About Gauge 3

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The Gauge ‘3’ Society began on the 28th of April 1990 and has now been in existence for over 30 years. The organisation's aims are to encourage interest and participation in the building and running of scenic Gauge ‘3’ model railways, while encouraging friendly co-operation within the Membership by means of informal meetings and get-togethers.

While Gauge ‘3’ can easily be operated at ground level, many Gauge 3 garden lines are built to the comfortable operating height of approximately 3ft, which in particular makes the operation of live steam locomotives much easier. These lines are built for scenic running and do not carry full-size passengers. There are also Gauge '3' Exhibition layouts shown by members at public events.

With the growth of Gauge ‘3’ , the availability of carriage and freight stock has improved considerably, and a number of specialist retailers now offer a selection of both kits and ready-to-run stock. Whilst some live steam locomotives are still scratch-built by their owners or purchased second-hand, there is a growing range of live steam and battery electric locomotives available from the retail trade.