The tracks for model trains are like bread to butter. Sure, you can have all the butter in the world, but without the bread to put them on, you’re going to end up with mostly melted butter. Ok, so trains don’t melt, but still, the trains will just pile up without anywhere to run. So the lesson is: never underestimate the power of bread, and tracks.

As you may already know, model railroading is usually very particular about scale especially when you’re talking about trains and tracks. In model railroading, scales are the relative sizes of the models to the actual thing and are denoted by letters like O, HO, and N. Because these model locomotives come in different sizes, their tracks do as well. This size in tracks is usually determined by gauge. Gauge, simply put, is the distance between the two metal rails of a track. To simplify your hobby, manufacturers usually make track gauges correspond to train scales: an O gauge track will take O scale models, and HO tracks will take HO models. Because of this, some have begun using gauge and scale interchangeably. They are different, however. For example, some S scale trains, a scale smaller than O scale, are known to have wider wheels to accommodate O gauge tracks.

Tracks usually come in two forms: the common two rail track or the three rail track. The three rail track came along as manufacturers found them safer. However, some hobbyists don’t like the idea of their model tracks having unrealistic third rails. The third rail has found a lot of use though as they also make the wiring of other electronics onto the track possible. These would include lights or sounds that activated when the train passed or even automatic switching tracks. If you already own a train set, check to see if they run on three rails or two. The three rail models won’t work on two rails without being altered.

Tracks also come in different types, as they are modeled after real tracks. They usually come in segments that you can piece together to form a basic railroad. The basic kinds of segments are the straight segments and curved segments. They’re pretty self explanatory and, as you can probably imagine, you can already build an oval track out of just these segments.

Actual train tracks are hardly as simple as just an oval though and, for the more serious hobbyists, more segments are needed to make their dream track layouts. There are crossing segments that can create intersections in your tracks. There are turnouts or switches, segments that switch the tracks for your trains. These segments allow you to create multiple paths for your trains to go on. Almost every kind of track is reproduced in miniature for you to expand your model railroads to whatever you can dream of.

These segments are very easy to use and come ready to be put together straight out of the box. However, due to their modular designs, they are not very flexible. A curve track will curve at a fixed angle no matter what you do. For that extra bit of detail, enthusiasts often turn to the flex tracks. These tracks can be flexed into different shapes, allowing you to make whatever angle curve you want. Be careful though! There is a reason why the segmented curves have limits to their angles. Not all trains can traverse tight turns and some will derail when trying to navigate too tight a turn. Before you go about making crazy curves, try knowing the maximum turn radius your train can take.

These tracks are already enough to make your dream layout a reality but there is still one type of track that you can never do without… the feeder track. This special segment of track is what connects the entire layout to an electrical power supply (an AC transformer for three rails, a DC power pack for two). Without it, all the fancy curves and turnouts won’t work since the trains won’t run.

With this knowledge, you can now make your dream train tracks come to life almost as easy buttering your toast.