Model trains are an amazing hobby and one that many people find very exciting. Imagine having an exact replica of the Orient Express or the Trans-Siberian Express running around a model landscape you hand built in your basement. Model trains are some of the most enduring toys of all. They are so enduring that even adults love them.

Standard and narrow gauge model trains are available in a number of scales. European scales include OO gauge which has the same track gauge as HO gauge but is a larger scale. Model trains are offered in a wide variety of sizes, styles and colors. These models often feature sophisticated electronic components that make them elegant and realistic in operation. Model trains are sold in standard scales, from the tiny Z scale to large G scale. HO scale model trains are just some of the most popular out there on the market and these sizes tend to be more readily available than others.

Model railroads are usually built to a letter scale, such as HO, where 3.5mm on the model represents 1 foot on the prototype. Model railroads are not built overnight. In fact, no model railroad is ever finished. Model railroads are more then just the trains, tracks and power supplies. They provide the enthusiast a way to study and recreate entire worlds and towns in miniature.

Model train layouts are always constructed, operated, and maintained by people, of course. Their movements and access to the layout are as important, if not more so, than the arrangement of the trackwork. Model railroads are a very electrically noisy environment so that special care must be taken in isolating grounds between the controller and the rest of the layout. Model railroads are among the almost $4 billion worth of toys and models made each year in the U.S.

New concepts and the techniques to control model railroads are constantly being developed as the technology of the hobby allows. In the past decade, the development of computer controller model engines has increased the ability to operate trains like a real railroad. Model railroads are great for sparking interest in where do commodities come from and where do they go? Westward expansion in the US was fueled by the expansion of railroads across America. Model railroads are enjoying a surge of interest and activity from professional designers and artists. Model railroading is a lifetime hobby of enjoyment and fun.

For operating in a realistic fashion like the real railroad, it is often done on very large layouts. These layouts are too large for the typical home and are built by clubs. They have many scale miles of track and can operate long freight trains realistically. Also, they provide a variety of train traffic like the real railroads making operating them more fun. Check with your local hobby shop and you will find the name and location of a club near you.