Rolling stock

When new to the world of model railways, it's likely you will read many articles explaining the best way to go about those crucial first steps, and you may well be advised to make a general-purpose locomotive one of your first rolling stock...

When modellers talk about quartering, they are referring to the side-rods on their locomotives being set to the correct position in relation to each other.Contrary to belief, the side-rods on either side of a locomotive do not rotate level...

A composite coach is a railway carriage with accommodation for more than one class of passengers.In the early days of pre-nationalisation, this typically meant that a single carriage would have had first and third class accommodation. In later...

A bolster wagon is a railway wagon designed to carry long items such as rails or posts.In appearance, bolster wagons look very similar to flatbeds and feature little more than a chassis with a large flat load bed fixed on top. The difference...

A lot of modellers replace the plastic wheels on their wagons with metal ones. But why do they do this? and is it a good idea?Many modellers change to metal wheels for aesthetical reasons, but also, they do it because they don't wear as much...

A motor car van is a railway wagon designed to carry a motor car; Motorail, on the other hand, is simply a service brand name introduced by British Rail in 1966.Motor car vans first appeared in the early 1900s, they were essentially little...

It can be annoying and a little baffling when model trains slow down, seemingly without reason, at a particular spot on a layout. There are several reasons why this can happen, here are a few of the most common causes and solutions.1. Check...

The correct height and other dimensions for HO gauge couplings are covered by NEM document 360 which states that couplings should be positioned at a height of 8.5mm above rail height. OO gauge couplings appear to follow suit with most...

In the UK, an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement was used on some early designs of diesel railway locomotives, most notably the Class 31.A locomotive with this type of wheel arrangement has two bogies (one at either end of the loco) and each bogie has...

Setting your couplings to the correct height is more important than you might think. If the height difference between your rolling stock's couplings is too great, you could be heading for a derailment.Fortunately, setting your couplings to the...

It's almost normal for a model railway locomotive to be purchased, played with, stored in a loft for a couple of decades, and then rediscovered later in life. But will it still work after many years of dust, damp and spiders?Much of the answer...

There are many ways to attach loads to your wagons: Blu Tack, double sided sticky tape and magnets are just a few, but have you ever considered using Tacky Wax?Tacky Wax is a substance originally designed to hold miniature figures temporarily...