A headcode box (also known as a route indicator or train reporting box) is a display unit mounted on the front of early British Rail diesel or electric locomotives and multiple-units. Its purpose was to display a four-digit code that told signal...

One of the many advantages of using DCC is that compliant models are capable of operating auxiliary functions such as horns, lights, fans, smoke and realistic sounds. The amount of additional functions that you can add to a model depends on how...

If you are venturing into the world of flexible track then no doubt you are discovering that it is not just the track that is flexible, your track plans are now equally as flexible and you can now recreate exactly the bends and curves that you...

One of the jobs of a DCC decoder is to control pretty much everything that your model locomotive does, from starting and stopping to sound and lighting, the decoder gives the orders and distributes the power within the model to all the components...

A back to back gauge is an instrument for measuring and setting up the distance between wheels on an axle of a model train.It is often very disappointing when one of our engines or coaches constantly derails on a particular set of points or...

There are many variations of wheel arrangements for diesel and electric locomotives just as there were with steam locos, and for the same reasons: to facilitate different power outputs and distribute the weight of an engine. These arrangements...

It is not really a question of which track is best when it comes to a comparison between flexible track and set track, it is more a question of which track will best suit what you are trying to achieve.Flexible track usually comes in lengths...

To understand what a DCC decoder does, we must first take a look at how DC and DCC work.DC stands for Direct Current, this is the way modellers have been controlling their model railways for years. You have a controller which sends electric to...

A third hand tool (often referred to as a helping hand tool) is a clamp like device that sits on your worktop. Its function is to help you with those awkward modelling jobs where an extra pair of hands would be an advantage.Third hand tools...

There are many types of Epoxy Resins, they all contain roughly the same properties ending up as a very hard-wearing plastic-like substance, but they cure in different ways to facilitate different types and uses.Epoxy resins are mainly used as...

Paint not only comes in different types (acrylic or enamel) but will also produce different finishes. These different finishes are described as gloss, matt or satin. Regardless off paint type gloss paints will give your model a nice shiny finish,...

Installing a model building on a layout is often referred to as planting the model. On the surface this is quite a strange phrase as the words plonk, place or put would all be more descriptive, but, try to think of it another way, if you plonk...