Tracks

Fortunately, incidents where track gets damaged after installation are relatively rare, but spare track, and track awaiting installation, is another matter, and if not stored carefully, can often get bent or misshapen. But is there anything that...

For anybody who doesn't know the difference, code 100 track is the standard OO gauge model railway track. Code 75 track has smaller rails to better represent the prototype and is usually referred to as finescale track. But can the two types be...

The first thing you need to know when calculating gradients is that it doesn't matter which unit of measurement you use. If you prefer inches, use those, if you prefer centimetres, that's fine too. The only rule is that you use the same unit...

Cleaning model railway tracks can be laborious at the best of times, so it's no surprise that modellers keep on finding new and inventive ways to clean their tracks to try and make the job quicker, more effective and stay cleaner for longer. But...

The distance between real parallel railway tracks can vary depending on the line speed, when the track was installed and any infrastructure encountered along the route. If recreating a real location, it is up to you how exacting you are with your...

If you are at the stage where you are about to add ballast to your model railway track, ask yourself if you think you will ever (if you don't already) want to operate your turnouts using point motors. If so, then consider installing them first...

Trying to figure out how much ballast you need to cover your layout is an interesting battle and one you will probably lose!Some manufacturers do give an approximate track coverage on their bags or tubs of ballast, which is both useful and...

Electrofrog points are model railway turnouts with no isolated sections.Regular turnouts require a small plastic isolated section to avoid a short circuit where the outer rail passes over the inner rail as the route diverges. The isolated...

A programming track is used to read or program a DCC locomotive's decoder. It comprises a short section of track that's completely isolated from the main layout and connects to the controller via a dedicated programming port.Using a...

Using electrofrog points on a layout will undoubtedly result in improved reliability for the locomotives that traverse them. That's thanks to there being virtually no dead or isolated parts on the turnout, unlike insulfrog points which can have a...

In a nutshell, electro point clips are a quick, easy and affordable solution to de-isolating points (turnouts) ready for DCC operation.If you're familiar with model railways or trainsets, then you'll know that when you switch your points, the...

When deciding what and how of much something to put on your model railway layout, we must insist that you adhere to the model railways golden rule number 1, which is - It's your railway, so do what makes you happy!But now that we've...