The Friendship of European railway modellers (german: Freundeskreis Europäischer Modellbahner, FREMO) is a modular
rail transport modelling standard. Individual track and scenery modules are built to a common standard and are joined together to make larger
model railway layout
In model railroading, a ''layout'' is a diorama containing scale track for operating trains. The size of a layout varies, from small shelf-top designs to ones that fill entire rooms, basements, or whole buildings.
Attention to modeling details s ...
s.
The FREMO standards were created following a meeting in Europe in 1981.
Modules are wide, with variable length and viewable from both sides. Each module comes with adjustable legs, to create a uniform top-of-rail height of above floor level. Modules are physically joined together using three holes and hand-tightened
M8 bolts with
washers
Washer most commonly refers to:
* Washer (hardware), a thin usually disc-shaped plate with a hole in the middle typically used with a bolt or nut
*Washing machine, for cleaning clothes
Washer may also refer to:
*Dishwasher, a machine for clean ...
and
wingnuts. The electrical inter-connection uses two
Banana connector
A banana connector (commonly banana plug for the male, banana socket or banana jack for the female) is a single-wire (one conductor) electrical connector used for joining wires to equipment. The term 4 mm connector is also used, especiall ...
s per track bus, over which
Digital Command Control
Digital Command Control (DCC) is a standard for a system to operate model railways digitally. When equipped with Digital Command Control, locomotives on the same electrical section of track can be independently controlled.
The DCC protocol is de ...
(DCC) signalling running at 14 volts is used for train control. Track uses Code 83 rails ( high), with a minimum curve radius of ; representing at 1:87) and fixed track centre-line spacing of ; representing separation at 1:87 scale).
Some general aspects, such as rigid construction of modules, are derived from the NEM 900 standards published by
MOROP
MOROP is a European association that federates national associations of railroad and model railroad enthusiasts.
MOROP was founded in Genoa, Italy by Italo Briano in 1954, and now has its headquarters in Bern, Switzerland. In 2006, MOROP federate ...
.
In 1995, the North American Free-mo standards were based on those of FREMO, with a number of changes made.
North American Standards
In 1994 Chris Palomarez and Art Armstrong at the San Luis Obispo Model Railroad Club (SLOMRC) developed the Free-mo Standard based on the European FREMO concept.
N-scale variant
In 2004, the traditional Free-mo standard was adapted for N scale (1:160). It uses Code 55 rail at a nominal height of . Curves should not have a radius of less than on the main line and use turnouts sized 6 or larger.
NMRA British Region Freemo Standard
In 2011 the NMRA British Region released a set of standards called Freemo, Recommended Specifications For HO Scale Modules.
See also
*
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 ...
References
External links
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Rail transport modelling
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