How do I model a narrow-gauge railway in 00 gauge?

If you are ready to take your modelling skills to the next level, then a recreation of a narrow-gauge railway is a good place to start.

We are all used to the neatness and becoming nature of the many fantastic narrow-gauge railways that bestrew Britain, however, narrow-gauge railways have historically played a much wider role than providing tourists with a pleasurable afternoon in the countryside. 

They could be found all over, with locomotives hard at work in quarries, at docks, up mountains and in forests. This gives you artistic licence and plenty of choices when it comes to when, where and how to depict your railway.

You will typically be modelling in 1:87 or 1:76 scale but with a difference, your track will be 9mm gauge. You do not have to use N gauge track (although technically it would work) because there is a special range of track available especially for the purpose of creating a 00 gauge narrow-gauge railway otherwise known as 00-9 scale.

Please note that UK 00-9 scale is equivalent to H0e in the rest of the world, which is H0 narrow gauge. You can mix 00-9 with H0e items if you want as they are fully compatible with each other.

The track comes with two options: "Mainline track" which is the standard track, or something called "Crazy Track" which has irregular and slightly uneven sleepers to replicate a real track that was built to serve a basic function, in a location such as a quarry, where budget mattered and aesthetics didn't.  

00-9 gauge track represents a prototypical narrow-gauge railway with a track gauge of 2ft 3in (686mm). Such a railway does exist, the Tayllyn and Corris railway in the Snowdonia National Park, Wales for example, uses this gauge, however, the majority of British narrow-gauge railways use a 2ft (610mm) gauge.

If you were to accurately portray this in 00 gauge you would need an 8mm track, 1mm less than 00-9 gauge, such a small difference is barely visible to the naked eye, so no matter where you decide to place your railway, 9mm track will give you the effect that you desire.

If you are looking for a spot of inspiration to help you model a narrow-gauge railway, there is plenty out there, just search Wikipedia "British narrow-gauge railways" for a list of 84 narrow-gauge railways to research.

Engines and rolling stock in 00-9 gauge are available as ready to run models, most though, prefer the many kits which are commercially available from manufacturers such as Dundas.

There will no doubt be some scratch building or adapting of kits required if you wish to recreate an exact scene, but that is all part of the fun (and frustration) of our hobby.

Modelling in 00-9 scale has been getting more popular year on year since its creation in the early 1960s. Manufacturers are aware of this, so keep an eye out for interesting new 00-9 products on the market.