Even though the Bachmann Thomas line is labeled HO scale, they actually are scaled to OO because the rolling stock in the range just uses the old Bachmann Branchline toolings. If it was truly HO scale, the locomotives would look a lot smaller next to American trains than they do. Also, there are some bachmann models that look better than the Hornby ones, Toby and Percy especially.
Modeling the LNER (and some Thomas stuff) in OO Scale.