Inhaltsverzeichnis für December 2024 in Model Rail

Opening the box News Having already tackled the famed Western Region Class 42 ‘Warship’ diesel-hydraulics in ‘O’ gauge, Heljan has announced a high-specification ‘OO’ version, which is due to arrive next year. A full lighting suite will be provided, with a 21pin DCC interface, all-wheel drive and a high level of detail, including etched metal grilles and a choice of full or partial front skirts to allow clearance for tension lock couplers. DCC sound-fitted versions will also be available. Details of each version have already been revealed, offering a choice of BR green, maroon and Rail blue liveries, with the tooling catering for the original front-end arrangement (magnetic WR style train reporting numbers will be supplied) and later four-character headcode boxes, along with plenty of other period-specific detail differences. While…

Opening the box During late September I visited a model railway show in Belgium, organised by Modelspoor magazine. The show was pretty special, with over 30 layouts of a very high calibre. However, for anyone with a passion for gritty industrial scenes, one layout stood out – big time. ‘Le Bassin’ offers an ‘HO’ scale re-creation of a Belgian steel works and, to say it is superb would be an understatement. So far, the layout has taken 10 years to build and, with its operators dressed in steelworks attire, the layout attracted large crowds throughout the exhibition. There aren’t too many moving trains, but there is plenty more to feast the eyes on. This is one of the projects that feature in James Hilton’s recent Model Railway Companion book and…

POSTCARDS FROM KENT Postcard Models is a family business, producing a delightful range of laser-cut building kits in various scales, each designed to fit within postcard-sized packaging. They’re great fun to assemble and depict fabulous prototype structures from various parts of Britain, but especially those with a Kent or Sussex flavour. This lovely ‘N’ gauge kit of Bodiam station, on the Kent and East Sussex Railway, features plenty of detail and an authentic timber grain texture. The platform canopy is included, and the kit provided an enjoyable evening project – it’ll be just the thing for helping your Christmas pudding digest! And for something a little more whimsical, why not plump for a kit of Brighton Pier’s iconic Helter Skelter, or the Art Deco tower from Margate Lido. Product: Bodiam…

In July 1958, two special ‘48DS’ locomotives – Nos. 411320/321 – were completed for Strachan & Henshaw Ltd on behalf of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). They were numbered 1 and 2 and built to a unique 5ft 4in gauge to move bespoke ‘coffin’ waste containers and flasks loaded with spent nuclear fuel from the reactor plant at Chapelcross Power Station near Annan in southern Scotland. Fitted with central ‘knuckle’ type couplers rather than conventional couplings and buffers, No. 1 ‘Jim’ is painted green and No. 2 ‘Peter’ is blue/grey. They are likely to have been the last 48DSs in active service, but tight security means that they were among the most secretive locomotives in the country. Like its sister plant, Calder Hall in Cumbria (better known as part…

Workbench EXPERT MODELLERS SHOW YOU HOW Like me, Network Rail seems to be a big fan of single-unit railcars. It probably began with Class 121 No. W55025 which, when withdrawn from passenger service, was converted to a video service vehicle for Balfour Beatty. In this form it toured the UK rail system filming track and infrastructure to provide a live, continuous, up-to-the-minute log of the condition of railway routes and infrastructure. When the Class 121 became life-expired, Network Rail sought a replacement and, as the 1980s-built Class 153s were reaching the end of their passenger service careers, one of them was the natural choice for a replacement vehicle. Among the problems for the 40-year-old Class 153s was legislation which required trains to be accessible by Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM).…

◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Accurascale Mk 1 57ft non-gangway coaches • ACC2345 Composite Lavatory • ACC2349 Brake Standard • ACC2360 Standard Lavatory Open • ACC2364 Standard ◆ PRICE £74.95 each ◆ AVAILABILITY Accurascale stockists Web www.accurascale.com Nearly 600 Mk 1 non-gangway coaches were built by British Railways between 1954-56, on a common 56ft 11in underframe. The vast majority consisted of Brake Third and Third class vehicle types (later referred to as Standard class), plus smaller numbers of Composites (First and Third/Standard class) and the Eastern Region’s allocation also featured lavatory-equipped versions. The stock was intended for use on suburban services, feeding into towns and cities across the network, being hauled by steam and diesel traction. The spread of diesel and electric multiple units rendered the non-gangway stock obsolete. By…

Reviews ◆ GAUGE ‘N’ ◆ MODEL Rapido Trains UK 956004 BR OAA open wagons, Railfreight red/grey ◆ PRICE £69.95 triple-pack ◆ AVAILABILITY Rapido stockists Web www.rapidotrains.co.uk Rapido’s ‘OO’ gauge BR 45t Open AB wagon (later coded OAA) won many plaudits when released late last year (See MR321), boasting an impressive level of detail and finally offering modellers a high-quality rendition of an important prototype. The same wagon type is now available in ‘N’ gauge, with an equally remarkable specification. The OAAs first appeared in 1971, as part of BR’s drive towards a modernised freight network, operating across the country on all manner of traffic. Examples continued into the privatisation era, with many having been cascaded into departmental work. Rapido’s ‘N’ gauge OAAs are offered in triple-packs, as individually numbered wagons,…

◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Hornby R30097TXS BR Class 43 HST power car set with Triple X Sound, InterCity Executive livery ◆ PRICE £449.99 ◆ AVAILABILITY Hornby stockists Web www.hornby.com I longed for a Hornby HST in original InterCity ‘Executive’ livery when I was a youngster, but never did get one. It was beyond my pocket money and my layout was far too small. Anyway, it’s a delight to see Hornby’s ‘high-spec’ HST power cars now wearing this scheme, especially after a full set of matching Mk 3 coaches arrived a couple of months ago. And match they do, with the livery shades aligning perfectly across power cars and coaches. This set features 43091 Edinburgh Military Tattoo and 43196 The Newspaper Society. While we’ve covered the myriad charms of Hornby’s…

On a beautiful autumnal Saturday on the Ceredigion coast, I made my way to Aberystwyth to spend a day on the Vale of Rheidol Railway. The railway’s new museum building – the stunningly restored former GWR locomotive shed – was playing host to a model railway exhibition, showcasing a fascinating range of layouts in a variety of scales. Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of layouts with a narrow gauge theme, in 4mm and 7mm scales, showcasing the charm and versatility of this genre. ‘Afon Adit Goldmine’, for instance, was a great example of how plenty of interest can be crammed into a modest footprint when working in ‘OO9’. An ‘N’ gauge layout set within a toilet bowl also gained plenty of attention, with the trains activated by ‘pulling the chain’! The…

What makes this layout great? "‘Wellpark’ is a perfect depiction of a gritty urban scene coupled with the anticipation of what’s to come. Fans of opposing teams are coming together, the police are already on scene and although the figures are static, it looks as if things could kick off at any moment." It’s Glasgow, it’s the 1980s, and there’s only one question on everybody’s lips come Saturday afternoon. Are you green? Or are you blue? Saying the wrong thing to the wrong people could land you in serious trouble, with countless fans arrested at every Old Firm derby and numerous injuries sustained. One thing which made the Old Firm derby around that time so violent is that it wasn’t just about football, opposing supporters generally fell on differing sides…

Masterclass THE RUSTON & HORNSBY 48DS Heljan’s ‘O’ gauge Ruston & Hornsby 48DS is such a cute little thing and, with such an attractive price, they’re proving popular with modellers who already model in 7mm scale and those wanting to give it a try. I still count myself as a dabbler in all things ‘O’ gauge but, for the past couple of years, I’ve been amassing stock, track and accessories for a small 7mm scale layout. Heljan’s model has certainly given me a push towards bringing my plans to reality. As reviewed in detail in last month’s issue, the Heljan model has a huge amount of customisation potential. Like most industrial locomotive types, the 48DS lends itself to freelance modelling, so I decided to repaint my example into a more fetching…

Workbench EXPERT MODELLERS SHOW YOU HOW Every time I attend a model railway show, I look for detailing parts that can add something to my layout. In 2023 I was fortunate to attend the Kleinserie event at Bauma, Switzerland, and there I picked up a model water fountain from the Swiss Model Rail stand (CHF 15, www.swissmodelrail.ch). This measures just 22mm x 7mm x 2mm and it was crying out for some water to be added and a water flow into the trough. I set myself the challenge of attempting to make the water flow, and that is when one of our pets gave me the answer to how to do it. Although not a feature you would likely find in the UK these days, water troughs like this are…

Reviews ◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL E87049 EFE Rail Plasser 12ton YOB crane ◆ PRICE £89.95 ◆ AVAILABILITY Bachmann stockists Web www.bachmann.co.uk The Plasser & Theurer 12ton self-propelled crane, TOPS code YOB, is something with which I’ve had a long fascination. In 1981 I walked onto Staines Moor one morning to see if anything was happening after the last train on the Staines West branch had run the previous Saturday. A bright yellow self-propelled crane, No. 81509 appeared, with a short but interesting train. It comprised a bogie bolster wagon, unusually branded ‘Corby &Co Ltd’, a ‘tube’ wagon, and a former GWR ‘Pasfruit D’ van painted green and yellow. I had seen nothing like it before and had no idea that self-propelled cranes of this type existed. It was, of…

◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Clark Railworks 25T ‘Lowmac’ • C3006A BR olive green • C3009A BR Engineers yellow ◆ PRICE £40.00 each ◆ AVAILABILITY Clark Railworks Web www.clarkrailworks.com Clark Railworks has released its first ‘OO’ gauge wagon, in the form of the LNER/BR 25T ‘Lowmac’. Representing a design originally crafted by Shildon Works in 1944, the ‘low machinery’ wagons were also built in numbers by British Railways in 1950 (to BR Diagram 2/242). The wagons proved extremely useful for carrying all manner of cargo, from road vehicles, industrial machinery, agricultural implements and construction equipment, to crippled railway wagons and even diesel power units. The lowered well area between the axles allowed larger loads to be carried without exceeding the loading gauge. Even after the collapse of general goods traffic…

◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Hornby R30155TXS BR Class 56 56060 The Cardiff Rod Mill, Railfreight Metals sector ◆ PRICE £289.99 ◆ AVAILABILITY Hornby stockists Web www.hornby.com Another recent Hornby release, loaded with a HM7000 Bluetooth decoder and Triple X Sound, is a Class 56 in Railfreight Metals sub-sector livery. Doncaster-built 56060 gained its The Cardiff Rod Mill nameplates in December 1992, having previously been allocated to the coal and construction sectors. Hornby’s Class 56 received an update to its electronics in 2023, Appropriately, the ‘56’ was at this time based at Cardiff Canton, with the depot’s distinctive goat logos applied on the cab sides. Incidentally, 56060 survives today, albeit in rebuilt form as a Class 69. moving from an 8pin DCC interface to a 21pin socket. Thus, with the…

It’s tempting to think of internal combustion engine locomotives as a relatively recent development, but the world’s first railway locomotive with an ‘oil engine’, as they were once called, was built by Priestman Brothers of Hull as far back as 1894. This rudimentary four-wheel standard gauge vehicle had a vertically mounted twin-cylinder 12hp marine engine driving the wheels via a crankshaft and large flywheel. It was tested by the Hull & Barnsley Railway at Hull’s Alexandra Dock although it was limited to hauling just one wagon – a forerunner of the thousands of small shunting locomotives that would be built for industry in the following century. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, oil engine locomotives were limited to small industrial and narrow gauge types, due to their low…

The popular Ratio Square Water Tower kit (ref. 506) has been around for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it’s based on an actual prototype, but it certainly looks the part, and with a footprint of just 50mm by 75mm it can easily be squeezed into the smallest of spaces, making it ideal for more modest layouts. The down side of popular kits is that they tend to be seen on many layouts, so I thought I’d have a go at making it more individual. Also, the top of the open water tank is very fiddly to construct as well as rather delicate and easily damaged. Thoughts therefore turned to making a simple roof to cover the tank and I was reminded of a photograph I…

‘O’ GAUGE LAYOUT BANKGATE SIDINGS What makes this layout great? There’s a pleasing balance of busyness and calm at ‘Bankgate Sidings’. There are details everywhere and plenty for the viewer to observe, but everything has a purpose, and it doesn’t feel as though anything is forced Almost everybody who used to model in ‘OO’ gauge and has made the transition up a scale says the same thing: that they don’t know how they ever modelled with such small trains! Choosing to make the leap into a new scale is never easy and comes with plenty of questions. Do I sell my old stock to fund the latest build? Will I get as much enjoyment from building something bigger? Do I have the space to do what I want to do?…

Reviews ◆ GAUGE ‘O’ ◆ MODEL Heljan 2401 BR MK 2c TSO coach, ScotRail ◆ PRICE £299.00 each ◆ AVAILABILITY Heljan stockists Web www.heljan.co.uk First mooted back in 2019, Heljan’s muchanticipated BR Mk 2c coaches have been delayed by a factory closure, global pandemic, and other unfortunate events, but were finally due to arrive with stockists as this issue was being prepared. Almost 30 versions have been produced, across four different vehicle types (TSO/BSO/BFK/FK) and a colourful spectrum of liveries, including BR blue/grey, Regional Railways, InterCity, Network SouthEast, RTC red/blue and West Coast Railways maroon. They certainly make an ideal companion to a wide range of Heljan’s ‘O’ gauge diesel locomotives, including classes 31, 37, 47, 50 and ‘Deltic’. Our review sample is a TSO (Open Standard class) in the…

◆ GAUGE ‘TT:120’ ◆ MODEL Hornby • TT6025 IFA container wagon (DFDS) • TT6026 IFA container wagon (Hapag Lloyd) • TT6027 IFA container wagon (Hanjin) ◆ PRICE £52.99 each ◆ AVAILABILITY Selected Hornby stockists Web www.hornby.com With Hornby’s ‘TT:120’ Class 66s moving ever closer, it’s exciting to see the appearance of these new container wagons, which will be the perfect load for a ‘Shed’. Cannily, the wagons are also produced under Hornby’s Arnold brand for the Continental ‘TT’ market, as the prototype wagons have worked within mainland Europe and the UK over their lifetime. Based on a fleet of wagons built during the 1980s, by Arbel Fauvet Rail in France, the individual IFA wagons were designed to operate on Europe’s various train ferry services, with the addition of tie-down cleats…

◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Hornby R30359 LMS ‘Princess Coronation’ No. 46243 City of Lancaster, BR lined blue ◆ PRICE £264.99 ◆ AVAILABILITY Hornby stockists Web www.hornby.com Not all locomotives suited the short-lived British Railways express passenger lined blue livery, but the LMS ‘Princess Coronation’ is, arguably, a type that suited it best. After all, the streamlined versions wore the LMS ‘Coronation’ blue scheme with aplomb. Talking of which, Hornby’s all-new No. 46243 City of Lancaster is a BR blue ex-streamliner, with the sloping smokebox being the giveaway feature. Recently upgraded to feature a 21pin DCC interface, there’s ample space in the tender for a speaker, if that’s the route you wish to take. Our sample model ran superbly under test (on analogue control) and the paint finish is exquisite,…

◆ GAUGE ‘TT:120’ ◆ MODEL Hornby • TT6028 12t tank, BP/Shell • TT6029 12t tank, Benzol ◆ PRICE £28.99 each ◆ AVAILABILITY Selected Hornby stockists Web www.hornby.com A single 12ton tank wagon was included in Hornby’s initial launch of ‘TT:120’ rolling stock, wearing the rather lurid green of a Fisons sulphuric acid conveyance (see review in MR322). However, as part of Hornby’s 2024 programme, two rather more attractive wagons have now arrived. The Railway Clearing House (RCH) design of anchor-mounted tank wagon was built in the thousands, with the design evolving through the first half of the 20th Century. Hornby’s new wagons both depict motor oil tanks, in a choice of silver BP livery or the ochre and red of Benzol. The wealth of rivet detail on the tanks and…