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...

A laser-cut kit is a regular kit that is put together the same way as any ordinary kit, and it's made from the same materials too (plastic, card or wood) but the difference is in how it's made.Traditionally, kits have been manufactured by either...

Modern Graham Farish and Dapol rolling stock should in theory couple together with little problem. This is thanks to the NEM standards that define model railway scales and guide manufacturers in creating compatible products that assist modellers...

A shunter (when used to describe an engine) is a dedicated railway locomotive used for marshalling trucks or coaches in yards or sidings ready for larger locomotives to take out on their journey.These days, shunters are typically specially...

Loading gauge is the maximum dimensions that a railway locomotive, coach or waggon (including its load) can be to travel safely along a track.There are many obstacles along the side of or above a railway line that could affect its loading...

The most important rule to remember when mixing paints is to never mix enamel and acrylic paint, this is because one is oil or solvent-based whilst the other is water-based, and oil and water do not mix. Apart from that, you should be able to mix...

Most modellers will be aware of how a controller makes a locomotive move along the tracks, with an analogue controller, the more power that is sent from the controller, the quicker the train moves, reversing the polarity reverses the direction of...

In 1955 British Railways was looking to the future and drew up a modernisation plan, this ultimately led to the mass introduction of diesels and electrics replacing our beloved steam motive power, but it also led to a revised logo being used on...

In 1948 the railways, buses, ports, canals and road haulage companies were nationalised and were to be operated by the newly formed British Transport Commission (BTC). Under BTC's ownership, the newly merged railway was to be known as British...

A passing contact switch differs from a conventional switch because it does not perform a simple on/off function, instead, its purpose is to supply a short sharp burst of power to any component that doesn't require a continuous power feed, for...

A diesel (or electric) locomotive's headcode was a four-digit code displayed on the front of the loco in the 1960s and early 70s to aid signallers to identify the train's type. This was a practice previously displayed with the use of lamps hung on...

If you are building or own a model railway layout, then you have likely heard the word solenoid, a lot! and that is because modellers use them, a lot!A solenoid is a coil of wire which acts as a magnet when an electrical charge is applied. The...