Rolling stock

Wheel slip is not a problem that's unique to our model railway layouts, engineers in the real railway world often pull their hair out trying to overcome the problem too. So what lessons can we learn from the engineers to help our little trains get...

Although N gauge is very popular (and for good reason), it can't be denied that the most popular gauge on the UK market today is 00, therefore manufacturers produce and sell a significantly higher volume of 00 gauge products than N gauge, this, in...

NEM couplings are part of a universal coupling system for model railway rolling stock. They were introduced as a solution to the many different types of coupling from various manufacturers not working well together.They consist of two parts,...

We have all been there, with that wagon or coach that derails all of the time, and we suspect that the reason for this mischievous item of rolling stock constantly making a break for freedom is a lack of weight. The solution is easy though: simply...

Tail lamps on trains have been around since the 1800s, originally powered by oil and later by batteries, they consist of a red lamp or flashing light attached to the very rear of a train to warn other trains of their presence. The first rules...

A 4-6-2 railway locomotive is a steam engine with 4x leading wheels, 6x driving wheels and 2x trailing wheels. Engines with this wheel arrangement are known pretty much worldwide as Pacifics.Steam engines with the wheel arrangement 4-6-2 were...

Thompson bogies were the metal framework and suspension units that housed the wheelsets on Thompson railway coaches. They were hailed a great success due to their smooth running capabilities and were even retrofitted to earlier coaches and later...

Train wheels are probably one of the most important components of a railway locomotive, coach or wagon. Their shape and design are key to providing safe, reliable, stable and speedy operations and a typical train wheel has many features and design...

Parkside wagon kits are a large range of 00 gauge plastic wagon kits from Peco. Some of the kits have been re-branded from Peco's popular Ratio range.The kits are fairly easy to construct and a good place to start for modellers new to kit...

Bubble cars were a single-unit first generation DMU built by British Rail in the late 1950s and 1960. Because they had a cab for the driver at each end, they could be used singularly on lightly used branch lines or coupled to other DMUs or...

The British Rail Double Arrow logo was designed by Gerald Barney in 1965 for the then nationalised British Railways. The company was in pursuit of a new corporate image to complement the modernisation plan already in motion and promote rail travel...

DMU stands for Diesel Multiple Unit. DMUs are a type of train where the coaches have their own diesel-powered engines to propel them along negating the need for a locomotive at the head of the train. The driving controls on DMUs are situated in an...