Like many 'grown ups' with a passion for OO trains, I started my hobby as a boy with hand-me-down Hornby track, trains and (bits of) stations. Now I have a son who has adopted my OO trains as his own - I guess it's genetic....

If you hang around enthusiasts of model trains long enough (particularly collectors of non-OO gauge trains), you're bound to hear heated discussions about the inaccuracy of the scale of OO trains. So what's all the fuss about?

OK, first an acknowledgment to the HO brigade: your gauge was first on the track so to speak...HO gauge (1:87 scale) was developed in Germany in the early 1920's with OO trains (1:76 scale) appearing soon after. But first there were O scale trains (are you keeping up?)

HO (stands for ‘Half O') came about when manufacturers decided that O scale models were not going to cut it in the indoor table-top market as they were just too large. Demand for HO grew rapidly in continental Europe but in good old blighty (UK to you) there was a bit of a practical issue with the scale: our trains were smaller than our European cousins so a model of a British locomotive based on the HO scale would be too small to fit the electric motors available at the time. The solution? Larger OO trains based on 1:76 scale size rather than HO's 1:87. Problem solved? Yes, but...we kept the HO gauge track; all 1:76 scale OO trains are actually built with the distance between the wheels that are 1:87 scale!

Just a little discrepancy you might think but one that can cause much irritation amongts the purists! Personally, I think that the satisfaction to be had from designing, constructing and operating your own miniature world of OO trains and rolling stock far outweighs the debates over the benefits of the respective gauges.

Where next for OO trains?

Technological advances in model trains has led to new innovations such as Hornby's OO ‘Live Steam' range that now includes The Flying Scotsman and The Mallard; with ‘Live Steam' were now seeing model trains that use real steam-powered locomotives! Though expensive, these have a growing and enthustiastic group of owners. Check out the videos below to see the evolution of the OO gauge!