| The hobby of model railroading has been | | | | would be in O gauge. Trains can have twice as |
| around for almost 100 years. Every | | | | many cars as would be practical on an O gauge |
| Christmas, no matter where in the country we | | | | |
| live, Santa would bring a train set and | | | | HO gauge is still a scale large enough to |
| tracks, and it would run round and round the | | | | incorporate a reasonable amount of detail in |
| Christmas Tree. | | | | your layout. Your hobby shop dealer can give |
| | | | you a comparison between all model railroad |
| Then, as soon as the Christmas tree would be | | | | gauges. The thing that should be uppermost |
| taken down, the train set was stowed away in | | | | in your mind is your space limitations in |
| its packing box. It would sit in the family | | | | your home or apartment. |
| closet until next Christmas. Many times, | | | | |
| another train set would join the older train | | | | There is an enormous amount of ready to roll |
| set. Then, the two train sets would run | | | | stock available in HO gauge, more so than in |
| around the tree. Oh what fun! | | | | any other scale. This makes the construction |
| | | | of a proprietary layout where all of the |
| Just before World War II, a number of very | | | | rolling stock is off the shelf a relatively |
| interesting things happened. First and | | | | easy matter. The similarly wide range of kits |
| foremost was the emergence of the Lionel | | | | and scratch building components also makes it |
| Corporation. About the same time, a man named | | | | suitable for the beginners layout where it is |
| A.C. Gilbert was launching his own company to | | | | intended to move on to kit building and |
| be known as American Flyer. Suddenly, toy | | | | scratch building as soon as the you feel that |
| trains became real. | | | | you are ready. |
| | | | |
| Lionel modeled a train set in the exact | | | | This brings up the most endearing feature of |
| likeness of the New York Central. It sold in | | | | model railroading. Because of the wealth of |
| 1940 for over $200, a stupendous price in | | | | equipment offered by Walthers, Athearn, and |
| that day for a train set. American Flyer | | | | other suppliers, you are totally free to |
| produced a number of very accurate models of | | | | model anything you wish. The only |
| both the New York Central and the New Haven | | | | limitations are (1) your imagination, (2) |
| railroads, which also sold for a very heavy | | | | your available space where you live, (3) your |
| price tag. | | | | finances, and (4) an understanding spouse. |
| | | | |
| Soon thereafter, a number of authors wrote | | | | HO models offer brass replicas imported from |
| books showing how to design various track | | | | Japan and Korea of some of the greatest steam |
| layouts. These showed how to install | | | | engines ever built. You can build a model |
| switches, build railway stations and houses, | | | | railroad depicting steam, early diesel, or |
| trees, and model factories. All at once, toy | | | | current diesel engines. You can build a |
| trains were evolving into model railroads. | | | | model railroad representing railroads that |
| After WW II, model railroading took off and | | | | have since gone out of business or else have |
| has not stopped since. A new industry and | | | | been acquired via merger. |
| hobby was born. | | | | |
| | | | Some of the most notable but extinct |
| What made it all happen? I believe it was | | | | passenger trains like the Empire Builder or |
| the emergence of HO Scale as the model size | | | | New York Central 20th Century Limited are |
| of choice. The very first toy trains were | | | | running once again. You can check your model |
| scaled at a half inch to the actual foot. | | | | railroad supply catalog to see what's |
| Lionel produced its toy trains at a quarter | | | | available. |
| inch to the actual foot. This was known as O | | | | |
| Gauge. | | | | The other popular scale today is N gauge. It |
| | | | is called N gauge because the track gauge is |
| However, it was HO Scale that really launched | | | | nine millimeters and N is the first letter of |
| the hobby. While Lionel and American Flyer | | | | the word "nine" in most countries where N |
| produced excellent replicas of the New York | | | | gauge is used. |
| Central and other railroads, they were just | | | | |
| too big to fit inside a house or apartment. | | | | The advantage of N gauge is that because it |
| | | | is so small, there is room to run long |
| In June of 1948, Gordon Varney, founder of | | | | trains. A four-coach passenger train in N |
| Varney Model Railroads, issued the second of | | | | gauge may be only slightly longer than an O |
| his "Commemorative Cars". This was the | | | | gauge locomotive. Also with N gauge it is |
| Hollywood And Western. The H&W was a | | | | possible to fit it into a reasonable amount |
| refrigerator car from the famous pioneering | | | | of the surrounding countryside and still have |
| model railroad layout belonging to Jim Trout, | | | | enough space for the trains. With N gauge you |
| Sam Raymond, and Dick Sutphen. Varney came up | | | | can achieve the effect of full length trains |
| with the name and made the sides for the | | | | running through open countryside without |
| reefer car when he visited the layout at | | | | requiring an aircraft hanger to house the |
| Trout's home prior to World War II. At the | | | | layout. |
| end of the war, Varney decided there was a | | | | |
| market for private owner car sides, and began | | | | The disadvantage of N gauge is that because |
| producing HO scale refrigerator cars with | | | | it is so small, it is very difficult to |
| Hollywood and Western markings. This car kit, | | | | include many of the minute details available |
| along with the Firewater & Kicking Horse | | | | in the larger scales. Even when you find a |
| boxcar (Heritage Collection Issue No. 8), | | | | way to include the small detail you are very |
| were the first recorded mass-produced private | | | | likely wasting your effort, because it will |
| owner cars ever made available to the public | | | | be so small that many people will not be |
| in HO scale. | | | | aware that it is there (except for you of |
| | | | course). |
| Varney soon had very good competition. In | | | | |
| the late 1940s, the Athearn Corporation | | | | Therefore the aim with N gauge should be to |
| entered the HO Scale market. Athearn is an | | | | present the broad picture rather than the |
| American manufacturer of model railroad | | | | smaller details. N gauge can be used for |
| equipment, produced and distributed by | | | | small shunting layouts but does not appear as |
| American hobby manufacturer Horizon Hobby of | | | | realistic as can be achieved with a larger |
| Champaign, Illinois, USA. | | | | scale. N gauge works best with long trains |
| | | | and plenty of open countryside. Thus it |
| The story of Athearn really began in 1938, | | | | (paradoxically) really needs more room than |
| when its founder, Irv Athearn, started an | | | | layouts built in the larger scales. |
| elaborate O-scale layout in his mother's | | | | |
| house. After placing an ad selling the layout | | | | There is a reasonable amount of ready to run |
| and receiving much response to it, Irv | | | | stock available in N gauge, especially for |
| decided that selling model railroads would be | | | | those who model American railroads. Kits and |
| a good living. He sold train products out of | | | | scratch building components also exist |
| his mother's house through most of the 1940s. | | | | although constructing models is made more |
| | | | difficult by the smaller size of the models. |
| After becoming a full-time retailer in 1946, | | | | |
| Irv Athearn opened a separate facility in | | | | Today, almost a half million model |
| Hawthorne, Ca in 1948, In that same year, he | | | | railroading enthusiasts are out there. They |
| branched into HO for the first time. | | | | range in age from their early teens to very |
| | | | gray senior citizens. They flock to model |
| Irv Athearn died in 1991. New owners took | | | | railroading hobby shops located in every town |
| control in 1994, but Irv's commitment to | | | | and hamlet. They build model railroads as |
| offer high-quality products at reasonable | | | | small as N Gauge to as large as G Scale |
| prices remained. Athearn was bought in 2004 | | | | garden railroads. They model all types of |
| by Horizon Hobby Inc. Athearn was then moved | | | | locomotives, cars, buildings, bridges, rivers |
| from its facility in Compton to a new | | | | and waterfalls, factories, coal yards, and |
| state-of-the-art facility in Carson, | | | | everything in between. Their model railroads |
| California. | | | | represent all of the principal rail lines |
| | | | that presently operate to a thousand or more |
| Another company, Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., is | | | | fictitious rail lines that exist only in |
| dedicated to manufacturing and distributing | | | | model form. |
| high quality model railroad equipment | | | | |
| worldwide. Walthers carries over 85,000 | | | | Model railroads represent every time era of |
| different items for model layouts from over | | | | American and world history. The time spent |
| three hundred manufacturers. The company | | | | by these modelers is endless, where the model |
| supplies model railroading products to | | | | railroad may get more attention than the |
| thousands of hobby shops around the globe! | | | | newborn baby. The quest for realism is |
| | | | equally endless, where models emit authentic |
| Under the leadership of Bruce Walthers, the | | | | sound effects, go through signaling systems, |
| company became the largest distributor of | | | | and even have video cameras mounted in the |
| model railroad products in the world. Mr. | | | | locomotives to perform a railroad video of |
| Walthers successfully transferred the family | | | | the model itself. |
| business to the third generation in 1984, | | | | |
| remaining active as Chairman of the Board of | | | | I would begin your quest for your greatest |
| Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. to the present. He was | | | | model railroad by visiting the local hobby |
| a Board member and served as President of | | | | store. Spend a few hours browsing through |
| both the Model Railroad Industry Association | | | | the various displays and seeing what is out |
| and the Hobby Industry Association of America | | | | there. Do not be afraid to ask questions |
| (HIAA). On January 28 of this year, Mr. | | | | because these guys are just as anxious to |
| Walthers passed away. | | | | have you as a new customer as you are to have |
| | | | a model railroad with endless fun. Do a |
| Undoubtedly, thanks to the work of Walthers | | | | search on the web for all related topics, and |
| and other firms, the most popular scale today | | | | above all, subscribe to the leading model |
| is HO gauge (or OO gauge in Britain). The | | | | railroading publications. |
| name HO came about because the scale is half | | | | |
| that of O gauge. Because HO is only half the | | | | Also, please do not get lost in your |
| size of O gauge, this enables four times as | | | | basement, and above all, keep the family cat |
| much railway to be built in the same space as | | | | away from your layout. |