T Scale

T scale (1:450), is a model railroad scale with a standard gauge of 3 millimeters. It was introduced at the Tokyo Toy Show in 2006 by Eishindo of Japan, and went on sale in 2007. It is presently the smallest commercial model train scale in the world.

The models are powered with 4,5V DC. To improve power pickup the motorcars are fitted with magnetic wheels, the motor is located in the middle cars, each train comes with two powered cars. The front and rear cars are equipped with directional headlights, the pantographs are made of metal. The first train released is the famous Japanese Series 103 commuter train in different versions.

At the moment two different curves with radius 120mm and 132,5mm and a straight track with length 60mm are available. All these tracks have a roadbed fixed to them. The profile height is app. 1mm, in order to provide smooth running of the trains. Track pieces are connected with metal rail joiners and clips in the roadbed. Power connection to the track is easily done by the DC feeder that can be pushed into a straight piece of track. You can add different types of catenary masts to the track that can be cliped to the roadbed.

A special controller has been created for the T-Gauge system, it can be powered by three 1,5V batteries or an optional AC adapter. The direction of the train is changed by pressing a button, apart from the DC feeder you can also connect two infrared sensors that can be clipped to the track. These sensors can be used to automatically change the direction of the train, stopping time and sensibility of the sensors can be varied. The basic set available contains track oval, controller, DC feeder, two sensors, rerailer and a cleaning device for the powered wheels of the trains. The AC adapter is available separately, plug versions for continental Europe, Britain and USA are available.

In addition to the trains and track accessories T-Gauge also consists of a large variety of scenic items. Already available are different houses, figures, trees, bikes and motorbikes. The houses are already built, only the interiors (!) must be snapped in. Figures, bikes and motorbikes are made of metal and are already colored. To provide an easy setup on the layout most small items have a small pin of app. 1mm size attached, that can be "plugged" into the layout board. In order to ease this work a small set of tweezers and a 1mm drill are available. A set with road signs and traffic lights is available for road decoration, as well as a street decoration decal sheet. This sheet comes with a scale helping you to convert distances to scale 1/450.