16 mm scale

Model railway scale August 2021 16 mm scale Rail-buskerville-railway-amoswolfe.jpg Modified Mamod live steam locomotive and train on a garden railway layout 16 mm to 1 foot 1:19.05 32mm 2ft 16 mm to 1 foot or 1:19.05 is a popular scale of model railway in the UK which represents narrow gauge prototypes.Railway Modeller Jones Gareth Roundhouse Linda January 2007 Peco Publications 22–25 The most common gauge for such railways is 32mm, representing 2ft gauge prototypes. This scale/gauge combination is sometimes referred to as "SM32" (terminology popularised by Peco, one of the principal manufacturers of appropriate track) and is often used for model railways that run in gardens, being large enough to easily accommodate live steam models. The next most common gauge is 45mm,Railway Modeller Heaps C.A. Deadwood Light Railway: A post-retirement 45mm gauge garden railway July 2007 Peco Publications 462–463 which represents the theoretical non-existent gauge 2 ft 9+3/4 in mm 3. This gauge is commonly used to portray prototypes between 2ft6in and 3ft gauge. Overview There are a number of commercial manufacturers of 16 mm scale modelsRailway Modeller Rhodes David Return to the Vale - 2: The Selby & Hull Railway revisited July 2007 Peco Publications 459–461 as well as many enthusiastic amateurs who build their own rolling stock. Because real 2ft railways were most commonly found in the UK, many of the models are of British prototypes. European and North American narrow gauge railways are also modeled in this scale, mainly with scratch-built or kit-built models. Although models of approximately this scale were being built as early as the 1930s, it was the founding of the Merioneth Railway Society just after the Second World War that marks the popularization of this scale. This set the light-hearted spirit of the 16 mm fraternity, where a sense of fun and whimsy often override more serious concerns. The use of live steam as the predominant motive power of the models means absolute scale reproduction is often sacrificed to the demands of steam engineering at this scale. However the realistic sound, smell and visual effects of steam-driven locomotives makes up for loss of fidelity elsewhere. Driving a live steam locomotive, even at this small scale is very different from driving an electrically powered model. For many years there were no commercially available parts, and everything was hand-built or kit-bashed from O scale components. In the 1968About Archangel loco works. Retrieved 28 April 2022. Archangel emerged as the first commercial manufacturer on a large scale, followed by Merlin and Beck at the end of 1970s. All three companies produced affordable live steam locomotives in this scale. In 1981, Mamod entered the market with a cheap if somewhat crude steam loco for the UK market. Although not perfect, the low cost opened the hobby to a much wider range of people and as a result demand for other products grew. Roundhouse enjoys a large share of the market as builders of high quality live steam locomotives and suppliers of parts for home builders. A group of professional and hobbyist makers have emerged to meet this demand. Accucraft UK have built high quality live steam models of locomotives of the Talyllyn Railway, the Lynton & Barnstaple, and Welshpool & Llanfair. Manufacturers thumb|Mamod 16 mm gauge live steam railway.The Useful Links page in the 16mm Association web site has an extensive list of active traders. The list below includes traders who were significant in the hobby at one stage but are no longer active. Accucraft UK Archangel Argyle Brandbright Bole Laser Craft Bowaters Models Busy Bodies (no longer trading) Cooper Craft DJB Engineering IP Engineering John Prescott Engineering (no longer trading) Locomotion Mamod Merlin Locomotive Works (no longer trading) Mike Beeson Models (no longer trading) MSS (Mamod Sales and Services, Model Steam Specialists) PDF Models P.S Models Pearse Locos (no longer trading) Perfect World (no longer trading) PPS Steam Models Roundhouse Engineering RWM Steam (no longer trading - Evans Steam Services incorporate RWM) Slaters Swift Sixteen T&S Models Tenmille Timpdon Models Trenarren Models WellChuffed Worsley Works See also Rail transport modelling scales List of rail transport modelling scale standards 1 gauge 2 gauge G scale External links Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers Merioneth Railway Society Archangel References Category:Scale model scales Category:Narrow-gauge railway modelling