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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The track is connected using rail joiners, also called "fishplates". They are thin metal plates that simply slot into the next piece of track and should be tight fitting to allow for the power to flow seamlessly to the next piece of track. They...
You can buy ready-made roads which are ideal if you do not have the time to create your own. They are available in most scales and with all the features you might need like markings, potholes, etc. Alternatively, you can make your own with road...
In theory, the only limit to the width of your layout is the amount of space you have available. The reality is slightly shorter: bear in mind that if you have a derailment you will need to be able to reach your locomotives, coaches and wagons....
Once you have made your river leading to the edge of your cliff, you will need to measure the distance from the top of the cliff to the bottom, then add approximately two inches (5cm) to your measurement.Using a piece of grease-proof cooking paper...
You can use OO figures with OO9 trains as OO9 is OO narrow-gauge track. It means the track has a width of 9mm rather than a standard OO track which is approximately 16mm but the trains themselves are OO scale which is 4mm to the foot. These...
In theory, yes you can add smoke to your engines regardless of whether you are running analogue or DCC. You will need to get yourself a smoke generator which is fitted inside the body of your engine and connected to the pickups of the train, you...
When it comes to value for money the complete train set has to be the way to go. With a typical train set, you will get: a controller, a locomotive, coaches or wagons depending on which set you go for and enough track to create a fair-sized oval....
There are three common model railway scales, these being N Gauge, OO Gauge and G scale; although there are several other scales the smallest being Z Gauge with a gauge width of 6.5mm and a scale of 1/220. N Gauge is the smallest most common with...
Three link couplings are exactly that: they are three links of chain that will connect your wagons. These "loose" couplings were used in Britain on low speed trains till the 1970s. These trains did not have any automatic braking system and...
There is a slight difference is size but both run on the same width track (16.5mm). As for the scale, OO Scale is 1/76th which is 4mm per foot, whereas HO Gauge is 1/87th that is 3.5mm per foot. For scenery, the issue is non existent as plants...
The main reason for using underlay is to help to reduce the noise on your layout. If you run your train on track placed directly on wood, it resonates a lot and this is amplified by the void under the baseboard. The second reason is by putting...
A stay-alive (or keep-alive) is a capacitor that can be used with a DCC decoder. It stores power to allow for a more effective and constant power to your locomotive motor and therefore, smoother running. However, there are issues with fitting the...