16 mm to 1 foot or 1:19.05 is a popular scale of
model railway
Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale.
The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...
in the UK which represents
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
prototypes.
The most common gauge for such railways is , representing gauge prototypes. This scale/gauge combination is sometimes referred to as "SM32" (terminology popularised by
Peco
PECO is a UK-based manufacturer of model railway accessories, especially trackwork, based at Pecorama, Beer in South Devon, England.
PECO is the collective name for the Pritchard Patent Product Company Ltd, Peco Publications and Publicity L ...
, 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
Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment.
A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that ar ...
models. The next most common gauge is , which represents the theoretical non-existent gauge . This gauge is commonly used to portray prototypes between and gauge.
Overview
There are a number of commercial manufacturers of 16 mm scale models as well as many enthusiastic amateurs who build their own rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
. Because real 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
O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scal ...
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
Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment.
A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that ar ...
locomotives in this scale. In 1981,
Mamod
Mamod is a British toy manufacturer that specializes in manufacturing live steam models. The company was founded in Birmingham by Geoffrey Malins in 1937. The name is a portmanteau of Malins Models. The first models produced were of stationary ...
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 controls a large share of the market as builders of high quality live steam locomotives. 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 Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...
, the
Lynton & Barnstaple, and
Welshpool & Llanfair.
Manufacturers
![Mamod Spur IIe Echtdampzug Mamod 16 mm gauge steam railway, 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Mamod_Spur_IIe_Echtdampzug_Mamod_16_mm_gauge_steam_railway%2C_2022.jpg)
*Accucraft UK
*Archangel
*Argyle
*Brandbright
*Bole Laser Craft
*Bowaters Models
*Busy Bodies
*Cooper Craft
*DJB Engineering
*IP Engineering
*John Prescott Engineering
*Locomotion
*Mamod
*Merlin Locomotive Works
*Mike Beeson Models
*MSS (Mamod Sales and Services, Model Steam Specialists)
*PDF Models
*Pearse Locos
*Perfect World
*PPS Steam Models
*Roundhouse Engineering
*RWM Steam
*
Slaters
A slater, or slate mason, is a tradesperson who covers buildings with slate.
Tools of the trade
The various tools of the slater's trade are all drop-forged.
The slater's hammer is forged in one single piece, from crucible-cast steel, and has ...
*Swift Sixteen
*T&S Models
*Tenmille
*Timpdon Models
*WellChuffed
*
Worsley Works
Worsley Works, is a manufacturer of kits for model railway carriages and locomotives, owned and run from Worsley, near Manchester, England UK, by Allen Doherty.
Worsley Works is well known in the finescale modelling world, especially in less-pop ...
See also
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Rail transport modelling scales
Rail transport modelling uses a variety of scales (ratio between the real world and the model) to ensure scale models look correct when placed next to each other. Model railway scales are standardized worldwide by many organizations and hobbyist ...
*
List of rail transport modelling scale standards
This page lists the most relevant model railway scale standards in the world. Most standards are regional, but some have followers in other parts of the world outside their native region, most notably NEM and NMRA. While the most significant stan ...
*
Gauge 1
1 gauge, gauge 1 or gauge one is a model railway and toy train standard that was popular in the early 20th century, particularly with European manufacturers. Its track measures , making it larger than 0 gauge but slightly smaller than wide gauge ...
*
Gauge 2
Gauge 2 (also called 2 gauge or II gauge) is a model railway gauge, originally , then standardised in 1909 at , a 20% reduction and a change in definition: from mm to inch. It has since fallen into disuse. The gauge was introduced by Märklin a ...
*
G scale
Large scale or G scale (, G gauge) is a track gauge for model railways which is often used for outdoor garden railways because of its size and durability. G scale trains use a fixed track gauge of to accommodate a range of rail transport mod ...
External links
Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge ModellersMerioneth Railway SocietyArchangel
References
{{Scale models
Scale model scales
Narrow gauge railway modelling