Table of contents for September 2018 in Model Rail

DAVE LOWERY He was a proper character, who created his own niche with his superb buildings and scenes, setting a standard for us all to try and achieve. I have great memories of sitting alongside him at an exhibition in Wigan, listening to his superb tales. He kept us in stitches. Lovely man, great modeller. PETER MARRIOTT Allan collected me from Scunthorpe station in a 4.2l Mercedes-Benz. I had to share the front seat with a load of planed wood (“these are for the chimneys I am making”). He loved the car, and demonstrated its handling through some flowing ‘S’ bends! He was happy to pass on all the lessons that he had learned and was always keen to learn from others. He wanted me to teach him the secrets…

If you like fun facts, then you’ll like some of the snippets that Ray Hamilton has dug up for his latest book, For The Love Of Trains. Did you know that the Wuppertal Suspension Railway in Germany once carried a baby elephant? Or that Wagons-Lits founder Georges Nagelmackers competed in the 1900 Paris Olympics? Sadly, it doesn’t offer much to for the serious railway enthusiast and makes common mistakes Esuch as referring to Pullman cars as carriages). But it could be a potential stocking filler if you’re already planning your Christmas shopping. Price: £9.99 Availability: Summersdale Publishers Ltd, 46 West Street, Chichester PO19 1RP Web: www.summersdale.com I Tried To Run A Railway should be on every railway enthusiast’s bookshelf, especially now that it’s been reprinted as a handsome paperback. Gerard…

If you were to ask my supportive but long-suffering wife to list two of my traits, I suspect she’d say that 1) I’m a hoarder and 2) if there’s a bargain bin somewhere then I’ve probably got my head in it. Suffice to say, these aspects of my personality – let’s not call them flaws – have carried over into my modelling life, with the majority of my rolling stock having been found cheaply, hoarded and turned into usable and charismatic items through inexpensive and enjoyable processes. Take the Tri-ang Fowler ‘Jinty’ for example. First released in 1955 and in production – in one form or another – for 20 years, there are still thousands of them around, albeit in less than perfect condition. As a younger modeller wanting to…

Hatton’s has long since provided a service whereby we value and purchase people’s collections of model railway items. Around five years ago we completely overhauled the process to provide our customers with the quickest, easiest and highest level of service possible. The first step is when a customer sends us a list of items that they are looking to sell on. This list typically involves a description of the item, as well as its condition. Our team will then work through the list and create a bespoke offer based on those items. We use a combination of our own historic pricing information, as well as current market values, to create these valuations. We are able to offer cash values as well as in-store credit. When a customer accepts a given…

TOTAL SCENIC SAVING: £72.88! People say that our hobby is becoming expensive, but there are ways to keep costs down. I tried to think about a few ways in which I’d managed to reduce my outlay when making scenery over the years, and here’s what I came up with. 1 BUY UNPAINTED All layouts need miniature people and wildlife, but you can save money here by buying unpainted figures. Yes, you’ll need to spend a little extra time with the paintbrush, but you can buy packs of 120 unpainted Preiser railway figures for £26 (from Gaugemaster), whereas a pack of six painted engine crew from Bachmann Scenecraft costs £9.95. An added bonus of painting your own figures is that you can add individuality to your layout. Scenic saving: 38p per…

George Dent MR’s Deputy Editor can draw on over 30 years’ worth of modelling experience. Chris Leigh MR’s Consultant Editor is referred to by his grandchildren as ‘Granddad Trains’ – need we say more? Peter Marriott Rumour has it that MR’s resident scenery buff even uses a Gras-Master on his own front lawn… Dave Lowery Professional model-maker who’s been there, done that and got the T-shirt! Keep up to date with Model Rail News online.…

Joining plaster-cast buildings George says: I’m a big fan of plaster-cast buildings and scenic accessories, as they’re easy to work with, especially in terms of painting and weathering. They also remind me of the great fun I had as a kid with packs of Linka moulds (anyone remember them?). However, joining sections of buildings, especially low-relief structures, often results in large, uneven gaps. These are simple to remedy with DIY filler. Instead of fixing low-relief buildings direct to the backscene, I prefer to fix them to sheets of MDF or plywood, which makes them easier to remove in future. An offcut of MDF has been measured against the various sections of low-relief buildings. It was then cut so that it sits just within the outer edges, thus being invisible from…

OVERVIEW Manufacturer: Kader for Bachmann Ref.No: 31-921 Unit No: 32424 Scale/gauge: 1:76 scale, 16.5mm gauge ‘OO’ Body: Plastic with metal parts Chassis: Metal with plastic parts Weight: 380g Min.curve radius: R2 Wheel back-to-back: 14.5mm ELECTRICS Electrical system: 12V DC two-rail Motor type: Three-pole skew-wound Lights?: No DCC ready?: 21-pin socket Current consumption Max.speed: 0.4A Stalled: 0.6A MECHANISM Drive system:Gear train to driving axles Flywheel(s): No Traction tyres: No DIMENSIONS Length (over buffers) Height (over chimney) Width (over footplate) Wheel diameter (driving) Wheel diameter (leading/trailing) Wheel diameter tender SERVICING How to dismantle: See instructions. Where to oil: Factory lubricated; instructions suggest further lubrication after running in.…

Stock drawer Dave Turner, by e-mail I read George Dent’s article on storing rolling stock with interest and thought I’d share a solution I use on my layout. I have quite a lot of stock and a big fiddleyard. I wanted a way to store stock that would make it quick and easy to find and select items while keeping them safe from damage – and clean. I bought a second-hand architect’s wooden chest on eBay some years ago. It has eight drawers and each will take 34 coaches, or about 100 wagons. she drawers are lined with thin foam, corrugated to form a row of 17 compartments and stuck down with glue. she whole thing fits nicely under the fiddleyard. It works really well if you store all the…

Model Rail is happy to accept details of club exhibitions for inclusion on this page free of charge on the understanding that details may be edited down to suit available space and that Model Rail and its staff are not held responsible for any errors, howsoever caused. Send your exhibition details to: Model Rail Exhibition Diary, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough Business Park, Peterborough PE2 6EA or e-mail jane.skinner@bauermedia.co.uk Entries for the October 2018 issue should reach us by September 7 2018.…

Richard Foster Railwayscenics’ baseboard connecting plugs are in place… except in the fiddleyard. Gulp! George Dent George has struggled to keep his fish comfortable in the hot weather… but Percy the cat has found plenty of places to relax. Chris Leigh He’s gone riding trains in Bear Country again. Don’t pack marmalade or hunny in your pic-a-nic basket, Chris! Chris Gadsby Chris has been working with Dave and Peter on How to Build a Model Railway – see p106 to order your copy. Chris Nevard Our ace snapper is building a name for himself on the folk music circuit. Is there no end to his talents? Peter Marriott Peter is our jet-setting scenic guru. Knows what products are available and how to get the very best from them. Dave Lowery…

Here’s a five-point action plan for bargain hunting. 1 Know exactly what you are looking for. Do your homework with regard to the specific item. Aim to know more than the seller. 2 Have a budget with an upper spending limit. 3 Look for a well presented, boxed example. 4 Don’t be tempted by descriptions that include the words ‘rare’ and ‘collectible’. 5 Try established retailers such as your local model shop or Hatton’s and Rails of Sheffield first, before going to eBay or stalls at shows.…

‘Scrapbox’, ‘bits box’, ‘spares box’ – whatever you call it, having a stash of leftover bits and bobs will save you money. If you buy a pack of grass tufts, for example, you may have some left over after a project. Don’t throw those leftovers away – keep them for another time. My scrapbox saved me quite a bit of money on this project. I had all the tools and materials in stock, including quite a large sheet of mount card. But be realistic and resist the urge to keep hold of everything (you must have uttered the words ‘that’ll come in useful one day’ at some point!). Save everything and you’ll soon end up drowning in a sea of modelling material you’ll never use.…

1 Don’t throw away old trees just because they look a little tired. Fundamentally sound trees and foliage can be rejuvenated with some Woodland scenics Poly Fiber and foam scatter, fixed in place with hairspray. 2 save scatters and ballasts that haven’t stuck to the layout. Use a soft, wide paint brush to gather the excess into a pile or – and this is probably more efficient – use a hand-held vacuum cleaner with a dedicated bag. 3 Use paintbrushes that are no longer suitable for painting to apply glue instead. Brushes you thought were dead will soon find a new lease of life! 4 Always check what you have before you buy more of something. I always tend to buy too much of a product, squirrel it away ‘for…

You can spend a fortune on trees – but you don’t always have to. I bought a Woodland Scenics sR1101 pack, from which I made 36 trees of different sizes. I started a production line that enabled me to turn out a finished tree approximately every five minutes… and I reckon that each one ended up costing around 50p! What you will need Shopping liSt ◆ Model: Woodland Scenics TR1101 Realistic Tree Kit Availability: Hatton’s Web: www.hattons.co.uk Price: £16.00 MAtERiAlS nEEdEd ◆ Woodlands Scenics Hob-e-Tac adhesive S195 StEp BY StEp What you get: Woodland Scenics Realistic sree Kit sR1101 contains 36 plastic armatures and three packs of foliage. You will need paint and some Hob-e-sac adhesive. Cut off the plastic base with a sharp blade. It’s unrealistic, so bin it. Bend…

My ‘OO’ layout is set in the Chester area, circa 1990, and I’d love to incorporate part of the Merseyrail third-rail network. Are there any decent kits for the Class 507/508 EMUs? Ged Brannen, by e-mail George says: I’d also like to model part of the Mersey electrified lines but have been discouraged thus far by the lack of suitable models, in kit or RTR form. The once-infamous MTK range boasted a fairly decent kit for the Class 507/508, rendered in etched and cast metal, but this is not currently available from the range’s new owners, No Nonsense Kits. Un-built examples do surface at shows and on internet auction sites from time to time, though. The other option for ‘OO’ is a resin-cast kit from Ayjay Models. Like other EMU…

‘Fill her up!’: Fuelling points at diesel sheds are an obvious necessity. Knightwing Models offers a comprehensive plastic kit that’s perfect for depots and stabling points. Transport for the masses: Before car ownership became commonplace, Britain’s industrial workforce adopted the bicycle as a means of getting to and from work. High Street garage: From the 1930s, small garages with petrol pumps became a ubiquitous feature of many town and village high streets.…

Chris Leigh says: It’s popular to deride health and safety, but complacency can be dangerous. Where mains electricity is concerned, prevention is much better than cure. Our railway rooms or workshops may have a number of electrical appliances, apart from the transformer/controller for the layout itself. We may also have a work light or two, perhaps a fan heater and a soldering iron. Such devices require a power outlet and it’s very easy to fall into the habit of adding another multi-way plug or extension lead. Once such things are installed under a layout they tend to be forgotten about. If this sounds like your railway room, it’s worth having an inspection now and then, just to check that nothing has deteriorated over time. If you’ve had your layout for…

MEET OUR REVIEWERS Richard Foster His forte is steam locomotives, regardless of region or era. George Dent A modern image expert, who also tests tools and modelling products. Chris Leigh Wrote his first review in 1964. Quite simply, what Chris doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing! Chris Gadsby A recent graduate, he tests every inch of models for value for money. Our ratings We assess models on the following criteria and rate each of them out of ten: that way, you know precisely how good a model is. LOOKS 9/10 PERFORMANCE 9/10 FEATURES 8/10 DECORATION 9/10 VALUE FOR MONEY 6/10 TOTAL 82% How we test At Model Rail , we pride ourselves on the quality, thoroughness and unbiased nature of our reviews. To do this, we judge models against prototype images…

Not ‘Dunmodellin’ Paul Gollicker Top of the morning to you! Here’s a little something from the Emerald Isle – my take on a little place called ‘Dunfekin’ (it’s Irish for ‘have you finished messing about?’). It’s taken me ten years so far, and is a work in progress that should keep me busy well into my retirement – otherwise I’ll have nothing to do. Hope you like the photos. Blue ‘Bury’ Gareth Leyland I have recently been working on a fictional BR blue-era layout. It measures 8ft by 1ft and is based in the North West of England. I live in Bury, Greater Manchester, and I regularly spend time at the East Lancashire Railway. Because of this my layout is fondly called ‘Bury’ by my daughters due to similarities between…

Run what you like Be inspired by ‘Carlton-le-Willows’ – a layout designed and built to run whatever takes its owner’s fancy. REVIEWED Rails of Sheffield/ Rapido’s LNER Dynamometer car SLEEPING BEAUTY We take the sleeper to Scotland in order to give you inspiration next issue. Crammed with layout ideas you can build and exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the Caledonian Sleeper. Don’t miss it! NEVER MISS AN ISSUE! Turn to page 20 for details of our great subscription offer…

I was fascinated by Allan’s model-making from the days when he first started submitting to Model Railway Constructor, back in Steve Stratten’s time in the 1970s. In those days, he created stonework using fire-clay cement. Later came the magnificent cathedral, its rose window made from the lid of a margarine tub. Like most great artists, Allan had his ups and downs and would disappear from the scene – sometimes for several years – then pop up again with something sensational. Allan approached me when I was editor of Model Rail as he wanted to show off some of his latest offerings. To give it a nice rural feel, I called the series ‘The Downes Way’. I went to his home on to or three occasions, and recall being squashed inside…

Just before he went off for a holiday week in France, my son and I got into a conversation about movies. As usual, I was bemoaning the fact that, despite there being around 75 channels on Freeview – and one or two of them with signals actually strong enough to penetrate the digital wilderness that is East Northamptonshire – I could seldom find anything worth watching. I mentioned scrolling through new additions to the iTunes list and he asked if I wanted to borrow The Greatest Showman , which he had on DVD. This is a modern Hollywood musical based around the story of Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891). Barnum was, of course, one half of Barnum & Bailey, whose ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ was a massive circus with a three-ring…

Simple, reusable paint filters Jars of enamel and acrylic paints, once they’ve been opened and closed a few times, are prone to the formation of crusty deposits around the rims. These impurities are likely to clog an airbrush or create a lumpy finish when applying by hand. Paint filters are available but, due to their disposable nature, they can be expensive. A cheaper alternative is provided by a small tea strainer. After shaking and/or stirring the paint, pour it through the strainer into a separate mixing jar. Any film or solid deposits will be intercepted by the gauze, which can be cleaned and reused many times. Metal strainers with a fine mesh are the best as they can withstand being cleaned with solvents. An old pair of tights can also…

Draw white lines with ease We often resort to waterslide decals when adding white stripes and other markings to freight wagons, however these can often appear too ‘perfect’, especially on weathered and distressed vehicles. Painting the stripes by hand is possible but demands a very fine brush and a steady hand. An easier option is to use a white ink pen, either freehand or against a straightedge. A gel-type pen is best, as the ink is opaque enough to show up on dark surfaces and thick enough not to run or smudge easily. These pens are also handy for picking out smaller details on rolling stock, such as brake handles and handrails, saving the hassle of using a paintbrush. Finer tipped pens can also be used for adding numbers and…

LOCOMOTIVE Bachmann’s only other ‘OO’ gauge LBSCR locomotive is the excellent Billinton ‘E4’ 0-6-2T. Price: £129.95 Availability: Bachmann stockists SCENERY Bachmann Scenecraft offered the former LBSCR station at Sheffield Park – perfect, as this is where the new Beachy Head is being built. Price & availability: Only available second-hand. ACCESSORIES Bring some LBSCR flavour to your station with this Stroudley pattern watercrane from LBSCR kit specialist 5 & 9 Models. Availability: www.5and9models.co.uk…

OVERVIEW Manufacturer: Hornby Ref.No: R3692 Unit No: 1424 Scale/gauge: 1:76 scale, 16.5mm gauge ‘OO’ Body: Plastic with metal parts Chassis: Metal with plastic parts Weight: 163g Min.curve radius: R1 Wheel back-to-back: 14.4mm ELECTRICS Electrical system: 12V DC two-rail Motor type: Three-pole skew-wound Lights?: No DCC ready?: No Current consumption Max.speed: 0.4A Stalled: 0.6A MECHANISM Drive system: Gear train to rear driving axle Flywheel(s): No Traction tyres: No DIMENSIONS Length (over buffers) Height (over chimney) Width (over steps) Wheel diameter (driving) Wheel diameter (trailing) SERVICING How to dismantle: Remove chimney screw, unclip brake pipes and lift clear. Where to oil: Factory-lubricated; instructions suggest further lubrication after running in.…

Evocative sounds from the past will emanate from the SsEAM Museum’s replica Swindon Works hooter, accompanied by the melancholic sounds of the live steam whistle, as visitors are welcomed to the Swindon Railway Festival on September 8/9. Live modelling demonstrations will take place throughout the weekend, with experts on hand to offer tips and advice. Over 30 traders and exhibitors will be placed among SsEAM’s permanent exhibits, as well as inside the museum’s Great Western hall. srade stalls include a wide range of GWR and railway memorabilia, model railway kits and accessories, railway art and books, GWR gifts and preserved railway displays. Special guests Hatch Heritage and Steam Engineers will host a live steam display within an enclosure outside the museum, including the sounding of the steam-powered Swindon Works hooter…

SEPTEMBER 1 BECCLES, SUFFOLK. Norfolk & Suffolk Narrow Gauge Open Day. Blyburgate Hall, Blyburgate, Beccles NR34 9TF. Time: 1000-1600. Admission: Adult £3. Web: www.nsngm.org.uk BURGESS HILL, SUSSEX. Burgess Hill MRC MRE. Burgess Hill Girls School, Keymer Road, Burgess Hill RH15 0EG. Time: 1000-1700. Admission: Adult £5, Child £3, Family £13. SEPTEMBER 1-2 ALNWICK, NORTHUMBERLAND. Aln Valley Railway, Lionheart Business Park NE66 2EZ. Time: 1030-1630. Admission: Adult £4, Child £2, Family £10. Tel: 01665 606168. Web: www.alnvalleyrailway.co.uk ARUNDEL, SUSSEX. Gaugemaster MRE. Gaugemaster Controls Ltd, Gaugemaster House, Ford Road, Arundel, Sussex BN18 0BN. Time: Sat 0900-1730, Sun 1000-1600. BISHOPS LYDEARD, SOMERSET. Taunton MRG MRE. Bishops Lydeard Station, Platform 1, West Somerset Railway, Taunton TA4 3BX. Time: 1030-1630. Admission: Adult £1.50, Child 50p. Tel: 07879 852736. Web: www.ukmodelshops.co.uk ANDOVER, HANTS. Andover MRC MRE. Modelex 2018. John…

Richard Foster, Editor This may not be the most inspiring photograph in the world but given Chris Leigh’s comments about childhood memories last issue (MR251), I thought it was worth sharing. This long-forgotten photograph of the Nene Valley Railway’s Wansford headquarters, which I discovered in a box during an office tidy, is undated but must have been taken in the mid-1980s. This is how I remember the NVR at the time. It’s funny how something small can dredge up long-forgotten memories... I began to remember small details, such as waiting under the dual carriageway bridge at Orton Mere as the locomotive ran-round, and I remembered that two ‘Deltics’ 55022 and 55016) were based there. I had vague recollections of a small, low white fence that, a quick trawl on the…