O scale model trains dominated the world of toy trains when introduced in the early twentieth century. They were first manufactured as toys for kids, and were mostly used around Christmas trees in December and could be set up in bedrooms or playrooms throughout the rest of the year. The train sets were originally oval or circular, and large enough for kids to handle and have fun with. Then they were not sold for scale modeling, just as toys for children.
When the time came for adults to start taking interest in railroad modeling, the O scale was among the first scales used, and allowed easy modeling. However, having a large and permanent layout was quite implausible. O scale trains were too big, and most houses in the US in that era could not provide that much space unless a whole floor was devoted to modeling. It was then that the HO scale came along and after some time became very popular. The O scale was then relegated back to being used just for toy trains, not model trains.
However, in the 1990s, when bigger houses became more common with basements and spare rooms available, O scale model trains could easily be accommodated.
When models or backgrounds are built for smaller scales, it becomes rather difficult providing a lot of detail on all the pieces and maintaining a proper and consistent scale across the entire layout. There is no such trouble with O scale trains, on which adding details becomes really easy owing to their large sizes.
Some photographs of O scale trains with the surrounding scenery and buildings make it impossible to tell if the train is real or not. O scale trains are thus some of the most realistic classes of model trains out there.
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