Model Railway

'Modern Image' is a term used by many modellers to describe a layout that portrays modern times, for most this will cover the post steam era from the late 1950s and early 60s onwards, but hang on a minute, that was over 60 years ago! can we really...

The dictionary defines a portal as an entrance to something and is often grand or imposing in appearance. A railway tunnel portal, in essence, is the tunnel's entrance.A large proportion of railways in the UK date back to the 1800s with many...

When models get a little older they can often suffer from their decals starting to crack or flake. This can be very annoying or even heartbreaking for prised models, but there is something you can do.Microscale is a brand of decal finishing...

Open spoke wheels were a type of early railway wheel that featured double spokes, this type of wheel was commonly known as a split-spoke wheel.Open spoke wheels were a design that appeared on many wagons and some other rolling stock throughout...

A wagon's solebar is the outer longitudinal beam of its underframe or chassis.Solebars are an integral part of a wagon's frame to which several components and supporting cross members are attached. The solebar is also where you're most likely to...

The Great Western Railway's Garter Crest is just one of the many logo designs to have appeared on GWR locomotives and coaches.The Garter Crest was one of the first logo designs to appear on GWR rolling stock, first appearing in the late 1870s,...

Several factors will influence the age at which your child is ready for their first layout. These include the manufacturer's minimum age recommendations, your child's interest in railways, and most importantly, your ability to view the project...

Cast iron spoked wagon wheels date back to the 1830s and were the mainstay of wagon wheels for nearly 100 years.Wagon wheels of this type had a diameter of around three-foot and usually featured eight spokes. A variant measuring three-foot six...

The Great Western Railway Roundel is a logo used by the GWR on locomotives and rolling stock between 1934 and 1942. The roundel is unusual in the fact that it was superseded by the very logo it had replaced just eight years earlier.The logo is...

A tunnel liner is a sheet of scale brickwork, often moulded for detail and constructed from plastic, used to represent the internal wall of a model railway tunnel.Tunnel liners are designed to fit onto a special lip on the back of most tunnel...

The Great Western Railway Coat of Arms was a logo that appeared on GWR rolling stock from 1927 to 1933 and then reappeared in 1942 until nationalisation in 1947.The coat of arms replaced the previously used Garter Crest and features two shields...

A pinion gear (often called a pinion cog) is a small metal cog that can be found fitted to the shaft of a model's motor.Not all model railway locomotives have a pinion cog with many featuring a long worm screw instead, but whichever is used, their...