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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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...
A 3D printer is a machine that literally prints three-dimensional objects. That sounds great! and it would be easy to deduce that you can now upload a photo of your favourite locomotive, building or tree, hit the print button, and hey-presto! a...
A push-button switch is a switch that you press to operate something opposed to other types which involve moving (or flicking) the switch from one side to the other. A good example of a push-button switch is the bell that you would press on a bus...
You may have noticed that in more recent years whenever you purchase a new locomotive that there is a little label on the box indicating that the model is DCC ready. If like many of us you still operate good old fashioned DC (analogue) models,...
When using a bus wire (shared common wire) to distribute power around your layout, you will inevitably have to tap into the wire at various locations to install small stretches of additional wire to connect the main bus wire with the components or...