G Scale Model Trains

G Scale Model Trains

So, imagine this:  You’re laying back sunbathing in your back yard on your average summer day.  You yell back to your house that you could use a lemonade and shortly you hear a train whistle and the clickety clack of one of your G scale model trains as it comes around the bend, through the tunnel you’ve cut out of the bushes, and right up to its stop by your lawn chair.  There, on top of one of the authentic looking early twentieth century freight trains, is your lemonade.  Ahhhh!  Refreshing isn’t it?

Yeah, that would be cool!  That’s just one of the things that are so cool about G scale model trains. 

Here’s the low down on what makes G Scale Model Trains great:

  • Indoor/Outdoor: Of the main kinds of trains (HO scale, N scale and G scale) G scale (probably better referred to as G gauge) is the only one that is really suitable for both indoors and outdoors.  In fact, G scale trains are used outside so often that some people have come to call them Garden trains (the “G” in G scale actually comes from the German word “gross” which means “big”).  So if you have a really big basement area, you can set up one of these G scale model trains there in the winter when the weather is too cold and wet for outdoor fun.  Then, in the spring and summer when things have dried up and it’s too hot for the indoors you and the kids can enjoy watching the G scale model trains race about the back yard while you sunbath or mow the lawn. Changing the train’s location takes a little bit of labor but if you’re only doing it twice a year it’s no big deal.
  • Big G Scale Model Trains:  This is a little obvious, but another thing folks really like about G scale model trains is how big they are.  These trains are, or are meant to be, 1/20 the size of their real world counterparts.  That means they are a little bigger than a large shoebox.  That’s not big enough for you or the kids to jump on top of for a ride like some of the steam train models, but G scale model trains are the largest of the common model train variety.
  • G scale is great for kids: Because G scale model trains are so big, they are really popular with the Dora the Explorer set.  Little kids, who haven’t yet mastered the fine motor skills to detail N scale trains, find working with G scale model trains a dream.  They can easily pick up and manipulate these model trains and so they can be a real help with painting, weathering, decaling and even designing the exteriors of these wonderful trains.  Also, there is a lot less worry about choking hazards with these big trains (the same cannot be said for the comparatively tiny N scale trains).  (Here’s a gift tip:  If you’re kid’s a Thomas the Tank Engine fanatic like mine is, try finding one of the G scale model sets put out by Bachman.  These big Thomas and Claribel trains will make your kids go bonkers with their big moving eyes.  But I should warn you, you should start looking for these Thomas sets early since they go like hot cakes and frequently are out of stock.)

Here’s a couple draw backs about G scale Model Trains:

  • G Scale Model Trains take up a lot of room:  I don’t mean to be a master of the obvious again but G scale trains are big so it takes a lot of room to set up even the simplest of tracks.  If you live in a studio apartment and aren’t planning to move out so that your G scale model trains can have the apartment to themselves, this is probably not the train set for you.
  • G Scale Model Trains are a little less common than other train scales:  There is an avid subset of model trainers that really love these kinds of trains.  But the space requirements for G scale model trains make this type of train prohibitive for a lot of model trainers.  LBG (Lehmann Gross Bahn), one of the main providers of G scale model trains, have experienced financial troubles in recent years.  Even without LBG however, those model trainers that really love the size and versatility of these kinds of trains are likely to ensure that G scale model trains will always find a place in the model training world.

So this is exactly what we’ve been looking for: a model train experience that includes fun in the sun!