G Scale Trains

Hobby Train Review

G scale trains are trains that were designed and built to run on a specific kind of standard for model train rail track. G scale trains are very efficient for outdoor use, and thus they are very often used for garden trains. That's because G scale trains are build to withstand various degrees of weather, including snow.

Of course, you can't scale down snow, so what might be a light snow fall for you, could be a blizzard for G scale trains. A lot of manufacturers have built small snowplows that are attached to the locomotives of such trains, and that helps them clean their own tracks when working. Of course, if the snow is so hard that it forces you to shovel it just to park your car, then you'd better take your train indoors.

Otherwise than heavy snow and really extreme climatic conditions, such as hurricanes, weather is not a reason to take G scale trains indoors, although if you live in an area where there is vandalism, you might want to, just to keep them safe. Another option is to set up a fence or a screen, so that your G scale trains are kept out of sight.

Because they're mostly used as garden trains, a lot of people thing that the “G” in G scale trains stands for “garden.” It actually stands for the German word “Gross” which means “big.” This is because G scale was introduced by the brand LGB, which stands for “Lehmann Gross Bahn,” or “Lehmann Big Train.”

In fact the term “G scale train” is deceiving, as it doesn't refer to any comparison scale, for example 1:20. G scale is a reference to the track's gauge. This is a 45 millimeters standard, which is very resistant to weather and outdoor conditions.

All G scale trains run on this standard with no compatibility problem, not even if their scales are different. Tracks are built out of several materials, all with resistance to weather, although some materials are more resistant than others.

The most common material for tracks is brass, which is an alloy of copper and zinc. This material is popular because it's very easy to clean, requiring little more than just a swipe with a cloth. Aluminum is also used for low maintenance tracks, because it's cheaper and because it's resistant to corrosion. A more expensive, yet more durable material is stainless steel, which is used for tracks that require a more demanding use.