Model Railway

Although there are many different types of buffer stops, they can be primarily separated into two types, fixed or friction.Fixed buffer stops are a type of permanently fixed railway buffer that won't move or absorb energy when a train makes...

Bridge identification signs have been used for many years but didn't become commonplace until around 1999. Their function is to provide a reference number for bridges where a road passes underneath a railway (underbridge). The signs ensure that...

AWS stands for Automatic Warning system. It's a device fitted to British trains since the 1950s to warn drivers that they're approaching a signal. Originally AWS alerted drivers only to distance signals set to caution but was later developed to...

The name 'Crab' is a nickname given to a type of 2-6-0, mixed-traffic, steam locomotive built by the LMS between 1926 and 1932. In total 245 Crabs were produced at Horwich and Crewe works and were considered to be a successful design of locomotive...

British locomotive classes 44, 45 and 46 were an early design of diesel-electric locomotive intended for mainline passenger duties. They were built between 1959 and 1963 and collectively became known as 'Peaks' thanks to early locomotives being...

Joining sections of flexible track mid-curve can often result in small but annoying straight pieces of rail where two sections of track meet in an otherwise perfectly flowing curve. This is caused by the metal rail's memory causing tension as it...

A static mainline is a dummy mainline track on a viaduct or embankment that spans the width of a smallish baseboard. It is used as a scene-break to hide the other side of the baseboard, but, as it doesn't go anywhere, it's generally not...

A 'tripcock' is a piece of safety equipment on a train comprising an arm that protrudes to make physical contact with a 'trainstop' (a piece of lineside equipment set at the same height as the tripcock) as the train passes. If contact is made...

The little wooden huts or sheds that modellers often place by the side of their tracks are likely to be "platelayer's huts". A platelayer was a railway worker responsible for the upkeep of the track. They looked after an allocated section of...

Most modellers will not dispute that soldering dropper wires to your tracks makes for the best electrical continuity around a layout, but, soldering wires to rails can often be more difficult than imagined and getting the solder to adhere to the...

A dropped baseboard is where modellers construct a small section of their board at a lower level than the rest. The most common reason for doing this is to include a valley in their layout. Using this method for constructing a valley means that...

'Supplementary arrow signs' are the arrows that can be seen just beneath some signals or signage such as speed limits on a railway.One use for supplementary arrow signs is to clarify to a driver which line a signal relates to, this is...