Three link couplings are exactly that: they are three links of chain that will connect your wagons. These "loose" couplings were used in Britain on low speed trains till the 1970s. These trains did not have any automatic braking system and...

There is a slight difference is size but both run on the same width track (16.5mm). As for the scale, OO Scale is 1/76th which is 4mm per foot, whereas HO Gauge is 1/87th that is 3.5mm per foot. For scenery, the issue is non existent as plants...

The main reason for using underlay is to help to reduce the noise on your layout. If you run your train on track placed directly on wood, it resonates a lot and this is amplified by the void under the baseboard. The second reason is by putting...

A stay-alive (or keep-alive) is a capacitor that can be used with a DCC decoder. It stores power to allow for a more effective and constant power to your locomotive motor and therefore, smoother running. However, there are issues with fitting the...

Ballast is not really a uniform colour. Although it would have started off the same colour on a prototype line, over time the ballast would be susceptible to everyday dirt and grime from the locos. Here is an example taken at Havenstreet Steam...

On the real railway line, the ballast would have come from a local quarry so the colour would reflect this. The colour will mostly epend on the type of stone common ones are limestone and granite, with colours varying from white to grey and brown....

For an analogue system, the maximum voltage supported by the engines is about 12V. Most analogue controllers will deliver a bit more but constantly running your engines with 13V or even 14V may damage their motors (and does not look very...

If you think of the different seasons, autumn follows summer so therefore if the summer has been hot and there has been little rain most plant life will suffer due to lack of water and start to die, as is the natural progression of the seasons....

Tension lock couplings are the standard couplings for model trains in the UK. These are the ones we all know from Hornby and the couplers fitted to most new rolling stock. Basically it is a pair of latch like hooks which will connect to the next...

I was talking to a very nice gentleman who asked me "what is the best way to create seaweed?" He wanted to affix it on the underside of a pier for his seaside layout. I explained that there are various forms of scatter and foliage available,...

In my experience, stranded wire is preferable over solid wire. Stranded wire is more flexible than solid core wire, which gives you more flexibility when routing cables under your layout. Also, if a strand of wire should break for what ever...

7/02 wire is a wire made of 7 strands of 0.2mm wire. Stranded wire has the advantage of being flexible while solid wire is more difficult to bend. 7/02 size usually used for model railways for most connections. For example, this would be used as...