Mainline Railways was a British model railway brand that operated between 1976 and 1983, introduced by Palitoy, the...
Valid to UK only - excludes oversized items
Mainline Railways was a British model railway brand that operated between 1976 and 1983, introduced by Palitoy, the...
A Wickham Trolley is a small railway maintenance vehicle once widely used across Britain's railways. Built by D...
The Blue Riband subbrand was a significant step in the evolution of Bachmann Branchline, the UK division of Bachmann...
Applying a camber to a tight curve of track on your model railway layout can help improve the realism and operation...
A well-designed model railway is more than just a collection of tracks and trains: it’s a miniature world that...
A pinion gear (often called a pinion cog) is a small metal cog that can be found fitted to the shaft of a model's motor.
Not all model railway locomotives have a pinion cog with many featuring a long worm screw instead, but whichever is used, their purpose is to connect the rotating movement of a motor's shaft to a series of gears to provide movement to the wheels.
Pinion cogs were commonplace in the motors of model railway locomotives of the '70s and '80s (particularly Hornby and Lima models). They were initially made from alloy but later from brass, this was due to alloy versions being prone to failure.
Pinion cogs are press-fitted to the motor shaft, so replacing them requires a special tool called a Pinion Removal Tool. When a pinion cog is about to fail, a loud screeching noise can often be heard coming from the motor. A pinion cog that has already failed will result in the motor revving freely while the model remains stationary.
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