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Model railway trackwork

Free, easy, and straightforward tips and advice on model railway track planning, laying, ballasting and troubleshooting.

Mode railway frogs: what is it

What is a frog in model railways? Here's the answer you're looking for. [...]

How to Fit SEEP Point Motors

Photo showing a SEEP point motor being fitted
How to fit SEEP point motors. Michael Campbell details his approach. [...]

What are track codes and which is best – OO Gauge Code 100 or 75

Confused by OO gauge track codes?  [...]

Space Saving Idea: The Disappearing Fiddle Yard

A neat idea for small, space restricted, modellers.  [...]

The quickest way to ballast track?

how to lay ballast quickly
Let's face it, no one likes the ballasting track. It's so time-consuming. But if you're just starting out and want a quick rather than perfect-looking finish [...]

How I keep my track clean

track claening
You can't stop your model railway track getting dirty but it doesn't have to cost a lot to keep it clean and your trains running smoothly. Here's what I do. [...]

Point Wiring: A quick tip to eliminate stalling

http://modelrailwayengineer.com/point-wiring/
I get a lot of email around wiring points. They seem to cause endless problems. I'm working on a guide but in the meantime, here's a quick walkthrough and tip [...]

How one modeller joins track across boards

Joins track across boards
How to join track across baseboard sections is one of the most common questions I get asked here on ModelRailwayEngineer. Here's an interesting technique one [...]

Better Bends

If you have curves on your layout heres a quick technique that will make them look better. [...]

The 5 best track laying tips I’ve learned in 10 years writing ModelRailwayEngineer

thirds rule
In the 10 years since I set up this blog I've visited more exhibitions and clubs than I can count; met hundreds of fellow model railway enthusiasts, and come [...]

How To Make Cuttings For Your Model Railway

railway cutting
Does your railway track lie flat on its landscape? If you answered yes, your model railway is wrong. [...]

5 Must-Have Tools To Transform Your Track Work From Terror To Triumph

There are an astonishing 10,072 miles of track in the UK.     [...]

Keeping a layout clean — what I use

vacuum cleaner
Keeping a model railway layout dust and debris free during construction is a pain. Here's how I keep mine clean without damaging the delicate parts of the [...]

Reader Question – what to do with track offcuts

Recently a reader raised a great question. What to do with track offcuts? [...]

9 Top tips to laying flexitrack

Flexible track is a quicker, easier, option for track work but comes with its own problems. Here are the 9 best tips from the collective wisdom of the Internet [...]

Laying track across baseboard joints

make your own copper clad sleepers
If you're laying track across a baseboard join, you'll need to secure the track at the edges. The tried and tested technique for this is Copper clad sleepers. [...]

How to tip: cheap, authentic, point control

Using electric point motors for a model railway can get expensive. But if you just want to remotely control your points there's an alternative, cheaper, way.  [...]

Model railway minimum curve conundrum – what’s the smallest radius?

What's the minimum curve radius for model railways? The numbers you need to know for Z, N, OO and HO track from Peco, Hornby, Märklin. [...]

How NOT to clean track, part 2

How not to clean track 2
Cleaning track is a fundamental maintenance task on a model railway but it's surprising how badly wrong it can go. [...]

How NOT to clean track, Part 1

how NOT to clean model railway track
This gem of track cleaning advice was overheard in a model railway shop the other day. And it's wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. [...]