A popular scale of model railway in the UK which represents narrow gauge prototypes at a scale of 16 mm:1 foot or 1:19.05. The most common gauge for such railways is , representing gauge prototypes. This scale/gauge combination is sometimes referred to as "SM32" (terminology popularised by Peco, one of the principal manufacturers of appropriate track) and is often used for model railways that run in gardens, being large enough to easily accommodate live steam

Live steam

Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment.A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that are replicas, scale models, toys, or otherwise used for...

 models. The next most common gauge is , which represents gauge prototypes; although few prototype lines were this exact gauge it is commonly used to portray prototypes between and gauge.

There are a number of commercial manufacturers of 16 mm scale models as well as many enthusiastic amateurs who build their own rolling stock

Rolling stock

Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

. Because real railways were most commonly found in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, many of the models are of British prototypes. European and North American narrow gauge railways are also modeled in this scale, mainly with scratch-built or kit-built models.

Although models of approximately this scale were being built as early as the 1930s, it was the founding of the Merioneth Railway Society just after the Second World War that marks the popularization of this scale. The society was famous for its rulebook, which read, in its entirety:

The Merioneth Railway Society rule book states:

Rule 1. The Society shall be known as the Merioneth Railway Society.

Rule 2. There shall be no rules.

This set the light-hearted spirit of the 16 mm fraternity, where a sense of fun and whimsy often override more serious concerns. The use of live steam as the predominant motive power of the models means absolute scale reproduction is often sacrificed to the demands of steam engineering at this scale. However the realistic sound, smell and visual effects of steam-driven locomotives makes up for loss of fidelity elsewhere. Driving a live steam locomotive, even at this small scale is very different from driving an electrically powered model.

For many years there were no commercially available parts, and everything was hand-built or kit-bashed from O scale

O scale

O scale is a scale commonly used for toy trains and model railroading. Originally introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scale in the United States and remained so until the early 1960s...

 components. In the early 1970s Archangel emerged as the first commercial manufacturer on a large scale, followed by Merlin and Beck at the end of that decade. All three companies produced affordable live steam locomotives in this scale. In 1981 Mamod

Mamod

The Mamod company is a British toy manufacturer specializing in building live steam models. The company was founded in 1937 in Birmingham in the British midlands by Geoffrey Malins. The name is a contraction of Malins Models'. The first models produced were of stationary steam engines, the company...

 entered the market with a cheap if somewhat crude steam loco for the UK market. Although not perfect, the low cost opened the hobby to a much wider range of people and as a result demand for other products grew. Today, Roundhouse almost dominate the market as builders of high quality live steam locomotives. A vibrant group of professional and hobbyist makers have emerged to meet this demand.

Manufacturers of 16mm scale model railway products

• Accucraft UK - UK website
• Archangel - website
• Argyle - website
• Brandbright - website
• Busy Bodies - website
• Cooper Craft - website
• DJB Engineering - website
• IP Engineering - website
• John Prescott Engineering - website
• Locomotion - website
• Mike Beeson Models - website
• Pearse Locos - website
• Pepper7 - website
• Perfect World - website
• PPS Steam Models - website
• Roundhouse Engineering - website
• Slaters - website
• Tenmille - website
• WellChuffed - website
• Worsley Works
  Worsley Works
  Worsley Works, is a manufacturer of kits for model railway carriages and locomotives, owned and run from Worsley, UK, by Allen Doherty.Worsley Works is well-known in the finescale modelling world, especially in less-popular scales, including British HO scale and 3mm-scale models along with...
  
   - website

See also

• Rail transport modelling scales
  Rail transport modelling scales
  Rail 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...
  
  
• Model railway scales
• Gauge 1
• G scale
  G scale
  G scale is a scale for model railways, and because of its size and durability, G scale is often used outdoors. Such installations are known as garden railways.-LGB:...