Model Railway

A DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) switch allows two completely separate circuits to be controlled by just one switch. They can be used as on/off or on/on switches.There are many situations on a model railway layout where a DPDT switch can be...

The era system was introduced to model railways so that modellers could easily identify what period in history a model's prototype would have been seen in the real world. Most of us will already know when the majority of locomotives were steaming...

When turnouts are operated by point motors, they require the same forces applied to them as they would do operated by hand, to move the point blades force needs to be applied, but the rest of the time no force is required and the blades sit quite...

In the world of theatre and cinema, a cameo is a brief appearance by a famous person or character. But this term is increasingly used in the model railway hobby to describe something different. So what exactly does it mean for us modellers?...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...