Making a collection of model railway trains might amaze you for being one of the more satisfying hobbies.
Maybe it is because model railway trains appeals to citizens of all ages, children and adults alike.
Come what may, the fact remains, that model railway trains as a hobby gains in popularity year on year.
Maybe the most surprising fact is that, in spite of the number of alternate choices of hobbies at hand, model railway trains remains one of the top favourites.
Why do you suppose this is? One reason is because designing and building a model railway stretches the imagination to the extreme.
For the younger person, helping the parent to build a railway system, new skills are learnt.
Whilst the pleasure derived is the same for the more experienced, there is the added challenge of developing their existing skill, by concentrating on a higher level of detail.
Serious enthusiasts will take the time to achieve 100% authenticity of their models.
The price to pay for this exacting perfection is time, lots of it.
There are so many things to think about when building a model railway.
Consideration must be given to the space availability, also to what level of sophistication you are intending to achieve.
Whether the build is intended to be played with by children or for satisfying the more experienced modeller.
One also has to consider if the setup is going to be a temporary arrangement or a more permanent build.
One that will be added to and extended over time if and when finances permit.
Once these decisions have been made it will be necessary to consider what scale of models you will be intending to use.
There are several model railway train scales to choose from, from the tiniest, which may not be the most suitable for children to handle, to the largest that one sees hauling passengers around theme parks.
One of the most popular scales is the HO scale which is 1 to 87 in scale relative to life size.
The scale chosen will have a bearing on the gauge of track selected.
The gauge is the measure between the track centres.
For example the gauge dimension for HO scale is 16.
5mm.
When the time comes, attention will turn to the design or layout of the railway system.
Will it be a single track, following a circular or oval path, something simple, which is the norm for the regular children's train set, sitting on the dining room table, or will it be a multi track system with crossovers, points, signals and gradients? What will the scenery be like for your layout? Will it be a miniture representation of an area that you are familiar with? There are miniture model railways with scenic surrounds of model trains travelling through mountain passes, travelling over bridges, skirting lakes and forests.
Others are built with backdrops of rural scenes, of industrial landscapes and busy street views.
There are many other details that can be introduced to add reality to the scene that you are attempting to create.
Miniture vehicles, people, animals, street signs and the like all can be used to add to your creation.