OO Gauge Platform Height - How Tall Should They Be?

One of the most common questions we're asked is what height should a OO gauge platform be. Getting the platform height right for your platform is key to creating a station that looks as realistic as possible, so in this article, we're going to help answer that question for you. As well as provide some basic guidance to building a realistic platform for your model railway layout.

In real life, station platform heights can vary depending on when they were built. Some railways from the early steam era had platforms of a lower height. Modern platforms across the network today tend to be a taller, standard height to allow easy access to the coaches. But there are still some platforms with different heights across the UK. The photo below for example taken at Hensall station in North Yorkshire shows one such example showing the platform on the left being much lower in height than the one on the right.

Hensall Station

What height are real railway platforms?

So what is the standard height for platforms in the United Kingdom? Generally around 915 mm (36.02 in) tall with a +/- tolerance of 25 mm (0.98 in) above rail height.

What height should a model railway platform be?

• OO Scale: 12mm above the rail
• N Scale: 6.18mm above the rail
• O Gauge: 21mm above the rail

Now, one important thing to note here is that the heights above are measured from the top of the rail, not the baseboard. So it's important to consider how your station building will sit relative to the baseboard, the height of the actual track sections including sleepers and of course whether the track is on a raised bed of cork or similar underlay. 

It's important to take all of these things into account when planning your model railway station platforms in OO gauge or any other scale for that matter. If it sits too low, it won't look right. Too high and you risk locomotives and coaches fouling on the platform edges. So depending on what you decide to use for your platforms, it may be necessary to raise them up a little cardboard, modelling card, cork sheet, plywood or MDF.

Taking into account the above platform heights then, we also need to allow a couple of millimetres for cork underlay, and then roughly 4mm for the overall height of the track and sleepers in OO gauge. It will be slightly different in O and N scales but 18mm makes an ideal height for a platform for OO gauge. 

Modelling the platforms

There are three primary methods for modelling platforms on a model railway.

1. Scratch-Building: Basically making your own platforms from MDF, plywood or card.
2. Assembled from laser-cut MDF, die-cut card or plastic kits
3.  Resin or plastic ready-to-plant platforms

All have their merits and disadvantages. We'll take a look at each method in more detail below.

Scratch Building

Scratch-built platforms are great for bespoke, custom-fit platforms as you can tailor them to your layout. Perfect for curves & awkward locations that ready-to-plant types just won't fit. Wood (ply or MDF), modelling card and plasticard are all excellent materials for building the main base for the platform. Some modellers have also used plasterboard as the main base too, but this is a lot harder to work with than the other materials, and it's very messy too!

It's also handy that MDF and Plywood can both be purchased in an exact thickness of 18mm which is spot on for OO gauge platforms!

Platform walls

For the platform wall coverings, brick, stone & concrete texture sheets are ideal if you want a quick and easy finish and don't like painting. Plasticard brick, stone & concrete sheets also make great surfaces for platforms but these will need painting.

Platform surfaces

For the surface of the platform, materials such as thin modelling card are ideal. The surface can then be covered with paper texture sheets. We have a large range of platform surface texture sheets to suit a wide array of eras and regions, with many including platform coping. 

Other options include laser-engraved paving sheets & separate coping strips or plasticard paving sheets.

Paper platform texture sheets

Laser Engraved Paving Sheet

Laser Engraved Platform Coping

Model Railway Platform Kits

Platform kits offer the most flexibility when it comes to an off-the-shelf railway platform solution enabling you to create a wide range of shapes and configurations and even custom-shaped platforms. There are a wide variety of kits on the market using a variety of materials; plastic, card, MDF, paper & laser board.

Kits have an advantage over the ready-to-plant type as they allow for the creation of custom-shaped platforms. Our own model railway platform range, for example, includes the following features:

• Standard & also half-width sections.
• End ramp sections.
• With & without the top edge overhang.
• Modular expandable design.
• Pre-cut holes to wires for lighting etc.
• Cover them with our platform top & wall texture sheets or laser board engraved sheets.
• Can be kitbashed to further customise as required by the modeller.

As with the scratch-built platform option, most kit-built OO gauge model railway platforms are 18mm in height, so there's no need to raise them up from the baseboard.

Browse our range of laser-cut OO gauge platform kits here

Island Platform kit

Island Platform End Ramp Kit

We also offer a flexible platform wall kit. This enables you to build your own curved platforms to suit any radius curve, as well as any width & shape platform. It can also use for straight platforms too, making it a very versatile kit.

The second photo below shows the flexible platform wall kit in use on my own layout. Here it's used to create an island platform with a curved approach. I've then used one of our texture papers to decorate the platform for the era I'm modelling, but our range of TX platform surfaces has textures suitable for steam era, right through to the present day.

LX414-OO Flexible Platform Wall 

LX414-OO Flexible Platform Wall Kit

Ready To Plant Model Railway Platforms

Many new modellers start with the pre-made or ready-to-plant type as these are very easy. Most have a simple clip-together design so can be installed within minutes. Designed for use with standard Hornby/Peco set track and generally made in plastic or resin, platform sections come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The simple plastic ones are relatively low cost but have a basic, even toy-like appearance. These are perhaps ok for younger modellers, but for the more demanding modeller, we highly recommend using platform textures to “wrap” the basic platform sections. It's really easy to do and it gives your platforms an instant upgrade.

The photo below shows a basic grey Hornby platform section after a quick makeover with one of our herringbone platform textures.

Hornby Platform upgraded with platform texture sheets.

The more expensive resin platform sections from Hornby & Bachmann have a much more realistic finish straight out of the box. The main drawback with these is the cost. 

Ready-to-plant platforms do have some other general restrictions too. Being designed to fit within the Hornby set track geometry, there may be occasions when you need a narrower or wider platform or they don't fit your curved track. In these cases, you may find them not wide enough or too wide for your needs. At which point it's definitely worth considering platform kits or scratch-building your own.

To Recap…

• Scratch-built platforms: If you are handy with using tools. The scratch building may be your preferred option. This is the perfect solution for making custom-shaped platforms.
• Laser cut platform kits: This option offers a wide choice and they're easy to customise or kitbash. You also have the option of the flexible platform kit to build any custom-sized or curved platform. This solution is ideal for both novice and experienced modellers alike and they make an ideal next step for anyone looking to upgrade from  Hornby plastic platforms.
• Ready to plant ideal for the new modeller who wants to make a quick start. Skaledale & Scenecraft platform sections have the most realistic appearances of any ready-to-plant option. Upgrade basic grey sections with textures sheets to improve them. Options are also limited due to their design for use with standard set track.

Happy modelling!