Frequently asked questions

How do I find a specific model?

Use the search box in the site header for a quick look-up, or open Locomotives, Coaches or Wagons to search and filter in detail. You can search by catalogue number, running number or name, and narrow results by scale, class, operator, livery, builder and era.

What do the Era numbers mean?

The Era system is a numbered timeline that model railway manufacturers and retailers use to show which period of British railway history a model represents. Model Rail Database uses Hornby's 11-era system, running from Era 1 (the pioneering 1800s) to Era 11 (the present day), with each era marking a major change such as the 1923 Grouping, 1948 nationalisation, a new corporate livery, or privatisation. The system originated with Bachmann's 9-era scheme and was later extended by Hornby to 11 eras, which is now the standard most widely used across the hobby. Eras are a guide for buying and layout planning rather than a strict rulebook — because liveries changed gradually rather than overnight, some era date ranges deliberately overlap, and heritage, preserved and slow-to-repaint stock can legitimately mix eras. Models valid across more than one period are shown as a range, such as Era 2–3, or as a pair of adjacent eras, such as Era 5/6.

Read our full guide to Model Railway Eras →

What do OO, N, O, TT and the other scales mean?

A scale is the ratio between the model and the real thing. The most common on this site are OO (1:76.2 on 16.5mm track, the dominant British scale), N (1:148 on 9mm track), O (1:43.5 on 32mm track), TT (1:120 on 12mm track) and HO (1:87 on 16.5mm track). OO9 is OO-scale narrow gauge running on 9mm track. Scales such as 16mm, NG7 and No. 1 are used for narrow-gauge and garden railways. The ratios given are the UK standards; some scales are specified differently in other countries.

What does the DCC information on a listing mean?

DCC (Digital Command Control) lets you control several locomotives independently on the same track. Each listing shows the DCC status the manufacturer gave the model: for example Ready (21 pin) means it has a socket for a decoder to be plugged in, Sound on Board means a sound decoder is already fitted, and Not compatible means the model isn't designed to run on DCC.

What does "Not made" mean?

A Not made badge means the model was announced by the manufacturer but never reached full production. We include these listings for completeness, and because small numbers of such models are sometimes circulated anyway, for example as design proofs or test runs.

What is the difference between a class, a variant and a livery?

A class is a family of real locomotives built to the same basic design, such as BR Class 47 or GWR 57xx. A variant is a recognisable sub-type or batch within a class. A livery is the paint scheme a locomotive carried, such as British Rail Blue. One class can have several variants, and each is modelled in many liveries.

How are operators recorded, especially after privatisation?

The operator is the company that ran the locomotive in the scheme the model represents. For post-privatisation models the operator is recorded as the franchise, and a separate period field narrows this down to the actual operator at the time. Where a period is recorded, the listing shows it in place of the franchise name. The Operator filter on the search pages works at franchise level.

How are liveries recorded, and why do some look less specific than I expect?

We are consolidating liveries so that minor variations share a single livery name, with other fields carrying the difference. The Era field separates period variations: British Railways Green with the early emblem and British Railways Green with the late crest are both just British Railways Green, told apart by Era. The Branding field separates markings and sub-schemes: Railfreight Grey Construction, Distribution and Coal are all just Railfreight Grey, told apart by Branding. Branding also records details such as Newspapers, InterCity or ScotRail, which helps narrow down schemes such as BR Blue and Grey. This consolidation is being rolled out gradually, so you may still see some older, more specific livery names.

Why does a locomotive class appear under more than one name?

Real locomotive classes were often renumbered or reclassified over their lives, for example when a company's own class name was replaced by a British Railways or TOPS designation. Where we know the history, a model's page shows the class's names in order, so you can follow it from the original designation to the current one.

What does "Same as" mean on a listing?

Same as links two listings for the exact same model appearing in two places, usually as a standalone release and again as part of a set.