H0 Scale History H0 scale steam locomotives at the N&W RR museum in Crewe, Virginia. The name H0 is derived from the fact that its 1:87 scale is approximately half that of 0 (zero) scale, hence H0. 0 scale in turn was named following the older and larger 1, 2, and 3 scales. The term H0 is pronounced (aitch-oh -- that is, the letters h and o), not ho nor aitch-zero. H0 scale trains first appeared in the United Kingdom in the 1930s, originally as an alternative to 00 gauge, but could not make commercial headway against the established 00 gauge. However, it became very popular in the United States, where it took off in the late 1950s after interest in model railroads as toys began to decline and more emphasis began to be placed on realism in response to hobbyist demand. While H0 scale is by nature more delicate than 0 scale, its smaller size allows modelers to fit more details and more scale miles into a comparable area. In the 1960s, as H0 scale began to overtake 0 scale in popularity, even the stalwarts of other sizes, including Gilbert (makers of American Flyer) and Lionel Corporation began manufacturing H0 trains. Currently, H0 is the most popular model railroad scale in both continental Europe and North America, whereas 00 gauge is still dominant in Britain. There are some modelers in Great Britain who use H0 gauge. For them, the British 1:87 Scale Society was formed in 1994; it publishes a quarterly journal with news, views, and practical advice for modelers and collectors. Today, H0 locomotives, rolling stock (cars or carriages), buildings, and scenery are available from a large number of manufacturers in a variety of price brackets. Controls Modern H0 trains run on two-rail track, which is powered by direct current (varying the voltage applied to the rails to change the speed, and polarity to change direction), or by Digital Command Control (sending digital commands to a decoder in each locomotive). Some trains, most notably by Mrklin of Germany, run on alternating current, supplied by a third rail consisting of small bumps on each tie down the center of the track. On simple, usually temporary layouts, power is supplied by a power pack consisting of a transformer and rectifier, a rheostat or potentiometer for regulating voltage supplied to the track (and thus train speed), and a switch to control train direction double pole, double throw slide or toggle switch wired to reverse the polarity on the rails. On permanent layouts, multiple power supplies are traditionally used, with the trackage divided into electrically isolated sections called blocks; toggle or rotary switches (sometimes relays) are used to select which power supply controlled the train in a particular block. With the advent of digital command control, block divisions are largely eliminated, as the computerized controllers can control any train anywhere on the track at any time, with minor limitations. Gauge H0 scale has several gauges representing both standard and narrow gauges in roughly 1:87 scale. Standards are defined by the NMRA (in North America) and the NEM (in Continental Europe). While the standards are in practice interchangeable, they are not strictly identical. Track gauge Names Prototype Notes 16.5mm HO (NMRA) and H0 (NEM) Standard gauge 16.5mm track is also used for British OO Gauge 12mm HOn3-1/2 (NMRA) and H0m (NEM) Metre gauge and 36 gauge 3 6 is the standard gauge in much of Africa, Queensland (Aus), New Zealand and also non-Shinkansen JR lines in Japan. HOm and HOn3-1/2 use commercially available TT scale track. 10.5mm HOn3 (NMRA) 36 gauge 36 gauge once common to American mining railroads and shortlines, particularly in the Western States 9mm HOn30 (NMRA) and H0e (NEM) 30 gauge Typically used for lines in 24-30 gauge. Uses commercially-available N scale track. 6.5mm HOz (NMRA) and H0i (NEM) 15 gauge Uses commercially available Z scale track. Trackage The earliest track available was sectional track, available in a variety of standardized lengths, such as the ubiquitous 9 straight and curved tracks of 15, 18, and 22 radii. These are representative of curves as tight as 108feet (33m), which in the real world would only be found on some industrial spurs and light rail systems. With the introduction of flex track, which can be bent to any desired shape (within reason), it became possible to create railroads with broader curves, and with them more accurate models. Today it is common to purchase six-axle diesels and full-length passenger cars which will not run properly on curves less than 24 in radius. H0 scale track was originally manufactured with brass rail on plastic tie. Over time, track made of nickel-silver alloy became more common due to its superior resistance to corrosion. Today, almost all H0 scale track is of nickel silver, although Bachmann was up until quite recently manufacturing steel track. In America, Atlas gained an early lead in track manufacturing, and their sectional, flex, and turnout track dominates the US market. In the UK, Pecos line of flex track and Electrofrog (powered frog) and Insulfrog (insulated frog) turnouts are more common. Both Atlas, Bachmann, and Life-Like all manufacture inexpensive, snap-together track with integral roadbed. Kato also manufactures a full line of HO Unitrack, however it has not yet caught on as their N scale Unitrack has. Rail height is measured in thousandths of an inch; Code 83 track has a rail which is .083 high. As H0s commonly-available rail sizes, especially the popular Code 100, are somewhat large (representative of extremely heavily-trafficked lines), many modelers opt for hand-laid finescale track with individually-laid wooden sleepers/crossties and rails secured by very small railroad spikes. In Australia, many club-owned layouts employ Code 100 track so that club members can also run OO-scale models and older rolling stock with coarse (deep) wheel flanges Availability Because of the scales popularity, a huge array of models, kits and supplies are manufactured. The annual H0 scale catalog by Wm. K. Walthers, North Americas largest model railroad supplier, lists more than 1,000 pages of products in that scale alone. Models are generally available in three varieties: Ready-to-Run models are fully ready for use right out of the box. Generally this means couplers, trucks, and other integral parts are installed at the factory, although some super detailing parts may still need to be attached. Shake-the-Box kits are simple, easy-to-assemble kits; a freight car might include a one-piece body, a chassis, trucks, couplers, and a counterweight, while a structure kit might include walls, windows, doors, and glazing. Craftsman Kits require a much higher level of skill to assemble and can include several hundreds of parts. In addition to these kits, numerous manufacturers sell individual supplies for super detailing, scratch building, and kitbashing. Quality varies extremely. Toylike, ready-to-run trains using plastic molds which are well over 50 years old are still sold; on the other side are highly-detailed limited-edition locomotive models made of brass by companies based in Japan and South Korea. A popular locomotive such as the F7/F9 may be available in thirty different versions with prices ranging from twenty to several thousand dollars or euros. Advantages compared to other scales H0 scales popularity lies somewhat in its middle-of-the-road status. It is large enough to accommodate a great deal of detail in finer models, more so than the smaller N and Z scales, and can also be easily handled by children without as much fear of swallowing small parts. Models are usually less expensive than the smaller scales because of more exacting manufacturing process in N and Z, and also less expensive than S, 0 and G scales because of the smaller amount of material; the larger audience and the resultant economy of scale also drives H0 prices down. The size lends itself to elaborate track plans in a reasonable amount of room space, not as much as N but considerably more than S or 0. In short, H0 scale provides the balance between the detail of larger scales and the lower space requirements of smaller scales. H0 in other hobbies and in marketing usage In other hobbies, the term H0 is often used more loosely than in railroad modeling. In slot car racing, H0 does not denote a precise scale of car, but a general size of track on which the cars can range from 1:87 to approximately 1:64 scale. Small plastic model soldiers are often popularly referred to as H0 size if they are close to an inch in height, though the actual scale is usually 1:76 or 1:72. Even in model railroading, the term HO can be stretched. Some British producers have marketed railway accessories such as detail items and figures, as HO/OO in an attempt to make them attractive to modelers in either scale. Sometimes the actual scale was 00, sometimes it split the difference (about 1:82). These items may be marketed as H0, especially in the US. In addition, some manufacturers or importers tend to label any small-scale model, regardless of exact scale, as H0 scale in order to increase sales to railroad modelers. The sizes of H0 automobiles, for example, from different manufacturers, can vary surprisingly. Manufacturers This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. Currently-active significant manufacturers and marketers of HO railroad equipment as of 2008, include: Arlo-Micromodel resin cast models and kits Athabasca Scale Models Athearn Atlas Model Railroad Auhagen Austrains Bachmann Industries BGR Group Bemo Blackstone Models (H0n3) Bowser Manufacturing Brawa Broadway Limited Imports Busch[disambiguation needed] Campbell Scale Model Century Foundry Electrotren Faller Fast Tracks Fleischmann Frateschi Fulgurex HAG Hamo - Two-rail DC version of Mrklin Heki Heljan Herpa Hodgdon Scale Models in Connecticut Hornby Railways Hunterline Craftsman Kits Ibertren InterMountain Railway International Hobby Corp Jouef Kanamodel Products Kato Precision Railroad Models Katsumi Trains Kibri Lemaco Life Like Liliput Mantua Mrklin Mehano Micro Metakit Model Power MTH Electric Trains Noch NMJ (norsk modell jernbane) Norwegian model railway Peco Piko Pola[disambiguation needed] Precision Craft Models, Inc. Preiser Rapido Trains Inc(Canada). Rivarossi Roco Sachsenmodelle (part of the Tillig group) Showcase Miniatures SoundTraxx Stewart[disambiguation needed] Summit USA Trix (part of the Mrklin group) TMI Digital Viessmann Vollmer Weinert[disambiguation needed] Wm. K. Walthers Woodland Scenics Significant historical manufacturers and marketers of H0 equipment which are no longer active in H0, include Airfix Aristo-Craft Associated Hobby Manufacturers (AHM) Aurora Plastics Corporation L.M. Cox Ken Kidder Lima - bankruptcy in 2004, later acquired by Hornby Lindberg Models Lionel Marx Pacific Fast Mail (PFM) Penn Line Manufacturing Revell Selley Tru-Scale TYCO Ulrich Varney Scale Models See also Free-mo Proto:87 Rail transport modelling scales Rail transport modelling scale standards External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: H0 scale Layout Tours A-L and Layout Tours M-Z Tony Cooks H0-Scale Trains Resource Includes separate websites for many classic H0-scale model train product lines of the past; online catalog resources; links to current manufacturers; new release resource section for current and coming product releases. Model Train Scales H0 Scale, N Scale, O Scale, and all the Rest Gives an overview of all model train scales, especially H0 scale. Categories: Model railroad scales | Scale model scalesHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from September 2008 | All articles lacking sources | Incomplete transport lists | Articles with links needing disambiguation I am China Computer Parts writer, reports some information about prg lighting , structural fiberglass columns.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 05:43:53 +0000
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