Question of the Week

Model railroading has been around for over 100 years.  Can you answer these questions about model trains?

What is the difference between the scale and the gauge?

Which scales are the most popular?

See model trains in action this weekend, November 26-28, at the Model Railroad Show at the Science Museum of Virginia.



Answer:  A model railroad's scale is the model's measurement as a proportion of the original.  The gauge is the measurement between the rails of the track.

The most popular scales and their proportion are:

• G - 1:24
• O - 1:48
• HO - 1:87 (most popular scale)
• N - 1:160 (second most popular scale)
• Z - 1:220

Question of the Week

On this day in 1975, the last passenger train departed Richmond’s Broad Street Station, now home to the Science Museum of Virginia. On what date did the first passenger train depart?


Extra credit: How many passengers passed through the station on its busiest day? What was the date?

For more information on trains and the history of Broad Street Station, come to the 32nd annual Model Railroad Show Thanksgiving weekend, November 26-28, at the Science Museum of Virginia.

Answer:  The first passenger train left Broad Street Station on January 6, 1919, the second anniversary of the station's groundbreaking.

Extra Credit:  Broad Street Station's busiest day was April 22, 1943 when 33,324 passengers passed through the station.  Many were servicemen heading to and from duty during World War II.