Locomotives

Welcome to Our Giant Selection of HO Gauge Locomotives

If you are interested in adding to your collection of HO Gauge Locomotives, buying one for the first time or perhaps buying one as a gift, then you’ve come to the right place.

HO Gauge is 1:87 scale and is the most popular gauge to model in nearly every country in the world apart from the United Kingdom (where it is OO Gauge) and Japan (where it is N Gauge)  with nearly all of the major worldwide manufacturers supporting it.  There is a comprehensive range of locomotives, coaches, wagons, track and accessories to extend with, so the possibilities are almost limitless.  You can run OO Gauge locomotives and rolling stock on HO Gauge track but because of the difference in scale, HO Gauge locomotives and rolling stock will look small in comparison to their OO Gauge counterparts

One of the most famous worldwide HO brands is the historic German manufacturer, Marklin and there is an extra consideration to make if you choose to start with Marklin.  Marklin locomotives work using AC power which is collected via a series of studs between the rails of the track.  This means that you are effectively locked into a more closed system but many locomotives are supplied by other manufacturers in this AC format so there are other options.  

The most popular Analogue DC brands of HO Gauge Locomotives are Roco, PIKO, KATO, Trix, Walthers and Jagerndorfer and there is a huge amount of choice from almost every country imaginable

Everyone loves a locomotive and we have a huge selection of Steam Engines, Diesel Locomotives, Electric Locomotives, Multiple Units and even Bi-Mode trains too.  Helpfully, European suppliers have adopted a 6 “era” or “epoch” system which allows you to easily identify which locomotives ran at given points in railway history.

For those of you who operate your model railway traditionally using DC analogue control, there is the biggest choice as this is still regarded as a ‘standard’ locomotive.

For those of you who operate your railway digitally, using DCC control, there are a number of choices available to you.  Items described as DCC Ready are configured for DC (analogue) control but by buying an appropriate DCC decoder separately, you can convert the locomotive to work digitally.  Locomotives described as DCC Fitted already have a decoder fitted inside the locomotive so are good to go immediately.  Locomotives described as DCC Sound already have a DCC decoder, speaker and a sound file loaded so you can enjoy realistic sounds straight out of the box.

As previously stated, items marked ~AC, ~AC Fitted and ~AC Sound are primarily for use with the Marklin system and cannot be used on DC (analogue) model railways.

We are one of the largest suppliers of HO Gauge Locomotives in the world and our experienced expert team (who are all modellers themselves) are on hand to guide you with any advice or suggestions you might need.  Enhance your modelling by buying HO Gauge locomotives from Marklin, Roco, PIKO, Trix, Kato and Walthers directly from Gaugemaster – the model shop for BIG imaginations.