RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Ashdan Junction
A passion for the Western diesel-hydraulics and memories of the 1970s BR blue era led Barry Platt to create this fictional West Midlands station, with an emphasis on entertaining the public at exhibitions..

PROJECT OF THE MONTH
A Peppercorn K1 in N
With no ready-to-run model of these Eastern Region Moguls in 2mm scale, Ian Cairns set about creating his own from a 3D-printed body and proprietary locomotive and tender chassis.

 

MAKING TRACKS III - MILTON KEYNES CENTRAL

Pete Waterman and his forthcoming event
Pete Waterman details how he and the Railnuts team have recreated the present-day Milton Keynes Central station for the the forthcoming Making Tracks III event at Chester Cathedral.

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
The North Bucks Narrow Gauge Railway
Alan Rega takes us on a journey around his live steam, 16mm narrrow gauge garden railway, which has been nearly 30 years in the making.

 

ASHBURTON

What happened to the classic 4mm layout?
Chris Lamacraft's EM gauge model of this classic Great Western branch line terminus was retired from the exhibition circuit 25 years ago - but it has now found a home on the former Ashburton branch itself. 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
Bournemouth Central
After 50 years away from railway modelling, David Pinch revived his childhood interest in the hobby and set out to create this impressive 00 gauge reinterpretation of a classic seaside town station. 

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ISSUE DATE - APRIL 2023

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

ALP¬†GR?úN

A variation on a theme - Greg Coggins describes his new RhaÃàtische Bahn HOm layout, inspired by but not an exact model of this well-known location.

HANNOVER FALLS

Ian Arkley introduces his compact American Z layout, just 920mm by 700mm, intended to fit in an alcove so he could simply watch the trains go by.

PLUS

LATEST REVIEWS
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CORONATION SPECIAL!

 RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
Camden & Kilsby
Well-known railway photographer John Cooper-Smith takes us on a tour of his mammoth West Coast Main Line layout in EM gauge, incorporating Camden locomotive shed and several other real locations.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
An industrial branch line
Graham Nicholas suggest a layout combining open country and an industrial site, suitable for portraying areas such as the South Wales valleys or the North East coalfields.

ISSUE DATE - MARCH 2023

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

HAVELBURG VORSTADT

Schmalspurig durchs Reichesbahnland - by narrow gauge through East Germany: Dieter West snd Volker Seidel introduces HOe narrow gauge layout of the Modelleisenbahnclub 01 M?ºnchberger Eisenbahnfreunder e.V. - a time machine going back to the 1960s.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

RED HOUSE YARD

David Ellis introduces his first American HO layout, and his first use of digital control.

PLUS

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RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
York
Peter Kirmond reveals how he modelled the instantly recognisable train shed at York, in a 2mm finescale layout which is due to make its exhibition debut at the Easter York show.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
The Harland Light Railway
Carol Flavin, who took part in The Great Model Railway Challenge on Channel 5, reveals the plans for her next layout - this time in OO9, and named in memory of her late father who introduced her to the hobby. 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Scale Drawings
Axminster station footbridge 
Craig Tiley describes the new footbridge at the former LSWR station, with 2mm scale drawings produced by the Peco studio.

ISSUE DATE - November 2022

KURSEONG

A town station on the famous Indian hill railway - John Crane describes the Darjeeling Himalayan OO9 layout he inherited unfinished and developed. 

PLAN OF THE MONTH

WESTERN SUB

Maurice Kleverwal presents his new Norwegian HO layout, inspired by holiday memories and a childhood dream. 

PLUS

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RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
Lockerbie 
James Cochrane describes the OO gauge West Coast Main Line layout that he built with the assistance of Andrew Campbell and other members of the Glasgow & Wesr of Scotland Model Railway Club.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Mailingpark West
A third-rail OO gauge layout set in Kent during the closing years of the Network SouthEast era, which is being built by Craig Porteous and the 57 Study Group.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Scale Drawings
Monkton Combe Station
Craig Tiley describes the station building on the Camerton branch in Somerset, famous for its appearance in¬†ԪøThe Titfield ThunderboltԪø, with 1:120 scale drawings by Max Brayne.¬†

ISSUE DATE - November 2022

DOLORES

John Teasdale explains how he came to model in Sn3 a classic Colorado location on the Rio Grande Southern.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

UMLAD

Ian Milroy describes his new Swiss N layout, built in his shed during lockdown. Two gauges are represented - but only one used. 

PLUS

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RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
Newton Heath Works 
Mike Baker describes how he and Martin Finney created this 7mm scale exhibition layout, inspired by the narrow gauge railways that once served the extensive ball clay industry on the Ilse of Purbeck. 

PLAN OF THE MONTH
A continuous run  - 1970s style
Following our booklet on modelling Britain's railways in 1970s, Kevin Russell suggests a continuous run layout for the period, in an 8' x 5' space and double-sided with a central backscene. 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Scale Drawings
Holden Class S56 0-6-0T (LNER Class J69)
A classic Great Eastern Railway tank engine stalwarts of the famous 'Jazz' suburban services, described by Toby Jennings, with scale drawings by Ian Beattie. 

ISSUE DATE - November 2022

QUITTANCOURT

Somewhere between the Somme and Scarpe rivers - Eric Fresn?©¬†introduces a scene set in the R ?©gions Lib?©r?©es¬†following the First World War, modelled in OO9.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

ROTTERSHAUSEN

Jim Trotman describes a series of German HO layouts built with and for his friend Norman Dickinson.

PLUS

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ISSUE DATE - November 2022

FILISUR

A dream come true - Michael Rumsey presents his Rh ?§tische Bahn HOm layout, under development for some years and now effectively complete thanks to the collaboration with Jerry Clifford.¬†

PLAN OF THE MONTH

ORIGNY CFTV

A location worth modelling - Rhys Own introduces an interesting French industrial line also now hosting trains of the Chemin de Fer Touristique du Vermandois. 

PLUS

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NEWS

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
My Life with Trains
Pete Waterman's chart-topping successes actually came long after the roots of his railway interests were laid down, as he reveals in this exclusive interview with Senior Editor Steve Flint.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Nantymoel
Joshua Williams looks to the valleys of South Wales and suggests that they potentially offer more scope than the usual West Country Great Western branch terminus. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scale Drawings
BR Standard Class 3MT 2-6-2T
The BR Standard Class 3MT was rendered extinct in 1968, yet a new-build example is due to appear at the Warley show. Toby Jennings describes the Class, alongside scale drawings by Ian Beattie.

ISSUE DATE - 20th October 2022

D?âP?ìT NORD

Designed for display yet suitable for operation – John Davis created a compact dépôt layout to house his collection of French HO locomotives.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

HOW SMALL CAN IT BE?

An approach to the cameo concept – Stein Pünther describes his compact Norwegian branch terminus in HO.

PLUS

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RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

TURTLE BAY

Rob Rossington describes his imaginative island layout, a fictional colonial railway modelled in OO9. 

PLAN OF THE MONTH

MUKILTEO

Passenger and freight on Puget Sound - Scott Fitzgerald suggests a location worth modelling in Washington State. 

PLUS

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RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
Barton Road
Memories of Journeys to the West Country provided the inspiration for Benn Pollard to create this pre-TOPSera urban scene in an unorthodox T-shape footprint. 

PLAN OF THE MONTH
21st Century Penrith
Steve Flint considers this West Coast Main Line station in Cumbria as the setting for an N gauge layout project depicting the post-Privatisation era.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scale Drawings
LMS Class 2P 4-4-0
Toby Jennings describes these characterful Midland Railway-derived four-coupled tender locomotives, with accompanying 4mm drawings by the late Ian Beattie. 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

BREGENBACH

A hilltop station on the Bregtalbahn: Les Richardson Presents his new German N exhibition layout, set on an imaginary but plausible line through the Black Forest.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

UNDERPASS

An unusual restricted setting: Rob Strachan introduces his new compact American HO switching layout. 

PLUS

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RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
Monksbury
Tony Conlay describes this magnificent London & South Western Railway terminus, which has been constructed in 7mm scale by the Cornwall O Gauge Group as an extension to an existing layout. 

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Constructing a cathedral in 7mm scale
Robert Kosmider was first inspired to build a model of Chichester Cathedral in early 1990s, but nearly 30 years elapsed until he finally made a start. 

 

 

 

 

Scale Drawings
Modelling LMS 42' parcels vans in 4mm
Ian Nuttal couldn't resist the challenge of upgrading a Lima OO gauge ready-to-run model. This constructional account is accompanied by scale drawings prepared by Steve Croucher from originals by Arthur Whitehead. 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

FRANKLIN

A small branch terminua in On2: Bob Harper explains how he came to model a Maine two-footer location 

PLAN OF THE MONTH

7th STREET YARD

Nick Dibben describes his compact American N layout with plenty of operational interest, representing an interurban station some time in the 1950s. 

PLUS

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RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
North West steam in the garden
Having dreamt for many years of one day recreating his childhood memories in O gauge. Peter Holland built this large twin-level system with outdoor running. 

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Summerseat
Chris Ford outlines the history of this passing station on the former East Lancashire Railway route north of Manchester.

 

 

 

 

Scale Drawings
The Lancashire & Yorkshire 'Dreadnought' 4-6-0s
This month we present one of the company's most imposing locomotive designs, drawn and described by the late Ian Beattie. 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

ISHINAKA

Norman Raven reveals the latest exhibition layout by Raven Miniatures - another foray into Japanese N, depicting the branch terminus at rural spa town. 

PLAN OF THE MONTH

SIMPLE BUT SATISFYING

Paul de Groot shows how he was inspired by an article to construct a Dutch HO layout to a budget (almost!) to encourage starters - and re-starters.

PLUS

LATEST REVIEWS
BOOK and VIDEO REVIEWS
NEWS

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH
Lisworth Bay
Seasoned N gauge modeller John Spence describes his latest layout, a modular Southern Region branch terminus for exhibition and home use.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Making a start in 1:120
Two layout plans utilising Peco's new range of TT:120 items - including a new take on the classic GWR branch line terminus of Ashburton.   

 

 

 

 

Scale Drawings
GWR 2251 class 0-6-0
C B Collett's versatile replacement for the 'Dean Goods' is drawn in 1:120 scale, while Toby Jennings researches the history of the class.