Model Railway

A CDU is a Capacitor Discharge Unit. It is an electrical component that can be included into a circuit and stores up an electrical charge, it releases the current in a powerful short sharp burst on the demand of an operator (you) by pressing a...

Facing point locks are commonly used throughout the world's rail systems, their function is to physically lock points in position therefore protecting trains from the points accidentally changing as a train passes over them. In the UK it is not...

Slow action point motors are an alternative to the more commonly used solenoid motors. Their name pretty much suggests what they do (they change your points slowly) and if you are considering using point motors for the first time on your layout...

When using a bus wire (shared common wire) to distribute power around your layout, you will inevitably have to tap into the wire at various locations to install small stretches of additional wire to connect the main bus wire with the components or...

You may have noticed that in more recent years whenever you purchase a new locomotive that there is a little label on the box indicating that the model is DCC ready. If like many of us you still operate good old fashioned DC (analogue) models,...

A diesel (or electric) locomotive's headcode was a four-digit code displayed on the front of the loco in the 1960s and early 70s to aid signallers to identify the train's type. This was a practice previously displayed with the use of lamps hung on...

In 1948 the railways, buses, ports, canals and road haulage companies were nationalised and were to be operated by the newly formed British Transport Commission (BTC). Under BTC's ownership, the newly merged railway was to be known as British...

In 1955 British Railways was looking to the future and drew up a modernisation plan, this ultimately led to the mass introduction of diesels and electrics replacing our beloved steam motive power, but it also led to a revised logo being used on...

Most modellers will be aware of how a controller makes a locomotive move along the tracks, with an analogue controller, the more power that is sent from the controller, the quicker the train moves, reversing the polarity reverses the direction of...

Loading gauge is the maximum dimensions that a railway locomotive, coach or waggon (including its load) can be to travel safely along a track.There are many obstacles along the side of or above a railway line that could affect its loading...

A shunter (when used to describe an engine) is a dedicated railway locomotive used for marshalling trucks or coaches in yards or sidings ready for larger locomotives to take out on their journey.These days, shunters are typically specially...

Modern Graham Farish and Dapol rolling stock should in theory couple together with little problem. This is thanks to the NEM standards that define model railway scales and guide manufacturers in creating compatible products that assist modellers...