If you have ever opened up a traditional brushed DC motor (the motor on older model railway locomotives), you would have been greeted with a solid outer casing with a component inside that spins around. A closer inspection of the bit that spins...

Hornby Dublo was an early brand name for models produced by the company that we now all know as Hornby. The brand was launched in 1938 and featured model trains that were roughly half the size of the 0 gauge models that had dominated the model...

A crossover is a railway track formation that allows a train to cross from one line to another.Crossovers are constructed from two turnouts (points) to facilitate a train movement from one track to another. A typical arrangement would be to have...

HOe is a scale used by modellers in mainland Europe to construct layouts portraying a narrow-gauge railway with a prototypical track gauge of between 650 and 850mm (25.59–33.46 in).HOe scale trains run on model-track with a gauge of 9mm between...

Model trains certainly run at a voltage low enough that they can be operated from batteries, and as lithium batteries become smaller and more powerful it is plausible that a model train could run from batteries if you wish, but the question is...

Put simply, H0m is the scale that modellers would use is they wanted to portray a real-life railway that has a 1-metre track gauge and wanted to model it in H0 scale.Metre gauge railways are a common sight around the globe with many mountain...

The era system was introduced by manufacturers to help modellers identify in which period of history their model's prototype would have been seen in service. Both Hornby and Bachmann have a system where they allocate their models a number between...

Electrical relays perform so many different tasks that it would be very difficult to definitively say that a relay does X, Y or Z, but in essence, relays are switches that operate without you having to be there.There are no doubt many experts that...

For those not in the know, rail joiners are the little metal clips (sometimes referred to as fishplates) that connect sections of model railway track together. Specifically, it's the metal rail part of the track section that slides into the rail...

As the topic of "What type of oil should I use in a smoke generator?" involves mixing oil, heat, electric and your favourite expensive locomotives, the advice would have to be - a purpose-made one! But for argument's sake, what else could you use...

A pin pusher is a special tool designed to hold a small pin, tack or nail in place while you use the handle to push it into a board or wall. This makes them ideal for installing track pins or nails.If you have ever laid flexible track, then you...

Creating a snowy scene on your layout is unfortunately not as simple as scattering some scenic snow on your tracks. As with most aspects of modelling, a study of the prototype is crucial if you are to create a convincing scene.Firstly,...