What is a scale ruler?

At first glance, a scale ruler appears like any other measuring device, but on closer inspection, you will notice that the measurements printed on the ruler are not what we are used to seeing on a regular ruler.

The purpose of a scale ruler is to figure out how big a real-life measurement would be on a model.

For example, if you wanted to build an engine shed on your layout and the real-life engine shed that you wanted to recreate measured 100ft in length, then all you would need to do is measure 100ft on the scale ruler and that will give you the scaled-down equivalent.

This is particularly useful for modellers that like to scratch-build as it negates the need to constantly convert real-life measurements from the prototype into millimetres. Another useful application of a scale ruler is when you are drawing up the plans at the start of a model railway project. Using a scale ruler you can easily mark out various sections on your baseboard saving you the headache of cramming diorama into an over-ambitious track-plan (trust us, we’ve all been there).

Scale rulers are available in a multitude of different scales, model scale rulers are specific to railway gauges so you can get them for 00 gauge, N gauge, 0 gauge and so on, this makes using the ruler very simple.