track

[willo]

anybody no the best way to find quantitys of 00 track maybe a good supplier,i am buying a small set for now

but could do with knowing for the near future.

[mick]

If I had to name one single retailer who offered great service, competitive prices and prompt delivery then it would have to be Hattons Model Railways. I say that only as a very satisfied customer and I have no other connection with the company. Hattons are based in Liverpool, have retail premises if you are able to pay a visit or offer a mail order service if you are more distant. Check out their website for details of track and almost anything else model railway related that you can imagine.

I have made satisfactory purchases elsewhere but Hattons would always be my number one choice.

[Dave]

Depends what kind of track you're after.

If you're after a simple settrack loop for playing with, I'd say look for a cheap boxed set on ebay - track on its own seems to sell for more than some box sets, I've found, but there you are *shrug*. If you're after long lengths for building the long stretches of ourdoor railway, then you probably want to buy in bulk from somewhere like Hattons, like Mick says, or I have found Gaugemaster to be an alternative that I've always had good service from, too.

Hope that helps.

Dave

[willo]

thanks guys im also confused at looking up some track on internet asking for 00 gauge and getting results for 0 gauge is it also known as this and ho or am i getting things mixed up as usual

dave

[mick]

willo said:

thanks guys im also confused at looking up some track on internet asking for 00 gauge and getting results for 0 gauge is it also known as this and ho or am i getting things mixed up as usual

Can be confusing so here's hoping I can explain it clearly for you.

OO and HO refer to two individual scales. OO represents a scale of 4mm to the foot (or 1/76) while HO represents a scale of 3.5mm to the foot (or 1/87). Track such as that available from Peco which I use for my OO gauge outdoor line is actually made to HO scale but is suitable for use with both HO and OO scales so you will see it advertised as suitable for OO/HO use. The real railways in this country operate on track which has a gauge (distance between the two rails) of 4ft 8 1/2 inches which in model form equates to a distance of 16.5mm between the 2 rails (worked out at HO scale 1/87). So model railway track with a 'gauge' of 16.5mm (made to HO scale) is suitable for both OO and HO scale use but is actually about 2mm underscale (or too narrow) when used with OO rolling stock. As far as I am aware, I think the UK is the only country which uses the OO scale (models made to 1/76 scale for running on 1/87 scale trackwork)- all other countries adopting the slightly smaller but entirely correct HO scale.

That being the case I'm not sure why I refer to my outdoor line as an OO 'gauge' Garden Railway or why I call this forum an OO 'gauge' Garden Railway Forum. It's just a term that is accepted and taken for granted. To be more precise, what I actually have is an OO scale garden railway (rolling stock at 1/76 scale) operating on HO scale track (manufactured to 1/87 scale).

[IanR]

I bet willo has a headache now!

Have a look for a model railway exhibition near you. They are great places for getting advice. Most guys there will be happy to help.

[mick]

IanR said:

I bet willo has a headache now!...

Good job I put some thought into it then

Anything else you want to know Dave I'm always here to help

[willo]

cheers. better to know now than end up buying something i might need to change later