HO Scale is one of the most popular scales, partially due to its size. “HO” stands for half O, meaning it is roughly half the size of O Scale. HO Scale is a great size to work with and can be as simple or complex as you want.
The Club currently has two HO layouts. A 4′ x 16′ Traveling layout, and our semi-permanent layout at our new clubhouse.
Our 4 x 16 layout is being rebuilt with 2 mains on 8′ and single track on the other 8′. Our Semi-permanent layout is actually made from our old large travelling layout with some additional modules from our layout at the old State Fair. It is three main lines and interior industries and yards. Each track may be operated with either DC or DCC. We run both layouts DCC with JMRI running on raspberry pi computers and Digitrax systems.
If you’re someone new to the hobby/club and don’t have trains and still want to run trains, we have a collection of club trains that anyone can run. Most members will also let you run their trains. The travelling layout is usually shown at the fair and some area train shows. There are also a few HO modules in storage from the display in the Industrial Arts Building layout.
HO Scale is 1:87 with rails spaced (the gauge) 16.5 mm (0.64961 in) apart.