This is a list of the gauges that I have seen, although there are others such as S, EM, EEM, TT, 000, S
Going down in the list from the largest scale of ‘1’ gauge to ‘Z’ gauge the smallest:
Scale | Guage | Scale | Track Guage mm | Track Guage ins |
1 | 32:1 | 10mm/1ft | 45 | 1.75 |
0 | 48:1 | 7mm/1ft | 32 | 1.26 |
00 | 76:1 | 4mm/1ft | 16.5 | 0.648 |
H0 | 87:1 | 3.5mm/1ft | 16.5 | 0.648 |
N | 160:1 | 2mm/1ft | 6.6 | 0.225 |
Z | 220:1 | 1.4mm/1ft | 6.6 | 0.225 |
You’ll notice that HO & OO share the same gauge for rail track, hence both gauges permit their rolling stock to run on the H0 & 00 tracks. However if you compare the HO model figures with the 00 figures, the 00 models and everything else in 00, is larger. Consequently, buildings, cars, bridges etc. in 00 are too big for a H0 layout.
That’s only if the correct scale is of importance to you in the enjoyment of the hobby, some layouts I’ve seen use a variety of scales and are just as much fun.