HOBBY BASICIS

I know most of my friends would be learning about railmodelling through this site. Its not exactly a rage in India. Never has been. And I doubt if in the coming years too it can stand up to the competition offered by playstations, wii or golf! Its not like you can look up the yellow pages for railroad clubs and find one in your neighbourhood.

Over the years, thankfully, I have met with a handful of enthusiasts who maintain layouts. Talking to them and seeing them progress in the hobby reassures me. And after discovering that Rod Stewart too is a great rail modeller I have a special place for him in my ipod! On the other hand railmodelling is a reclusive kind of a hobby and one ends up spending hours alone with just music and thoughts for company.

Well, the hobby is about collecting miniature trains and running them on a layout. H0 scale is the most popular scale of model railroading. In H0 scale (half of O scale), 3.5 mm (0.14 in) represents 1 real foot; this ratio works out to about 1:87.086. In H0, rails are usually spaced 16.5 mm (0.650 in). HO’s size allows modelers to fit more details and more scale miles into an area. H0 trains run on two-rail track, which is powered by DC. Voltage supply to the tracks can be varied to alter speed and polarity can be changed to reverse direction of travel. With the advent of DCC (Digital Command Control) trains now correspond with the power controller through decoders installed in them and provide use of “functions” to control sound and light. DCC of course has become mandatory for enthsiasts who indulge in prototpical operations of a railroad. Apart from HO, the other common scales in railmodelling are Z (1:220); N (1:160); S (1:64); O (1:48); G (1:20.3; 1:32)
HO scale has a large presence in the market place with thousands of accessories available in this miniature size. One can collect trains, tracks, frogs (points), buildings, signals, catenaries, human figures – all reduced to scale and go on to build an imaginary or a prototypical layout.

The "layout" refers to the replica of (or semblance to) a railroad and the landscape it passes through, which includes the rail side buildings, countryside, water bodies, bridges, stations, platforms and depots. Of course there is no denying that the love for this hobby stems from a love for trains. But that’s where it just begins for me. To me a ‘layout’ is akin to a canvas which has to be painted with landscaping, scenery, tunnels, bridges, building structures, backdrop, lighting, et al. Scores of people and animal in miniature take up centre stage and bring life to this world of trains. Adding sound further imparts realism. Truly, rail modeling can only be constrained due to reasons of space, funds or imagination.