Although there are many different types of buffer stops, they can be primarily separated into two types, fixed or friction.Fixed buffer stops are a type of permanently fixed railway buffer that won't move or absorb energy when a train makes...

If you have never built a model railway before then it may not be obvious how to supply your model railway tracks with power. Starter packs provide all the equipment, connections and instructions needed for a new modeller to get started, however,...

A conventional baseboard for a model railway consists of some legs supporting a wooden framework finished off with a nice flat top surface on which we can build our layout.An open-top baseboard is similar in the respect that it has legs...

'Stopping Markers' are the signs that can be seen on a station platform and some sidings to advise the driver where to bring his or her train to a halt.They are useful for longer trains so the driver knows that the whole train is within the...

Papier-mache has been used over a chicken-wire frame to create hills and mountains for almost as long as the hobbies have existed, and it does a great job too, providing a hard shell on which you can apply paint and add scatter to give a realistic...

A 'fogman' was a railway worker tasked with laying detonators (fog signals) on railway tracks during snowy, foggy or other low visibility weather conditions to warn drivers of signals, speed restrictions or track works ahead. Fogmen often had...

A 1Co-Co1 wheel arrangement is essentially a Co-Co wheel arrangement with an unpowered, articulated pony truck attached to it. This extended bogie design is used to better distribute weight on larger locomotives.A standard Co-Co wheel...

In 1845, legislation was passed resulting in the mandatory introduction of mileposts on our railways. The new posts were to be set at 1/4 mile intervals and measure the distance from a designated location along the route (usually a large station...

Often, railway modellers talk about the importance of bringing their scene to life, but what does this mean? and why is it important? Bringing a scene to life when everything in that scene is motionless is not an easy task. What you are trying...

It is not advisable to use 3-in-1 oil to lubricate your models, especially not the fine parts inside their mechanisms. This is because different oils are good at different things - some clean, some protect and others lubricate.3-in-1 oils are...

A 'Pacific' railway locomotive is a steam engine with the wheel arrangement 4-6-2. What that means is the locomotive has four smaller, unpowered wheels (two on each side) at the front, used to lead it into curves and provide stability, six larger,...

If you are a modeller, then you have likely heard of PVA glue, but you may not be aware that PVA comes in many forms and is known by several names such as wood glue, white glue, school glue or carpenter's glue. These names suggest that PVA glue...