N Scale Model Trains

About Collectible N Scale Model Railroad Trains

For would-be Gullivers, N scale model trains from Athearn, Atlas, Bachmann, Kato, and others are a terrific way to go. Just as HO scale model trains are half the size of O scale trains, N scale model trains are half the size of HO, measuring between 1/148 and 1/160 the size of their real-life counterparts (the exact proportion depends on the country you live in or the manufacturer who made the model train). One thing is standard, though, and that is the gauge of the track, which is always 9mm wide.

N scale trains are most popular in Japan, no doubt owing to the premium put on real estate in that island nation. Most Japanese N scale trains are 1/150 the size of the real trains running on the real 3-foot, 6-inch narrow-gauge train tracks there. Models of Shinkansen (bullet trains), however, are 1/160 scale...

In England, a ratio of 1:148 is typical, although some N scale trains are 1:152. These latter models are understandably confused with the vintage Lone Star OOO scale trains that had the same scale.

Space alone is not the reason to choose N scale over HO scale. Many collectors have plenty of room to house their passions, so collecting at N scale simply allows those lucky folks to amass twice as many examples in N scale as they could in HO.

Unlike O scale, standard scale, and HO scale, some of which have been around for a full century, N scale only came into prominence in the 1960s. While the relative youth of the collectible limits the vintage value of N scale trains, it does mean that N scale collectors can generally mix and match components—standards were agreed upon early by manufacturers, making the interchangeability of many parts viable. Just having standard gauge tracks is an enormous help.

The downside of this rush to standardization was that one manufacturer, Arnold, was given the right to produce the N scale’s standard coupling, the Rapido. Not surprisingly, competitors were loathe to steer their customers to Arnold’s coupler, so they developed couplers of their own, even though Arnold owned the patent.

As it turned out, the Rapido did not work very well for automatic uncoupling and it was a bit bulky relative to the N scale’s diminutive size. Today, most serious N scale collectors prefer the magnetic knuckle couplers produced by Micro Trains.

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview With Brass Model Train Collector Dan Glasure

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Key Brass Pennsy J-1 Class 2-10-4 Gorgeous!$535.00 Ends in 21 hours 8 bids 42 watchers
'n' Brass Union Pacific Challenger Greyhound, Clean/ob!$499.99 Ends in 20 hours 1 bid 24 watchers
N Scale Brass Cab Forward 4226 Sp Engine & Tender $310.00 Ends Monday 8 bids 36 watchers
Brass E8a & E8b Milwaukee Road Oriental Limited $299.99 Ends Monday 1 bid 15 watchers
Ho 4-8-8-4 Big Boy W/dcc & Sound, Up #4006 $288.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 8 watchers
N Scale Brass Cab Forward 4294 Sp Engine & Tender $279.99 Ends Monday 9 bids 36 watchers
Arnold N 0-8-8-0 Engine $271.06 Ends Monday 15 bids 15 watchers
Lemaco Nm3 Mob Gde 4/4 Electric Loco W/ Two Cars $256.00 Ends Sunday 4 bids 8 watchers
Fulgurex Sbb Be4/6 Jackshaft Elok Gorgeous!$250.00 Ends in 21 hours 7 bids 10 watchers
N Union Pacific E8a-b-a #934a #935b #932a Mint Kato N$239.95 Ends Thursday 1 bid 5 watchers
N Scale Brass Cab Forward Engine Tender 4045 $224.50 Ends Wednesday 9 bids 41 watchers
Kato "n" Scale F-7 A Four Unit Hook Up A-b-b-a Nib$215.00 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 6 watchers
N Scale Brass Cab Forward Engine Tender 4045 $207.50 Ends Wednesday 10 bids 34 watchers
N Scale 4x8 Model Railroad - Complete Buy it Now$202.50 Ends Saturday 6 bids 14 watchers
N Scale Kato California Zephyr 11 Car Set$195.00 Ends Sunday 1 bid 18 watchers
Hallmark Imports F-9 A&b C/p Np N.c.l.$195.00 Ends in 23 hours 1 bid 3 watchers
Hallmark Imports F-9 A&b C/p Np N.c.l. Rd # 6703 A&b$195.00 Ends in 23 hours 1 bid 3 watchers
N Scale Brass Southern Pacific 4-8-2 Engine Tender Sam $190.49 Ends Monday 6 bids 42 watchers
Kato 106-1054 & 1055 Set A & B Up Passenger Cars Nib!$179.99 Ends in 18 hours 1 bid 8 watchers
Atlas Arnold Rapido N Scale Train Track Model 400 Lot$179.95 Ends in 20 hours 2 bids 2 watchers
Z Or N Scale Layout Board Traunstein, New$179.00 Ends Sunday 2 bids 15 watchers
Trix N Fine Art 2-4-2-4-2 Double Engine$153.50 Ends Thursday 11 bids 9 watchers
N Scale Buildings Railroad Yard Scenery Track Layout$150.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 10 watchers
Huge Lot N Scale Rr Trains Micro-trains Atlas Bachmann$150.00 Ends in 17 hours 5 bids 42 watchers
Lok 14 Nn3 D&rgw Pullman Green Combine/pass Number 212$149.99 Ends Saturday 1 bid 3 watchers
Bachmann Command Dynamis Wireless Pro Box Train 36508$147.50 Ends in 22 hours 12 bids 15 watchers
Arnold N Loco 2468, Sbb "krokodil" Ce 6/8 Ii. Brown$147.32 Ends in 9 hours 8 bids 23 watchers
Kato N Scale Passenger Car Set "empire Builder"$132.50 Ends Thursday 4 bids 26 watchers
Con Cor, New Haven Mcginnis Set, N Scale$128.48 Ends in 16 hours 13 bids 26 watchers
N Scale Brass Southern Pacific 2-8-0 Engine Tender Sam$127.50 Ends Monday 9 bids 41 watchers
Kato N Scale Prr, Pennsylvania Broadway Ltd 10 Car Set$125.00 Ends in 22 hours 1 bid 15 watchers
2 Pcm Great Northern E7a's Diff #'s Dcc Ready Gn$125.00 Ends Tuesday 2 bids 13 watchers
Super 59 Piece Lot N Scale Check It Out$120.95 Ends in 22 hours 13 bids 31 watchers
Overland Brass Bnsf Emd Sd70mac$118.50 Ends Tuesday 5 bids 7 watchers
Kato N Scale Via Rail 6 Passenger Car Set # 106-015$118.06 Ends Tuesday 9 bids 20 watchers
Kato Great Northern 4-4-2-2-4-4 Ef57 Loco N Scale$112.50 Ends in 14 hours 6 bids 17 watchers
It's Huge--over 340 Pieces Of N Scale Track Items #152$112.50 Ends in 21 hours 17 bids 24 watchers
Con-cor N Scale Gas Turbine & Tender Union Pacific$111.61 Ends in 3 hours 14 bids 42 watchers
Bachmann N Usra Heavy Mountain Steam Loco Dcc Equipped$111.00 Ends Thursday 4 bids 6 watchers
Key Imports Alco S-4 Sp Switcher Unpainted Brass $110.07 Ends Thursday 5 bids 16 watchers
N Scale Buildings Waterfront Scenery Barges Layout Nice$109.00 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 10 watchers
United States Air Force Set, # 993 01 120, Nib, Mtl$108.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 4 watchers
Kato N Scale Southern Pacific Gs-4 Wartime Black $107.50 Ends in 23 hours 9 bids 14 watchers
Kato Rdc Northern Pacific Set D Rdc-2, Rdc-3$105.00 Ends in 22 hours 1 bid 2 watchers
Model Railroad Mccabe Lumber Wood Kit + Paint & Acces$100.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 4 watchers
Super Great Starter/ Or Add On N Scale Train Set$100.00 Ends in 22 hours 1 bid 16 watchers
Long Island Mp-15dc, Custom Painted On Atlas Loco, New$100.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 5 watchers
Brass F7a & F9b Santa Fe At&sf Hallmark Sam Factory Pt$99.99 Ends Monday 1 bid 10 watchers
"n" Scale Train Lot Engines,cars,buildings,accessories$99.99 Ends Thursday 2 bids 11 watchers
Kato N 10-341 E1 Series Bullet Train "max" Add-on Set$99.99 Ends in 19 hours 2 bids 7 watchers
N Kato Mrl Sd40 Montana Rail Link Rd 203 Custom $99.82 Ends Sunday 1 bid 4 watchers
Beautiful N-scale B&o Heavyweight Passenger Cars$99.00 Ends Tuesday 14 bids 16 watchers
Kato N Tgv S14704 Add-on Set $90.00 Ends Thursday 2 bids 10 watchers
Bachmann 5 Amp Digital Power Booster Train 44910$86.00 Ends in 23 hours 3 bids 8 watchers
N Micro Trains 077 00 153 Provincial Car - Saskatchewan$85.01 Ends in 22 hours 13 bids 6 watchers
Proto N 0-8-0 Steam Loco Northern Pacific Np #1173 Dcc$85.00 Ends Thursday 5 bids 7 watchers
N Scale High Street Backdrop$84.71 Ends in 17 hours 8 bids 7 watchers
N Kato Union Pacific Emd E8/9 No. 927a And 925b$83.56 Ends Sunday 4 bids 11 watchers

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Recent News: N Scale Model Trains

Source: Google News

Preview calendar: Dance, galleries and museum for Nov. 5-11
North County Times, November 4th

San Diego Model Railroad Museum ---- Permanent exhibits include five working model railroads, including HO-scale, N-scale, and Lionel and O-gauge trains;...Read more

Tiny Train Model May be World's Smallest (w/ Video)
PhysOrg.com, October 26th

The tiny train is a Z scale model of a 2 x 4-foot N scale (1:160) layout. At first, Smith ran into friction problems on the small scale when trying to...Read more

GO! Community Events for Oct. 25-31
North County Times, October 25th

antique engine and tractor show, antique crafts fair, short track N-scale model train display, wagon rides, blacksmithing and wheelwright shop,...Read more

Preview calendar: Dance, galleries and museums for Oct. 22-28
North County Times, October 21st

San Diego Model Railroad Museum ---- Permanent exhibits include five working model railroads, including HO-scale, N-scale, and Lionel and O-gauge trains;...Read more

GO! Community Events for Oct. 18-24
North County Times, October 18th

antique engine and tractor show, antique crafts fair, short track N-scale model train display, wagon rides, blacksmithing and wheelwright shop,...Read more

Model Railroad Club Announces Annual Holiday Train Show
Scarlet Scuttlebutt, October 16th

The holiday show features the club's world famous 1600 square-foot HO scale layout and a double decked N scale layout. Visitors can also view work in...Read more

Allll Aboard!
Webster Kirkwood Times, October 16th

This year's event was hosted by the Mississippi Valley N Scalers, the oldest exclusive N-Scale model railroad club in Missouri. The show offered families...Read more

Preview calendar: Dance, galleries and museums for Oct. 15-21
North County Times, October 14th

San Diego Model Railroad Museum ---- Permanent exhibits include five working model railroads, including HO-scale, N-scale, and Lionel and O-gauge trains;...Read more

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