Before we get into all the details of my specific layout and plans, I thought it would be beneficial to review some of the basic terminology you may encounter on our journey. I have decided to show some of the more common terms used in the Model Railroading community and listed them below.
This is just a small snippet of various terms you may see or hear throughout the railroading community. These and more can be found at the NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) website, link at the bottom of this page. NMRA is a very useful resource for anything in the hobby.
So without further ado, here are some terms you may encounter.
A
AC (alternating current) — electric current which changes its direction of flow or movement back and forth through a wire.
accessories — Any of a number of electrically operated items on the layout, other than the locomotives and track. Includes switch machines, lighting for buildings, small motors for animation, etc.
B
baggage car — a car for the carriage of passenger's baggage or express shipments in passenger trains. Usually with one to three large side doors and few if any windows.
ballast — material placed under the track structure to facilitate drainage of water while supporting and cushioning the track on the prototype. Usually made of crushed rock, but can also be of any cheap locally available material such as oyster shells, burned clay, or locomotive cinders. Mostly for show on the model, but can also help to hold the track in position and cut down on noise transmission when used properly.
benchwork — the structure which holds up the track and scenery of a layout.
block (electrical) — a section of track that is electrically isolated from the rest of the layout for control purposes.
block (signal) — on the prototype, a section of track into which only one train may be allowed to enter at a time.
box car — an enclosed railroad car for the carriage of commodities that require shelter from the weather. Early boxcars were simply that — a box on wheels with doors in the sides. Modern boxcars often have extra equipment for the safe carriage of specific commodities (ie: racks for certain types of auto parts, movable bulkheads to secure cargo while in transit, etc.).
branch line — a secondary track leading off the main line which proceeds to towns of lesser importance.
C
cab (locomotive) - the enclosed area from which a locomotive is controlled
coach — a railroad car providing for the transportation of passengers in one large compartment. Usually in less luxurious accommodations and without provision for sleeping. Seats are normally arranged in pairs across the width of the car with a central aisle running the length of the car.
code (rail) — the height of a rail measured in one thousandths of an inch without the decimal point. The same code rail may be used in different scales to represent rail of different weights. For instance, code 100 rail represents the very heaviest weight of rail used only on the mainlines of a very few railroads in HO scale, while it can represent the light rail used on a branch line in O scale.
couplers — the hardware which is used to join the cars in a train. The couplers transmit the pulling force of the locomotive between the cars and through the train.
D
DC current — electrical current that flows continuously in one direction only
DCC — Digital Command Control — the NMRA sponsored command control system that has become the most commonly used command control system in model railroading world-wide. An alternating current of constant voltage is placed on the track with a control signal of varying frequency impressed upon it. The DCC signal is actually an alternating DC waveform, containing the digital information. The basic system is required to produce results as set forth in the NMRA Standard so that equipment produced by different manufacturers can be operated together.
F
flextrack — track which may be laid straight or custom curved by the modeler to virtually any radius. The track comes with rails fastened to realistic ties. Usually sold in three foot or meter lengths.
frog — The casting used in the angle where the rails cross and diverge in a turnout or switch.
G
gauge — The distance between the rails. The most common US gauges are standard gauge of 4 feet 8 and a half inches and (more rarely) 3 foot narrow gauge. Internationally, the British colonial gauges of 42 inches and meter gauge are also popular as narrow gauges.
H
HO scale — a reduction of size of 1:87.1 in the model which is equal to 3.5 mm to one foot. HO standard gauge uses a track gauge of 16.5 mm (.649"). When the scale for HO was set many years ago, O scale models were built to a scale of 7 mm to the foot. So HO was "Half O" or 3.5 mm to the foot.
L
layout — the sum of the track, scenery, buildings, locomotives and cars of a model railroad.
M
main line — the primary route or most heavily used tracks of a railroad.
N
narrow gauge — track whose rails are laid to a gauge of less than that of "standard gauge" or 4 feet 8 and one half inches. The most common narrow gauges in this country have been 3 foot gauge and 24 inch gauge. In the rest of the world, the British colonial gauge of 42 inches and meter (39.34") gauge have also been popular.
NMRA — the National Model Railroad Association
P
points — the movable rails of a turnout or switch.
power pack — a commercially manufactured, usually sealed, complete unit for powering model trains consisting of a transformer to reduce house voltage to that required for operating the trains, a rectifier to change alternating current to direct current, a rheostat to vary the voltage applied to the track, and a reversing switch. May also have additional switches, indicator lamps, etc.
prototype — the real thing. That from which we are making our model.
R
rail — a "T" shaped steel shape designed to be laid end-to-end in two parallel lines on cross ties or similar supporting materials to form track to support railway cars. In the prototype, rail size is measured in pounds per yard. In the model in 1/1000's of an inch (see "code")
rail joiner — a metal or plastic piece folded into a flattened "C" shape which slides onto the web of each of two pieces of model rail to join and hold them in end to end alignment.
rolling stock — freight, passenger and MOW cars. Equipment designed to roll on the track.
S
siding — the prototype railroads consider a siding to be a track auxiliary to the main track where trains can meet or pass. A siding may be either single ended with a turnout at one end only, or double ended with turnouts at both ends. Modelers extend the meaning to also include the track at industries used for the storage of freight cars while being loaded and discharged.
switch (track) - a device allowing the rails to split or diverge into two or more routes. Model railroaders usually refer to these as "turnouts."
T
tie — the cross members to which the rails are fastened. Ties keep the rails in gauge, cushion the rails and transmit the forces of a moving train to the ballast. Traditionally, ties were made of wood — in modern times creosoted wood. In the most modern installations on high speed track, concrete ties are being substituted for wood.
track — the structure of parallel rails and cross ties that support the train while transmitting its forces to the ballast and roadbed.
track gauge — a device used to set and maintain the proper distance or gauge between the rails.
track nail — small nails provided to fasten sectional track to its base.
trucks — the assembly of wheels, axles, bolster and side frames that provides the rolling portion of a car or diesel locomotive.
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