At Brass HO Trains we know that when you spend a fortune on HO Scale Trains to satisfy your passion collecting them, it sure goes to say that they are not meant to be locked up in a box or cupboard. Each of these HO train set is an asset that you would be proud to display and show off. Building the right kind of cabinet does the trick.

The essential things that one needs to consider are proper functioning of the models, keeping them safe from dust and dirt, yet allow proper viewing when it is running. Certain locomotives and cars that are not suited to the layout may be among the collection, like the Brass O train, Lionel HO trains, Bachmann scale trains etc. These can either be separately displayed or can be accommodated in a corner in the same case. The boxes may be chosen to be mounted on walls or can be at the center or corner tables. The easiest route would be to get a display cabinet that is designed specifically for model trains.

A person can be hired to build or you can build your own cabinet. Pre-fabricated cabinets are available that can be used to display the HO train set. Cabinets with glass front doors can be ideal for proper viewing of the beautiful HO brass model trains. The display case must be according to the planned layout space and dimensions. This kind of cabinet settings can be fast, less expensive and easy to build, too.

However, if you want to start from the scratch, you would need to purchase enough wood to construct a cabinet. An open-ended box would be ideal if you want to fix a glass surface for viewing. The box has to be shallow, yet have dimensions to fit your model train pieces. The shelves can be placed at different heights that is appropriate and do not come in the way of the running trains, and can be made with wood or glass.

A relevant scenery can be set up as a backdrop for the entire surface of the box at the rear side. A mirror backing can be done to make the whole set look bigger and apparently make the collection look larger. The doors can be done with glass or clear acrylic, fixed with hinges or sliding along the beading. The tracks, buildings, trees, rocks and many other accessories can then be arranged that have match the scale of your brass HO trains or any other scale used.

Many companies have come up with display cases that can be purchased right away and fixed on to the wall at your home or office, suitable for model trains of O, S and N scales. When you go for a readily available cabinet, you get a wide choice of sizes, material and colours.

Enclosed cases are wall cabinets with sliding Plexiglas doors. Some companies offer 3-4 shelves for displaying brass O scale and S scales trains. They also come in various colour choices like natural oak, dark oak, natural pine, etc. The see-through display cases with acrylic doors, that are hinged to the cabinets are also available in the market. Doorless cabinets and, cases made of plastic are also available. Getting the right one to suit your Brass HO train collection or other model trains is entirely your choice.

Brass HO Trains

Derailment is a common problem that occurs in all the working model trains, including the Brass HO trains. The key is to identify the problem and the finding out how to fix it. The problems can be identified based on the performance of the train.

If the derailment is occurring at a particular place of the layout, there can be various reasons for this to happen. One of the cars might not have been placed perfectly on the track. There may be a switch at that place which is out of its boundary or popping up the track to cause the derailment. Any scenery or remodeling done at the particular spot may have caused some changes in the track.

If a particular car keeps derailing, then the wheels and the couplers need to be checked. The height of the coupler, magnetic part of the coupler that can be bent at a bad-angle, etc may cause the derailment. The couplers have to be lubricated using a little puff of powedered graphite Teflon. Usually, they do not need any lubrication unless the sideframes make noise. Oil is not recommended for HO brass model trains.

Dirt can build up on the wheels of rolling stock of Brass HO trains, or the tread part. The wheelsets have to be in gauge and centered on the axles. It is best checked while buying the piece. If they go out of gauge, they can usually be adjusted by twisting the wheel along the axle till they are in the right alignment. This has to be done very carefully though.

Sometimes the car in the front or behind the derailing car would be the culprit. If the car has not been put in correctly, then it can cause derailment of the next one.

The rail joints need to be aligned carefully and properly fitted to the next one. Bumps can be found that would result from something under the roadbed or track, or insecure nailing of the track. Using a filer to smooth the top and inside corner at the joints can be done if required.

Sometimes the freight cars can weigh less and fail to perform accurately. The weight of the car body has to be minimum possible and they need to be centered and secured to avoid sliding out of position. The mounting of the truck on the car needs to be done in a way such that they swivel freely. If there is stiffness, the wheel flanges into the railheads and disturbance occurs.

These little things, if taken care of immediately after they are identified, will go a long way in making your prized collection of Brass HO trains a thing to envy. A few minutes of adjustments that are made, even in front of the visitors, can lessen the number of problems that occur in future.

Brass HO Trains

The Brass HO trains are considered to be the “Gold” standard of trains among the toy train collectors. Being made of brass gives it an artistic appearance and the material is the choice of the craftsman when it comes to sculpting intricate designs. The golden luster and the overall appearance makes it look like it was made of gold. This, in fact, keeps the resale value very high.

Owing to the nature of the material, detailing and designing can be uniquely done by the craftsman. This would make each product unique and different from others of the same category and the HO train set could have an accurate representation of the prototype.

Brass being a non-magnetic metal, can be ideal to encase the motor and other electrical fittings and make it run smoothly. Older brass models are known to have had open-frame motors and poor gearing, but they have improved in time.

On the downside, the HO brass model trains can be very expensive. The niche for these trains is small, but the passionate collectors would go to any extent to get their favorite models. Vintage models stand out higher in terms of the price as they are very rare in the market. While they stand out when it comes to resale value, the collectors take pride in guarding their prized possession. The prices for these brass trains are always $2000 upwards and one starts to think if they are worth collecting.

Another major disadvantage of collecting Brass HO trains are that they have to be taken care of and need to be maintained properly. Time and weather cause blackening of the surface and if they are not properly cleaned and protected, they would require polishing. Too much polishing is harmful to the models. Investing money is not the key to owning a beautiful collection investing time and effort as well is required to maintain them.

The collectors vary in terms of the purpose with which they collect. Some consider it to be an investment and would plan to sell them when the price has doubled or tripled, or in auctions, while most of them collect them out of pure passion.

However, it is up to the collector to decide what is important to him. Whether the appearance, resale value, the cost of the collection, the cost of the layout and accessories, maintaining the power supply and the related expenditure or the effort they put in to build the layout and scenery or the cleaning process involved in maintaining the luster of the brass, it all comes back when the Brass HO trains collector displays his collection and makes heads turn.

Brass HO Trains

Brass HO trains on creating layouts… a collection of Model Trains is an interesting hobby. This collection, when displayed would be a pride of the collector, while a working model of a set of tracks, stations, scenery and other things would make the whole thing come to life. One needs to dream a lot about these carriages and engines to build a unique layout, with realistic crossing points, water falls, bridges and tunnels. The hobby has also given rise to a new market where the demands of these layouts are being met by upcoming manufacturers. Some of the basics required to build a layout are given here.

The builder needs to first choose a theme of the layout. The trains, buildings, trees and the scenery has to match the geographic zone or the area in question. The layout space has to be defined and the total length of the tracks has to be considered. The beams and pipework that project can be potential dangers if care is not taken to keep them out of the way.

Locomotive cars constitute the rolling stock of the whole HO train set. One has to be careful in selecting everything right from the couplers to the tyres. Some of the tyres can be real tiresome and hinder the smooth running of the trains. It is best to be informed about how the locomotive HO works and why some locomotives are better than the others. Levers that are responsible for smooth running and sudden halting of the trains have to be considered.

The HO brass model trains need to be run on tracks that run between a themed location like a town, hillstation or a forest. Building scenery can be fun, especially if you use low-cost items such as thermocol and POP. The scenery could include things like trees, buildings, windows, telegraph poles, old signage, ground cover, rocks, roads, fences, scenery props or a scrap yard scene.

Tracks can run along the whole length of the layout space, criss-cross between themselves and curve around the outer perimeter of the layout. But one has to be careful about creating curves to avoid derailments. Choosing the right kind of rail joiners is the trick. Running your favorite collection of Brass HO trains would be fun if they run simultaneously in the whole layout.

Adding realism to this kind of layout with a little imagination would work wonders. Creating a tranquil pond, drainage canal, raging waterfall and rippling stream, soldering the tracks, etc are some of the ways to do so. One can also add up some rust, mud and tyre marks to give it an aged look or the appearance of wear and tear.

Powering is required to make the trains run, lights and LEDs light up the path and the layout, make the motors run for the waterfalls and other accessories, etc. The engines of these trains are different their compatibility with certain transformers is better than with others. With the various power packs that are available in the market, you can choose the one that is more suitable for your requirements. Care has to be taken to make the layout of the Brass HO train set according to the HO scale for smooth running of the set.

Brass HO Trains

In this article Brass HO Trains talks about the history of HO Model Trains and how they can be traced back to the period soon after World War II. The Japanese craftsmen were producing exact replicas of the trains using high quality brass. The Americans who were stationed in Japan noticed these and got their favorite train models made using photographs. These model trains were accurate to the scale and were completely hand-made.

These brass trains were made in the HO scale, i.e., 1:87 the size of the real trains. The OO trains, which were double the size of these HO trains, were more popular in United Kingdom, where they were developed in response to the economic pressures of the depression.  Though HO trains were invented in the 1930s, they gained popularity by the year 1950s, when the interest in model railroad as toys was taken over by hobbies of collecting realistic items. Also, the brass O scale trains were found to take up too much space. Importers like Max Gray, Westside Model Company did the job of getting the Japanese manufactured trains to the American market.

One advantage of using brass was that it is non-magnetic and thus enable the motors to run smoothly. The crafting and sculpturing is also more easy in brass. Most of the models were hand-made and hand-soldered. The brass models were bought by people because they can operate them and make them run on the tracks and scenery that are constructed using similar scales, rather than just displaying them on display cases. It required a lot of effort on the part of the worker. As the demand grew, the HO brass model trains started becoming more expensive.The models that were once $50 to $100 now come in at $10,000, not to mention those that are sold in auctions at about $30,000.

Original versions of the brass trains were not painted. The grills, wheels and other accent parts were however, nickel-plated. As the demands of the market grew, some trains were painted in graphite and black to make them look realistic. Sometimes, water stains and rust marks were added here and there to make it look all the more original.

Gradually, the interests were also setting in to get collections from particular manufacturer that made the Brass HO trains. So, the collectibles were based on the road or train company name that they are collecting.

The manufacture of the train models continued in Japan until the 1970s, after which they were made in South Korea. The new manufacturers had a lot to improve, which they did, until the modern day Brass HO trains are now being made and collected as a hobby and interest. A collection of the brass trains would not bring in much money as such and people import them only out of interest, to be appreciated and enjoyed by his fellow collectors.

Read more at Brass HO Trains

Where can I sell my HO Train set?
This is a question that pops up quite a bit at Brass HO Trains.  As you move onto new eras or give want money for new locomotives.  In this post we look at some of the options for selling model trains.  And not just HO Model trains but also other scales (i.e. N Scale, O Scale etc.)

Here’s our list in order of what we think is easiest to the hardest:

1) Sell your model trains to a Local Hobby Shop

A local hobby shop is probably your easiest option. This way you are able to show the physical items to the buyer and discuss their values etc. HO electric trains, HO brass model trains and more can be traded in a local shop.

Pros:

• It’s close.
• You get the cash immediately.
• You could do a trade in.
• Your buyer can see and feel what you’re selling.

Cons:

• None that I can see.

2) Put a posting up on a Train Forum and ask for buyers for your Model Trains

This is easier however the issue you might have here is that the buyers are not near you. So you’ll run into issues about the buyers want to see the quality of the trains etc. However alot of forums allow posting of images straight into the forum so you can put pictures up that will answer alot of questions.

You will have to register but it’s free to do so.

Here are some forums.

• http://www.modeltrainforum.com
• http://www.trains.com (look for forum)
• http://groups.google.com (search for model trains)
• http://groups.yahoo.com (search for model trains)

Pros:

• Wider audience.

Cons:

• It might be tricky to find someone in your area.
• You might have to ship it.

3) Sell your Model Train on eBay

You could sell your mama on eBay!

eBay is huge has lots of traffic and is well trusted.  You can’t go wrong here and at Brass HO Trains this is the route we’d go. Why it’s good for an online option is that people have a history of their sales and buys so you can see if someone is dodgy before you make the sale.  And it’s a tried and trusted system.  However it is still an online option and you are also faced with creating an account and putting pictures up.  Have a look you can get Athearn HO Trains, Bachman HO Trains, Brass O Scale Trains, Marklin HO Trains and many more.

Pros:

• Huge audience.
• Tried and trusted system.

Cons:

• Have to ship it.
• Have to register and put a post up.

4) Find a Local Model Railroad Association

Another option we suggest at Brass HO Trains is to find a local model railroad association (i.e. a club) in your area and contact them. This might involve a bit of legwork as you’ll need to call them then go to one of their meetings and see if someone is interested. Or, depending on the association’s website,  you could post something on their site.  The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) has a list of associations broken down into areas that can be found here:

• http://www.nmra.com/regions/

Pros:

• You can meet the buyers face to face.
• No shipping issues.

Cons:

• You have to track down a buyer.  There might not be buyers looking for stuff.

5) Put a posting on the NMRA’s Website

The NMRA are a big hub in the Modle Trains world. They band associations together and put out publications.  So there’s a strong community here.  Putting something on of their classifieds will get you noticed. Both members an non-members are allowed to post however non-members have to pay.  Members can post free adverts up to 50 words.  There’s more on it here: http://www.nmra.com/membership/publications/srclassified.html

Pros:

• Big audience.

Cons:

• It’s not as easy as creating an account online and doing it all yourself.
• It’s not free.

Hope this helps!

http://www.brasshotrains.com

Today at Brass HO Trains we’re talking about the most popular coupler for locomotives HO Scale Trains, namely the: Kadee #5 Couplers. They’re relatively easy to attach and are very realistic looking. Most brands make couplers (i.e. Bachmann HO Trains, Marklin HO Trains, Lionel HO Trains) but making couplers is what Kadee does so they’re the specialists. The Kadee #148 is also a popular brand.

I think Europe brands use a different type of couplers so if you’re in Europe I’m not 100% sure about this.

Sometimes a bit of handiwork is required to sand them down or cut them back a bit.  Unfortunately with the HO Train set scale’s size you will probably battle a little and it tends to be a bit fiddly but this is the nature of the beast   For all couplers,  regardless of brand,  you must make sure that the couplers don’t touch the actual body work of the models.  And try and avoid having metal touching metal as this can lead to short circuits.Visit http://www.brasshotrains.com/

Kadee #5 Coupler

When a person incorporates a hobby into their life they are creating an ideal focus that can help them find more pleasure from their life experience.   A unique hobby opportunity is found with the chance to collect HO brass model trains.   HO brass model trains are replica trains that are 1:87 scale of regular trains with an incredible amount of detail which helps to bring character to the model.   An even better feature of HO brass model trains is that these small collectibles are fully functional, allowing the train or collecting enthusiast  the opportunity to develop their own train environment uniquely designed around their creative ideas.

When you look at these HO brass model trains, the best advantage for most collectors is found with the size of the train.   In the past most train model collectors were stuck with the model train collecting option of OO brass model trains.   While the older OO brass model trains have the same detail and clarity there exists a large issue with the size.   OO brass model trains are twice the size of HO brass model trains which can quickly increase the size of any collection.  

When you incorporate the demand placed on the size of your created environment required to run your OO brass model trains you can easily see how HO brass model trains are a greater opportunity for collectors.   In the past many collectors of OO brass model trains would have to dedicate entire rooms or basements to the creation of their environmental models.

The second feature related to the benefits of HO brass model trains are found with the large amount of availability found with this collection.   The older OO brass model trains are often outdated and not as appealing as the HO brass model trains which limit their distribution and manufacturing companies.  

When you look at HO brass model trains two premier model train making companies rise above the rest and are Broadway limited HO trains and Marklin HO trains.   With Broadway limited HO trains and Marklin HO trains a collector will be able to select from an incredible variety of HO brass model trains that incorporate older train styles and the more modern models.   Although, the greatest advantage of buying Broadway limited HO trains and Marklin HO trains is found with their wide distribution and availability in regards to parts and accessories.

The opportunities that are available with HO brass model trains create a great chance to create your own unique hobby interests.   When you focus your HO brass model trains collection around brands such as Broadway limited HO trains and Marklin HO trains you gain access to a wide variety of purchasing options and repair opportunities.   To learn more on the hobby of HO brass model trains collections visit www.brasshotrains.com.

When a person has an opportunity to start a collection, the first thing they usually do is try to discover a great resource that will provide them all the information they will need to start their selection.   Once they have achieved a high level of knowledge or at least an understanding of where to start they will begin to look into how to start their collection.  

This often incorporates finding kits or starting pieces to help lay the foundation for the direction you hope to take your collection.   For a model train collector this often starts with deciding whether they want to collect antique trains, OO scale trains or HO brass model trains.

For a train collector the idea of collecting antique trains is a great venture if you are looking for a high valued collection.   This pursuit can often be considered boring since your antique models are often stored in cases for preservation, limiting any interactive feature to your collecting pursuit.   The OO scale trains represent one of the oldest forms of functional train collection possibilities.  

This form of collection can be associated with the individuals who enjoy building scale model landscaping and have entire rooms or basements dedicated to this pursuit.   While the interactive options of OO scale trains are attractive, they take a tremendous amount of space in a home as a result of their size.

The issue of size is often a leading reason that model train enthusiasts look towards HO brass model trains.   HO brass model trains are named HO for often being half the size of the traditional OO scale trains.   The half size available with HO brass model trains allows a collector to collect the same style and quality model trains as the OO scale train while greatly reducing the demand on space.  

In addition, with an HO brass model trains collection you can take advantage of being able to place more accessories and accents on your built HO brass model trains environment since the reduced size does not limit your design opportunities.

When you are looking to start your HO brass model trains collection there are many great brands that you can purchase to customize your collection.   The leading brands found with HO brass model trains are Broadway limited HO trains and Marklin HO trains.   With Broadway limited HO trains and Marklin HO trains you can invest in a quality product that offers all the same details and functionality as the more traditional OO scale train models.  

In order to discover more on the opportunities related to Broadway limited HO trains and Marklin HO trains along with a premier source of information to aid you in your HO brass model trains collection visit www.brasshotrains.com

Welcome to Brass HO Trains,

HO Scale is a type of model train.  It is a reference to the size of the model in comparison to the actual object that’s being modelled.  This ratio is 1:87.  So for any item found on the real train the model train’s item will be 87 times smaller. So if your train is 87 feet long then the model is 1 foot in length. The HO scale is the most popular and thus the easiest to find parts. As an example here’s a list of the more popular items and brands in this range: Athearn HO trains,  Bachmann HO trains,  Locomotives HO,  Broadway Limited HO trains, Marklin HO trains, Lionel HO trains and electric trains.

Join us on this site to explore all the toys in this space