TT scale
Encyclopedia
TT scale is a niche model railroading
scale, whose name stands for Table Top.
Its 1:120 scale (from a common engineering
scale
where one inch equals ten feet) and gauge
sizes it almost halfway between HO scale
(1:87) and N scale
(1:160). Its original purpose, like the name suggests, was to make a train small enough to be able to assemble and operate it on a tabletop.
TT retains a comparatively small niche in the United States and in the United Kingdom, but growing popularity in the former East Germany; it is the second most popular scale in Eastern Europe and Russia. Adherents to TT maintain it is the smallest practical scale, especially for those who like to build models from scratch.
In wargaming
the TT scale roughly equals the 15 mm scale where the height of "standard" 180 cm (70.87 in) soldier height is 15 mm (0.590551181102362 in).
By the early 1950s it had a following, offering less detail than HO—considered by some to be an advantage at the time—and a lower price than most other scales. Numerous other companies began offering TT scale trains, track, and accessories as well, and TT scale became popular in Europe in addition to the United States. In the immediate period afterward, several other manufacturers also began production of TT items, notably the Kemtron Corporation (founded by Levon Kemalyan
, which manufactured metal castings in several scales. Rokal
and Zeuke (which became Berliner TT-Bahnen and ultimately Tillig
) also began production.
By the early 1960s, TT had been eclipsed in popularity by N scale, which is smaller. H. P. Products discontinued manufacturing their TT line in 1968, and the related tooling and kits have been passed through several hands. Rokal ended production in 1969.
, a British railway manufacturer introduced model locomotives and rolling stock, in what was then a new model railway scale in Britain, known as 'TT' or 'TT3' in 1957. The aims of the society are to encourage modellers working in this scale and it produces a quarterly magazine and assists with the production of locomotive and rolling stock kits, components and the supply of secondhand items/spares.
is the largest company to make TT scale rolling stock. Most TT scale track today is also made by Tillig, which offers both standard model railroad track and an integrated roadbed track using Kato
's Unijoiner system. But the growing interest for the scale has led to more manufacturers during the last few years, and the scale has also attracted some of the big actors within other scales. Roco
launched their first TT products in 1998, and has a small but growing line. Smaller producers like Kuehn and Beckmann
have widened their product lines in recent years, just like Hungarian Deak Modelsport and Czech Rubikon and KPA. Fleischmann
and Arnold
both created single TT products, but have not continued to develop any new products. Russian Peresvet is another manufacturer who produces TT scale models, mostly Russian prototypes. German low-price manufacturer Piko
has also started with a TT line, focusing mainly on German stock.
There is a larger variety in the accessories market, where some companies have a long-time involvement with the scale and others recently started to support it as well. Prototypes are almost only German (with a focus on the former East Germany) and some Eastern European models. Auhagen is a major supplier of models of Continental buildings. Triang produced a Continental/French range but it was only made for a very short while.
One current manufacturer of British TT is 3 mm Scale Model Railways who supply updated GEM and BEC TT kits as well as a large range of Brass Etch and Resin body kits.
American manufacturers include Possum Valley Models (kits), Sleepy Hollow/Gold Coast (ready to run and kits, Costal Engineering (kits) DnS TT Track and others.
Various cheap battery toy train sets, typically with plastic track, can also be found in TT gauge.
, this is known as NZ120 and is growing in popularity as a means of modelling the nation's gauge railway network
. TT9 is modelling using British TT scale on 9 mm track to model gauge lines.
Rail transport modelling
Railway modelling or model railroading is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale...
scale, whose name stands for Table Top.
Its 1:120 scale (from a common engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
scale
Proportionality (mathematics)
In mathematics, two variable quantities are proportional if one of them is always the product of the other and a constant quantity, called the coefficient of proportionality or proportionality constant. In other words, are proportional if the ratio \tfrac yx is constant. We also say that one...
where one inch equals ten feet) and gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
sizes it almost halfway between HO scale
HO scale
HO or H0 is the most popular scale of model railway in the world.According to the NMRA standard S-1.2 predominantly used in North America, in HO scale, represents 1 real foot ; this ratio works out to about 1:87.1. According to the MOROP standard NEM 010 predominantly used in Europe, the scale is...
(1:87) and N scale
N scale
N scale is a popular model railway scale/track gauge. Depending upon the manufacturer , the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. In all cases, the gauge is . The term N gauge refers to the track dimensions, but in the UK in particular N gauge refers to a 1:148 scale with track gauge modelling...
(1:160). Its original purpose, like the name suggests, was to make a train small enough to be able to assemble and operate it on a tabletop.
TT retains a comparatively small niche in the United States and in the United Kingdom, but growing popularity in the former East Germany; it is the second most popular scale in Eastern Europe and Russia. Adherents to TT maintain it is the smallest practical scale, especially for those who like to build models from scratch.
In wargaming
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
the TT scale roughly equals the 15 mm scale where the height of "standard" 180 cm (70.87 in) soldier height is 15 mm (0.590551181102362 in).
History
TT scale was invented in the United States by Hal Joyce, a former automotive designer. He founded a company, H. P. Products, in 1945, and the first advertisement appeared in 1946. The product line included locomotive kits, passenger and freight car kits, track and detail parts.By the early 1950s it had a following, offering less detail than HO—considered by some to be an advantage at the time—and a lower price than most other scales. Numerous other companies began offering TT scale trains, track, and accessories as well, and TT scale became popular in Europe in addition to the United States. In the immediate period afterward, several other manufacturers also began production of TT items, notably the Kemtron Corporation (founded by Levon Kemalyan
Levon Kemalyan
Levon John Kemalyan was a model railroading entrepreneur. In 1960, Kemtron Corporation — manufacturer of model railway cars, locomotives, parts , as well as accessories — was considered the world's largest maker of scale railroad kits, producing one million parts a year...
, which manufactured metal castings in several scales. Rokal
Rokal
ROKAL is an acronym for RObert KAhrmann Lobberich, a manufacturer of metal castings that produced a line of model railway equipment in TT scale from 1947 - 1969, based in Lobberich 80 km north of Cologne, Germany at the Dutch border....
and Zeuke (which became Berliner TT-Bahnen and ultimately Tillig
Tillig
Tillig is a German model railroad manufacturing company based in Sebnitz, Saxony. Tillig is the largest manufacturer of TT scale model railroad products in the world...
) also began production.
By the early 1960s, TT had been eclipsed in popularity by N scale, which is smaller. H. P. Products discontinued manufacturing their TT line in 1968, and the related tooling and kits have been passed through several hands. Rokal ended production in 1969.
British TT
British TT is 3 mm scale; that is, 1:100. The "Three Millimetre Society" is a British-based society which caters for railway modellers of 3 mm scale. This society was formed in 1965, eight years after Tri-ang RailwaysTri-ang Railways
Tri-ang Railways was a British manufacturer of toy trains, one of the elements of the Lines Bros Ltd company who traded using the Tri-ang brand name...
, a British railway manufacturer introduced model locomotives and rolling stock, in what was then a new model railway scale in Britain, known as 'TT' or 'TT3' in 1957. The aims of the society are to encourage modellers working in this scale and it produces a quarterly magazine and assists with the production of locomotive and rolling stock kits, components and the supply of secondhand items/spares.
Manufacturers
Currently TilligTillig
Tillig is a German model railroad manufacturing company based in Sebnitz, Saxony. Tillig is the largest manufacturer of TT scale model railroad products in the world...
is the largest company to make TT scale rolling stock. Most TT scale track today is also made by Tillig, which offers both standard model railroad track and an integrated roadbed track using Kato
Kato
Katō is the eleventh most common Japanese surname. It may refer to:-Given name:*Kato , a Korean-American music producer in Atlanta*Kato , a Danish DJ*Kato Callebaut, a Belgian singer...
's Unijoiner system. But the growing interest for the scale has led to more manufacturers during the last few years, and the scale has also attracted some of the big actors within other scales. Roco
Roco
Roco, based in Salzburg, Austria, is a manufacturer of model railway equipment.-History:The company was founded in 1960 by Ing. Heinz Rössler and started with a plastic Minitanks series. After export to the USA became successful, the model line was expanded with model trains in H0 scale and the...
launched their first TT products in 1998, and has a small but growing line. Smaller producers like Kuehn and Beckmann
Beckmann
-People:*Ernst Otto Beckmann , German chemist and discoverer of the Beckmann rearrangement*Johann Beckmann , German scientific author*Max Beckmann , German painter...
have widened their product lines in recent years, just like Hungarian Deak Modelsport and Czech Rubikon and KPA. Fleischmann
Fleischmann (model railroads)
Fleischmann is a German manufacturer of model railway products.Fleischmann was founded in Nuremberg in 1887 by Jean Fleischmann, as a toy company. Their first model train, in O scale, was produced in 1938...
and Arnold
Arnold (models)
Founded in 1906 by Karl Arnold in Nürnberg, K. Arnold & Co. began its life producing tin toys and related items. They produced an extensive line of model ships, doll house items and other toys. In 1935, K. Arnold & Co. hired Max Ernst as their managing director...
both created single TT products, but have not continued to develop any new products. Russian Peresvet is another manufacturer who produces TT scale models, mostly Russian prototypes. German low-price manufacturer Piko
Piko
PIKO is one of the largest and best-known model train brands in Europe and also enjoys a wide following in the United States and other parts of the world...
has also started with a TT line, focusing mainly on German stock.
There is a larger variety in the accessories market, where some companies have a long-time involvement with the scale and others recently started to support it as well. Prototypes are almost only German (with a focus on the former East Germany) and some Eastern European models. Auhagen is a major supplier of models of Continental buildings. Triang produced a Continental/French range but it was only made for a very short while.
One current manufacturer of British TT is 3 mm Scale Model Railways who supply updated GEM and BEC TT kits as well as a large range of Brass Etch and Resin body kits.
American manufacturers include Possum Valley Models (kits), Sleepy Hollow/Gold Coast (ready to run and kits, Costal Engineering (kits) DnS TT Track and others.
Various cheap battery toy train sets, typically with plastic track, can also be found in TT gauge.
Related scales
Variations include TTn3, where TT scale is run on N gauge track for narrow gauge operation. In New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, this is known as NZ120 and is growing in popularity as a means of modelling the nation's gauge railway network
Rail transport in New Zealand
Rail transport in New Zealand consists of a network of gauge railway lines in both the North and South Islands. Rail services are focused primarily on freight, particularly bulk freight, with limited passenger services on some lines...
. TT9 is modelling using British TT scale on 9 mm track to model gauge lines.
See also
- List of rail transport modelling scale standards
- Rail transport modelling scalesRail transport modelling scalesRail transport modelling utilises a variety of scales to ensure scale models look correct when placed next to each other. Model railway scales are standardized worldwide by many organizations and hobbyist groups...