Germany, had been marketing a "tabletop railway" for several years, which was described at that time either as H0 or OO scale. The model railways initially had a clockwork drive, but from 1924 were operated electrically.
Scenery producers, such as Kibri, produced buildings in the corresponding gauge.
HO scale model model railways elsewhere were developed in response to the economic pressures of the Great Depression. The trains first appeared in the UK, originally as an alternative to OO scale, but could not make commercial headway against the established OO scale. However, it became very popular in the USA, where it took off in the late 1950s after interest in model railways as toys began to dissapear and more emphasis began to be placed on details in response to hobbyist demand.
The train station in Sykesville, Maryland served as the prototype for the H0 gauge. While HO scale is by nature more delicate than 0 gauge, its smaller size allows modelers to fit more details and more scale miles into a train diorama.
In the 50s H0 gauge began to challenge the market dominance of 0 scale and, in the 60s, as it began to overtake 0 gauge in popularity, even the stalwarts of other sizes, including Gilbert (makers of American Flyer) and Lionel Corporation began manufacturing H0 scale model model railways.
Currently, HO scale is by far the most popular model railway gauge in both continental Europe and North America, whereas 00 gauge (4 mm:foot or 1:76.2 with 16.5 mm track) is still dominant in the U.K..
There are a few railroad modellers in Great Britain who use H0 gauge. For them, the British 1:87 Scale Society was created in 1994. It publishes a quarterly newspaper with views, news feeds, and practical knowledge for modellers and collectors. A journal, Continental Modeller, majors on the railways of other countries, including America and Europe, and has extensive coverage of H0 scale layouts.
Today, HO scale locos, rolling stock (cars or carriages), buildings, H0 gauge figures and accessories are available from a large number of manufacturers in a variety of price brackets.
HO or HO is the famousts model gauge for model trains in the model railwaying world. H0 is 1:87 gauge.
The name HO is created from the result that its 1:87 scale is almost half that of 0 gauge which was the smallest of the series of larger and older 0, 1, 2 and 3 scales released by Märklin around 1900. In most English-speaking countries it is pronounced "aitch-oh" and written with the letters H and O today, but in German it is called "hah-null", and still written with the letter H and numeral 0.
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from the site modelleisenbahn-figuren.com with a lot of articles about ho scale figures and ho gauge figures. Info Model Train - Railway modelling (Australia, UK, Ireland and Canada) or model railroading (Canada and US) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are built at a reduced size. The scale models include engines, rolling stock, streetcars, tracks, highways, buildings, ho gauge figures, lamps and features such as lakes, hills and canyons.
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