Model Railway

Model railway jargon can be a little confusing when new to the hobby, and often the simplest questions are the ones that get left unanswered. One such term that causes some head-scratching is the word analogue. Most modellers, whether new or...

We often hear about colour light signals having two, three or four aspects in their description, but what does this mean?In this case, there is no complicated explanation as it simply refers to the number of lights (or combinations of) that a...

HSS stands for High-speed steel. This is a particular blend of steel that is configured especially for drilling tools and saws. As such HSS tools have been designed to offer greater strength and durability and a higher temperature operating...

In real life, curved track sections often have cambers built into them to allow trains to traverse bends quicker without creating wear to rolling stock wheels or the outer rail.Whether or not you add such cambers to your model railway comes...

There's no shortage of manufacturers producing models and components for DCC layouts these days, and that's a good thing, but it does mean lots of terminology, and that's a bad thing.One area that causes significant confusion is when trying...

The average size of a home layout baseboard is 4 ft wide by 6 ft long. If you are planning such a layout, you may well be wondering which radius curves will fit your board. The good news is, on a 4 ft wide board (that's 1219 mm in new money) you...

The simple answer is yes and no. An OO gauge layout can be made to fit on a 3-foot square table but it is entirely dependent on the radius of the curved segments of the track to be used. The radius of a curved track section is measured from...

Fuel drums are a great feature to add to a layout or diorama that can help add realistic scene elements. One way to create additional fuel drums is to use an existing plastic kit part as a template. Take strips of tin foil suitably cut to the...

One of the perennial problems of being a modeller is that our models or layouts sometimes become very efficient dust traps or adventure playgrounds for household spiders and other unseen denizens lurking in the shadows. There are many ways to deal...

Model railways have long been used as a tool for studying and understanding the complex systems and networks involved in transportation logistics and supply chain management. Through the use of miniature trains and track layouts, researchers and...

Ballast Magic is a non-toxic powder-based adhesive specially formulated to allow ballast granules or coal to be secured onto a layout. As this is a powder-based adhesive it avoids the likelihood of points being glued in one position which...

In simplest terms, gauge is the description of the perpendicular distance between the top of the rails, whereas scale is a direct ratio between the sizes of the original object and the modelled version. Most model railways will generally refer...