Collecting model railway trains might surprise you as being one of the more popular and satisfying hobbies. Perhaps it's because model trains offer an appeal to people of just about any age, kids and grownups alike. Whatever the reason, it's a fact that model trains are becoming more popular each year even though they seem old fashioned to many.

Collecting model railway trains might surprise you as being one of the more popular and satisfying hobbies. Perhaps it's because model trains offer an appeal to people of just about any age, kids and grownups alike. Whatever the reason, it's a fact that model trains are becoming more popular each year even though they seem old fashioned to many.

It's a wonder that model trains are still so popular, what with all the games consoles that kids love so much. So how come trains manage to keep their appeal? Maybe it's because they provide a way for children, and grownups, to turn your imagination into something physical.

After all, when you create a model railroad layout, you decide how it runs, which trains ride the tracks, whether there are hills, tunnels, crossing, stations or whatever. And when you've built it, you get to sit back and watch your work in action. That's got to be a good feeling.

And even for an older person, there's a world of opportunity for diving in deeper. These days the level of detail on the model trains is astonishing, they are extremely realistic, much more than they used to be. It's not at all difficult to find yourself spending hours or days on just a small part of your model railway.

At least the manufacturers seem to have standardized on the scales and gauges of model trains. Popular scales these days range from G scale which is fairly large, right down to Z scale which is tiny. There are other scales but they are more specialized. By far the most popular size is HO scale.

You might wonder where the letters came from. H actually stands for half, ,and the letter O stands for ordinary or standard scale. Put them together and you get HO which is half the size of the standard gauge. It makes sense when you think about it. Well, apart from the fact there is no real standard, so standard scale could mean anything really.

Not surprisingly, model trains used to be powered by hand in the old days. I'm sure they had all the other accessories such as scenery, tunnels and bridges, but electrical model trains didn't come along until quite a bit later. Of course these days almost all trains are electrical, many of them controlled by a computer. Just like in the real world!

Model railway trains can be enjoyed by absolutely anyone, and I think that's what I love about them most. You can start as small as you like, and only move into bigger trains and accessories when you want to. Although when the bug bites the limiting factor will probably be your wallet! However seriously you take it though, model trains will provide you with years of enjoyment and reward.