| What do you collect? | Clothing + Fashion | Jewelry + Watches | Pottery + Glass | Furniture + Home | Art + Photos | Music + Movies | Toys + Games | Sports | Coins + Stamps | Paper + Books | Ads + Signs | Autos + Transport | Eras + Decades | Other » |
Model railroad trains first became popular when department store owners incorporated them into their Christmas window displays in the 1920s, and they've been a fixture of childhood and beyond ever since. Today model railroading is an extremely popular hobby, with both collectors and modelers who focus on every imaginable aspect of railroad history and operations.
Model trains have been available since the beginning of the railroads, but they weren’t considered a hobby until the 1880s and boomed in popularity in the 1930s...
Vintage model train collectors and hobbyists tend to specialize by scale or gauge (O scale, HO scale, N scale, Z scale, G scale), by type (brass, tinplate, steam, etc.), or by manufacturer (Lionel, American Flyer, Marx, Märklin). Until the National Model Railroad Association was formed in 1935, there were no standard gauges and a train from one manufacturer wouldn’t necessarily run on a track from another. The NMRA developed the standardized gauge system that is still in place today.
O scale model trains, built to a 1:43, 1:45, or 1:48 scale reached a height of popularity before World War II. True O scale trains ran on a two-rail track and were built to scale. Companies like Lionel and American Flyer made O gauge trains, but these ran on a three-rail track and are not as collectible as O scale.
HO scale model trains were introduced in the 1930s and became popular in the 1950s. HO, short for "Half O," is scaled to a 1:87 size and has the widest available range of rolling stock and accessories of all model railroad scales. Most HO scale trains run on a two rail track.
N scale is built to a 1:160 scale, much smaller than O and HO. First introduced in the 1960s, N scale model railroads are in demand because they don't require a lot of space to set up a layout. An even smaller scale, Z scale (built at a scale of 1:220), was first introduced in Germany in 1972 and became common in the U.S. shortly after.
G scale trains are the largest model trains and can be used for either indoor or outdoor (aka 'garden') model railroads. G scale trains, built at a scale of 1:22.5, are the largest electrically-powered model trains.
HO scale trains are currently the most sought-after, although O scale was most popular in the 1930s and '40s.
The earliest model trains were mostly made of tinplate. Tin trains, which were cheap and efficient, were produced until shortly after World War II, when other materials took the lead. After WWII, soldiers returned to the U.S. with brass model trains from Japan, sparking an interest in brass railroad sets. Although still made today, the most collectible brass model trains are those produced in Japan up through the 1970s.
Until the 1950s, steam locomotive models were more popular than diesel, and they continue to be desirable among collectors today. Steam model trains are categorized by wheel configuration and railroad name.
Some people tend to collect more by the railroad than the manufacturer, even creating railroad layouts that are historically accurate. Some of the most popular railroads to collect and recreate are the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central, Chicago and North Western, Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Southern Railway, and Great Northern.
See all 93 Model Trains events

We’ve been operating Dan’s Train Depot, which is the parent company of BrassTrains.com, for about 11 years now. We … [more]

The NMRA library’s original purpose was to focus on model railroading, but over time we’ve also received donations … [more]

Dave McCarthy's Airfix Model Railway treasure trove is an in-depth archive of the company's plastic railway kits fr… [read review or visit site]

This great reference site for model railroaders, from the Gateway (St. Louis) division of the NMRA (National Model … [read review or visit site]

This site is a treasure trove of HO scale model railroad manufacturer catalogs and other reference information, inv… [read review or visit site]

Bernie Schulz’s Lionel Trains Library focuses exclusively on postwar Lionel trains and accessories. The site cont… [read review or visit site]

Eric Siegel's site displays his collection of O-gauge/O-scale trains, tracks, turntables, and other accessories. A … [read review or visit site]

MIT's model railroad club, as one might expect, has one of the best websites for learning about how people play wit… [read review or visit site]
Got a site to suggest? Let us know.
Are we missing one? Tell us.
13 watchersSource: Google News
CORVALLIS — The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library invites the public to come see a working model railroad, presented by the Oregon O-Gaugers Train Club...Read more
Face Painting at McNally Bake Shop 10 am to 1 pm; Model Train Display at First United Methodist Church 10 am to 4 pm; Magician performing at Emmetsburg...Read more
Randel Bittick, former president of the Lubbock Model Railroad Association, said one module planned for the trains that run during spring break features a...Read more
(I-Newswire) March 8, 2010 - Germany, March 8th, 2010 – The popularity of model trains is evident from the fact that there is so much model train...Read more
March 6 from 11 am to 3 pm in the St. Ignatius Loyola School Cafeteria, 30 E. Cherry St., Hicksville. $3 adults; $2 children. Layouts by HOTRACK, TROLLEY,...Read more
By Mike Conley | The McDowell News Today and Saturday, model railroad enthusiasts will get together in Fletcher for the 20th Annual Model Train Show...Read more
These railroads have been featured in national model train publications and provide views of past and present railroading throughout North America...Read more
Katzer dates back to 2006, when Robert Jacobsen, a developer at Java Model Railroad Interface, claimed that Kamind Associates' Matthew Katzer had used part...Read more