Valid to UK only - excludes oversized items
Stripping enamel paint from a model can seem like a delicate process, but with the right tools and techniques, it's...
Servicing your model railway locomotive is an essential part of maintaining its performance and longevity. Regular...
Fixing warped plastic parts on a model can be a bit tricky, but it's a manageable task with some patience and the...
The UK railway scale is called 00 gauge (pronounced "double-O") due to its origins as a smaller alternative to the...
For decades, British Rail (BR) was a symbol of national unity in transport, linking cities, towns and villages across...
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Once you have made your river leading to the edge of your cliff, you will need to measure the distance from the top of the cliff to the bottom, then add approximately two inches (5cm) to your measurement.Using a piece of grease-proof cooking paper...
You can use OO figures with OO9 trains as OO9 is OO narrow-gauge track. It means the track has a width of 9mm rather than a standard OO track which is approximately 16mm but the trains themselves are OO scale which is 4mm to the foot. These...
In theory, yes you can add smoke to your engines regardless of whether you are running analogue or DCC. You will need to get yourself a smoke generator which is fitted inside the body of your engine and connected to the pickups of the train, you...
When it comes to value for money the complete train set has to be the way to go. With a typical train set, you will get: a controller, a locomotive, coaches or wagons depending on which set you go for and enough track to create a fair-sized oval....
There are three common model railway scales, these being N Gauge, OO Gauge and G scale; although there are several other scales the smallest being Z Gauge with a gauge width of 6.5mm and a scale of 1/220. N Gauge is the smallest most common with...
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...