Our associated 16mm group

Toy trains ostensibly for the grandchildren, but in reality for us?

What is 16mm?

16mm refers to the modeller's scale of 16mm per foot

It is used to model narrow gauge railways based around O Gauge track.

Originally, at the turn of the previous century, O Gauge was 1 1/4 inches, or 31.75mm.
Nowadays it is 32mm, so a scale of 16mm per foot treats the O gauge track as though it was the two
foot gauge of many of the narrow gauge railways to be found in the Cymru***** of today and of yesteryear.

Contrast this with O Gauge which is used to model mainline railways where the scale is 7mm per foot used to
model a track gauge of 4 foot 8 1/2 inches and you end up with a very satisfying size of model
that is nearly 12 times the size (volume)!

***** For the benefit of the non-Welsh speaking, this translates to "Wales" :-)

Why is the group only "associated"?

The 16mm group is made up of members of the West Wiltshire Area Group of the national society known as, "The Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers"

Many of the members of the 16mm Association are also members of the WWSME, and vice-versa, and to a large
extent the distinction between the two groups has vanished.

But note that the 16mm portable layout belongs to the 16mm Association and not to the WWSME, and their events are
run under their insurance and not under the insurance policies of the WWSME

There is considereable interchange between the two groups, and long may this continue!

The Future of 16mm within the WWSME proper

When your Webmaster joined the WWSME some ten years ago, it was with the intention of setting up his own 16mm layout in
the garden, but pressure from the leading lights of WWSME told him that he shouldn't do that because it was toylike and not
proper model engineering and that your Webmaster should consider moving into the 5 inch gauge railways that are the
mainstay of WWSME.

Times have changed, and the strong duality between WWSME and the 16mm Association has resulted in the
committee of the WWSME to be considering erecting a 16mm layout inside the raised track at our Westbury site,
and any suggestions or contributions to this project are more than welcome!

(Such a track will be the property of the WWSME)