Model Train
Model train, or railway modeling as it is known in the United Kingdom, is the fascination and preoccupation for the reduced-scale railway system.
The general preoccupation with model trains is it is considered a hobby, assembling and playing with the model train kit. However, there are those who have elevated their interest, becoming professional model train builders and serious collectors.
A basic model train consists of the train locomotives (coaches), the tracks, rolling stock and railway signs. Complete or top-of-the-line model train kits also include streetcars, buildings, lights and landscape features or “layouts” like hills, canyons and streams very much like the view of a true railway path.
The fascination for train models is best explained by the accuracy of the scale or ratios of these miniature sets to the real (historical or existing) railway stations from which they are patterned. Train designers and manufacturers can come up with amazingly accurate miniatures that capture even the smallest detail of the real structure. For instance, large-scale train models that come in track gauges of 3.5 inches to 7.5 inches are powered by actual live steam or diesel-hydraulic engines.
In the United Kingdom, hundreds of model train associations and organizations eagerly present model train shows and exhibits year-round, attracting the whole family in attendance. Likewise, there are museums dedicated to model trains in UK that offer the public a visual feast of miniature railway systems that played important roles in the development of the country and its people.
These museums include the Pendon Indoor Model Village and Railways in Oxfordshire, England; East Anglian Railway Museum in Colchester, Essex; Castle Point Transport Museum in Canvey Island, Essex; and the Steam Museum, Gardens and Garden Centre in Bressingham, Norfolk.