Valid to UK only - excludes oversized items
We often hear about colour light signals having two, three or four aspects in their description, but what does this...
The white discs that were displayed on the front of steam trains and early types of diesel were a way of...
.jpeg "What is back EMF on a DCC decoder?")
EMF stands for Electromotive Force and requires a fair knowledge of electrics to fully grasp what it is and the...
TT Gauge is a popular scale in model railway and scale modelling, offering several advantages over other scales. Here...
There are several options for securing plastic or card model buildings to a baseboard: Using a strong adhesive such...
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Yes, you can use HO figures on your OO scale layout, there is a slight difference in size, but this is negligible in the grand scheme of things. HO gauge is 1/87th that is 3.5mm to the foot, where as OO scale is 1/76th, that is 4mm to the foot....
OO9 is 4mm to the foot scale (that is OO or 1/76) but using 9mm track gauge (the same size as N gauge). This is narrow gauge modelling and is meant to represent 2ft gauge in real life. The name comes from OO scale and 9mm track. It is a very...
It is very tempting to use pins or nails to stick the track down but this may not be the best approach. Pins are difficult to fix in place without distorting the sleepers and points. They are also near impossible to hide, meaning your layout does...
The best coarseness of ballast for N Gauge would be the fine or very fine ballast. This gives a better scale representation for the N gauge layout. If you were to use medium or coarse ballast, this would look out of proportion to everything else...
Slow action point motors are exactly what they say, they are designed to give a more realistic look to your points on your layout by delaying the movement of the track points so that it appears like the real thing. This replicates the signalman...
Solenoid point motors are used for throwing the points on your layout. They can also be used for other animations such as semaphore signals. The point motor uses two solenoids to pull a metal rod towards them, when this is connected to the tie...
How you remove ballast would depend on weather you are trying to remove excess ballast after laying and gluing your ballast, or if you are trying to remove an existing section of track for replacement or re-landscaping.If you are just removing the...
You will find knuckle couplings on American model railways and European ones as this is the standard coupling for everywhere except England. The knuckle coupling was invented in the late 1800s and is used all over the world today on the...
A back to back gauge is a tool which when placed between the back plates of the wheels of your wagons, carriages and locomotives will give you an accurate gap measurement allowing you to adjust the wheel spacing. This enables to always have your...
The time old tradition for laying ballast is to lay your ballast under/around your track and add watered down PVA glue mixed with a couple of drops of washing up liquid to ease surface tension. You can also find ready to use ballast glue which is...
One easy way is to get yourself a Peco cleaning kit containing a wire brush, wheel scraper, foam cradle and oil. The foam cradle allows you to turn your loco upside down and give support while cleaning the wheels, or any other form of...
The best way to check the wheels of your locomotives is to use a tool called a back to back gauge. They are available for all scales/gauges. They are made of brass and you simply slide it over the axle and the back of the wheels. If it proves...