Model Railway Blogs

A complete archive of history, restoration guides, layout techniques, and technical advice by Boman Nakra.

Personal Journey5 min read

#1 Welcome to the fascinating world of Model Train Hobby!

My name is Boman Nakra and I am a Model Train Hobbyist for the past 40 years. I was introduced to this fascinating hobby when I was very young. The world of Model Railways is an extremely creative hobby and one can get immersed for hours. It is also called Model Train Railroading. It is the most creative hobby as it comprises firstly, collection of various Model Trains – Locomotives, Coaches, Goods Wagons, Tracks, Signalling, Landscaping, Roads, Bridges, Buildings, Vehicles, Model Figures, Lights, Tunnels etc. and involves design, modelling, geometry, landscaping, carpentry, and plumbing, usage of various tools and knowledge of architecture, physics, wiring, electricity, electronics and computers.

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History & Evolution4 min read

#2 History of Model Railways:

Model railways started in the 1840s. They were earlier known as “Carpet Railways”. These earlier models were not as per scale and were crude in appearance to the original ones. These earlier models were manually operated. Only in early 20th century Electric Trains appeared. Some of the earlier models ran on clockwork mechanism. Modern model trains of today are actual scaled down versions of the original and appear more realistic. For e.g. HO Scale is 1:87, if we expand the model 87 times it will look like the original. Model train hobbyists create model railway layouts and often create real locations and periods throughout history from original railway drawings.

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Layout Building4 min read

#3 History of Model Railways:

The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) and Normen Europäischer Modellbahnen (NEM), manufacturers and hobbyists soon arrived at de facto standards for interchangeability, such as gauge, but trains were only a rough approximation to the real thing. Official scales for the gauges were drawn up but not at first rigidly followed and not necessarily correctly proportioned for the gauge chosen. 0 (zero) gauge trains, for instance, operate on track too widely spaced in the United States as the scale is accepted as 1:48 whereas in Britain 0 gauge uses a ratio of 43.5:1 or 7 mm/1 foot and the gauge is near to correct.

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Techniques4 min read

#4 History of Model Railway Trains.

The scenery base is covered with substitutes for ground cover, which may be Static Grass or scatter. Scatter or flock is a substance used in the building of dioramas and model railways to simulate the effect of grass, poppies, fireweed, track ballast and other scenic ground cover. Scatter used to simulate track ballast is usually fine-grained ground granite. Scatter which simulates coloured grass is usually tinted sawdust, wood chips or ground foam. Foam or natural lichen or commercial scatter materials can be used to simulate shrubbery. An alternative to scatter, for grass, is static grass which uses static electricity to make its simulated grass actually stand up.

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Advanced Layouts5 min read

#5 History of Model Railway Trains.

Where the model is of an electric locomotive, it may be supplied by overhead lines, like the full-size locomotive. Before Digital Command Control became available, this was one way of controlling two trains separately on the same track. The electric-outline model would be supplied by the overhead wire and the other model could be supplied by one of the running rails. The other running rail would act as a common return.

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Electronics & Tech3 min read

#6 History of Model Railway Trains

Less common closed proprietary systems also exist. Several manufacturers offer software that can provide computer-control of DCC layouts. In large scales, particularly for garden railways, radio control and DCC in the garden have become popular.

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Reference Guide3 min read

#7 History of Model Railway Trains

A complete overview of famous commercial manufacturers past and present, including Fleischmann, Märklin, Hornby, Bachmann, Atlas, and Kato.

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Service & Repairs3 min read

#8 Service and Repairs - Old Locomotives

During the lockdown in 2020, I was contacted by a Gentleman a very senior citizen (found me on the Internet) an avid Model Train Collector that he has 4 x N scale Locomotives which are not in working condition. These Locomotives he mentioned were more than 50 years old and he had purchased it in the 1960’s. After so many years these Locomotives are not in working condition. He requested me whether these Locomotives can be serviced and repaired. I said why not? Since I was not in Mumbai and would return in October, I can have these Locomotives collected.

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