3' Gauge rail modelling is a specialisation in

rail transport modelling 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, ...

. Specifically it relates to the modelling of

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 of gauge. This

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

was the most common narrow gauge in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. Apart from some other lines in North, Central and South America, gauge was uncommon elsewhere. Therefore, most 3' gauge modellers model either United States or Irish prototypes.

United States

gauge railroads were widespread in the United States in the period 1880-90. While most of these railroads were

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

by the start of the 20th century, a number of lines survived till the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and later, and became popular subjects for modelling. Probably the most popular prototype is the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

, followed by other

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

railroads such as the

Rio Grande Southern The Rio Grande Southern Railroad (reporting mark RGS, also referred to as "The Southern") was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railroad which ran in the southwestern region of the US state of Colorado, from the towns of Durango to Ridgway, ...

and

Colorado and Southern The Colorado and Southern Railway was an American Class I railroad in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until it was absorbed into the Burling ...

. Other railroads from California and the eastern states are also popular. Scale and gauge combinations used in modelling include: :* Nn3 – Using

N scale N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer (or country), the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. In all cases, the ''gauge'' (the distance between the rails) is . The term N ''gauge'' refers to the track dimensions, ...

(1:160 ratio) with Z () gauge track. :* HOn3 – Using

HO scale HO or H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale (3.5 mm to 1 foot). It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced apart for modelling standard gauge tracks and trains in HO. NMRA"Mo ...

(1:87 ratio) with gauge track. Historically the most popular of the scale/gauge combinations. :* Sn3 – Using

S scale S scale (or S gauge) is a model railroad scale modeled at 1:64 scale, S scale track gauge (space between the rails) is 22,48 (22,5) mm, 0.885 in. S gauge trains are manufactured in both DC and AC powered varieties. S gauge is not to be confused w ...

(1:64 ratio) with gauge track. Limited commercial support. :* On3 – Using

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 sca ...

(1:48 ratio) with gauge track. Probably the second most popular scale. :* F scale – using 1:20.3 ratio with gauge track. This scale uses the same gauge as, and is derived from the popular

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 ...

. It is the largest popular scale/gauge combination, and is suitable for use in the garden. Perhaps not surprisingly, most narrow gauge modellers in the United States model US gauge prototypes. However these prototypes are also popular modelling subjects outside the United States as well.

Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Britain

gauge was the narrow gauge used in

, and the gauge of almost all the railways on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

. It was also used on a handful of railways in Britain. However modelling these gauge railways is very much a minority pursuit, especially when compared with other prototypes such as the Welsh narrow gauge. Scales and gauges used include: Generally these scale/gauge combinations do not have much commercial support, and therefore modellers are required to construct most of their models from scratch. 00n3 is the exception and there is good support from manufacturers like Branchlines (Isle of Man Railway and some Irish lines),

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-p ...

(mostly Irish railway 'scratch aid' brass kits) and Alphagraphix (mostly card Irish rolling stock kits). Some model kits are not available new due to production having ceased but can be found on the preowned market including the Backwoods models of Irish narrow gauge locomotives and rolling stock. Further information on 00n3 suppliers is given on the 00n3 entry.

External links

Lex Parker's On3 model of the D&RGW

Another On3 layout - the Paisley Mill & Timber Co.

Slim Gauge Guild HOn3 and Sn3 layouts

Nn3 Home Page

15mm to the foot scale garden railway based on an Irish 3' gauge railway
{{H0 scale Modelling 3' Gauge Railroads Model railroad scales Narrow gauge railway modelling

United States

Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Britain

See also

External links