RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Barrihandle
Inspired by the late lain Rice's layout plan Gairloch, the Wirral & North Wales Model Railway Group created this fictional fishing port on the west coast of Scotland - complete with a boat that sails around the harbour. Alisdair Macdonald tells its story.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Warmsley
Peter Johnston describes his latest N gauge exhibition layout, a Southern Region branch line terminus set in the picturesque 195Os England of Agatha Christie ...

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Splott
Paul Spencer describes how he constructed this 1980s diesel era layout, set against a Cardiff industrial backdrop and digitally operated. It will be appearing at the EM Gauge Society Spring show on 10 & 11 May.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Competition Cameos
A selection of ideas in different scales for the PECO RAIL200 competition, with the challenge to build a layout or diorama on a baseboard of just 291h" x 12".

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Annerley
In reality, the Hull to Scarborough line leaves the coast at Bridlington and heads north to Filey. But David Harrison chose to imagine how the route would have looked, had it continued along the coast to Flamborough Head.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Leominster
This N gauge layout, being built by the Marches Model Railway Group, is due to go on public display in April, in the town whose station it depicts. Peter Dennis tells the story so far.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Dallas
John Wise describes how he created this imagined portrayal of a Great North of Scotland Railway branch terminus, set in the 1950s.hard Lambert describes the background to this imagined main line station, which is set on the Oldham Loop line between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale, in former Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway territory.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Scotland in a small space
Toby Jennings suggests two compact Scottish layout plans in 00 gauge, both suitable for the new Highland Railway 'Jones Goods' 4-6-0 from Rapido Tr

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Helston Reimagined
Richard Lambert describes the background to this imagined main line station, which is set on the Oldham Loop line between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale, in former Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway territory.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Southwark Bridge
Dave Howsam planned a new version of his first layout - a fictional Great Western Railway branch line in 00, named Porth/even - which ended up resembling, somewhat more closely, the real station in Cornwall that originally inspired it.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Lancaster
Jon Chamberlain describes how he set about building this pre-Grouping 00 gauge depiction of a classic West Coast Main Line station in his garage.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Southwark Bridge
For his fictional London terminus station, Graham Bridge turned to a classic Cyril J Freezer track plan - Minories, first published in RAILWAY MODELLER in April 1957.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Templecombe Lower
In the first half of a two-part feature, Tim Chapman describes how he recreated one of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway's most important locations in 00 gauge, complete with its unusual operational practices.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Heavy Metal!
Ian Cairns revived memories of 1960s Tyne Dock Consett iron ore trains by modelling this 9F-hauled formation in N gauge.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Rowington for Shrewley
As a lifelong aficionado for the Great Western Railway, Dick Hewins created this circular double-track system as a showcase for his extensive collection of 4mm scale locomotives and stock.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Macclesfield Hibel Road
CThis compact but busy joint station in Cheshire was suggested as a layout plan as long ago as 1955; Jules Attard has turned it into reality in N gauge.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Bournemouth West
This near-to-scale 4mm model of the former Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway terminus was recently acquired by Kevin Babey, Chairman of the Salisbury & South Wilts Railway Society.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Cwm Bach
Chris Morris recalls the background to this N gauge shelf layout, which is being made portable in order to appear at the Warley at Statfold exhibition in October.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Slattocks Junction
Tony Williams and Ralph Robertson of the Manchester Model Railway Society explain why the group's P4 layout became "a lesson in how not to build a model", yet has evolved into a superb evocation of the Calder Valley line.

SCALE DRAWINGS

Wainwright L Class 4-4-0
To complement John Cockcroft's build of one of these South Eastern & Chatham Railway locomotives, we present scale drawings and accompanying prototype notes by the late Ian Beattie..

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Somerset & Dorset in the garden
Simon Kennedy has created an impression of the much-loved Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway in O gauge in his garden, with automated digital control.

PLAN OF THE MONTH

Gledholt Junction and beyond
David Smith is constructing an impressive three-level 00 gauge system incorporating locations in the Huddersfield area where he grew up, with the most advanced section so far recreating Gledholt Junction on the Leeds to Manchester 'Standedge Route'.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Dead Man's Lane
A love of the contemporary railway scene - and the yellow-liveried Network Rail test fleet - combined with a tour around the Rail Vehicle Engineering Limited site at Derby, inspired Mick Bryan to recreate this and the neighbouring East Midlands Trains depot in 4mm scale.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Gallows Close Goods
Chris Martin describes how he recreated this slice of Scarborough in N gauge, including diverse freight facilities, and local passenger and holiday traffic.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Ropley
Chris Cleveland explains how he overcame a number of challenges to create a model based on the locomotive headquarters of the Watercress Line in Hampshire. The layout captures faithfully many of the smaller details that can be observed at heritage railway sites across the UK.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Carterton
Limitations on available space can often prevent the modelling of a real location, but Chris Chewter found a way to create an evocative 00 gauge cameo of this former Oxfordshire station in a scenic footprint measuring just 6' x 2', using PECO bullhead track.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Grantham
This 1930s portrayal of the East Coast Main Line has been a firm favourite at exhibitions since it made its debut on the circuit in 2015. Ahead of its appearance at the York Show this Easter, Graham Nicholas reflects on his experiences of taking the layout on the circuit.

PROJECT OF THE MONTH
Kirkby Stephen East
In the second half of his article describing the construction of a super-detailed Princess Royal Class 4-6-2, John Cooper-Smith builds, details and paints the locomotive body and tender.

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Eastfield
This gargantuan 70' x 40' recreation of Glasgow Eastfeld diesel depot is due to make its exhibition debut at this year's Model Rail Scotland show. Graham Blount explains why Mick Worrall and the South Tyneside O Gauge Group embarked on the ambitious project.

PROJECT OF THE MONTH
A Princess Royal for Camden and Kilsby - Part 2
In the second half of his article describing the construction of a super-detailed Princess Royal Class 4-6-2, John Cooper-Smith builds, details and paints the locomotive body and tender.

 

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Wellpark
This 00 gauge layout by the Scottish Diesel & Electric Group, set in the suburbs of Glasgow in the 1980s, is due to be on show at the Model Rail Scotland exhibition in the city on 23, 24 & 25 February.

PROJECT OF THE MONTH
A Princess Royal for Camden and Kilsby
John Cooper-Smith describes the construction of a Stanier Princess Royal Pacific for his EM gauge layout Camden and Kilsby, Railway of the Month in the May 2023 Railway Modeller.

 

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Tiverton Junction
Peter Fosberry describes the Culm Valley Model Railway Club's replica of this once extensive Western Region junction, which is on public view twice a month just a few miles from the real location.

PROJECT OF THE MONTH
Westhill Road station building
Southern modeller Graham Muspratt describes his scratch-build of a key structure, the station house and booking office, for his new, under-construction 4' x 18" layout in 4mm scale.

 

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Ellerton Road
Alan Turner recounts the story behind this 7mm scale pre-Grouping Midland Railway layout, which has been constructed over the past two decades by the East Staffordshire Group of the ScaleSeven organisation.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Hayling Island
Ray Newman rekindled childhood memories of the 41h-mile Hayling Island branch - which closed 60 years ago - by creating a faithful depiction in 00 of the line's characterful terminus..

 

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Potters Bar & South Mimms
Phil Clarke chose to replicate the glamour of the East Coast Main Line during the 1930s, when Gresley's A3 and A4 Pacifies reigned supreme, with this digitally controlled system housed in a loft space.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Tunbridge Wells West
Andy Offen has fulfilled a dream by modelling this former London Brighton & South Coast Railway station in Kent as it appeared in the BR steam era, in N gauge.

 

PLUS ALL THE LATEST NEWS & REVIEWS...

 

RAILWAY OF THE MONTH

Westcliff
For his pre-Grouping Great Western layout, Richard Butler imagined how West Bay in Dorset might have appeared had it developed into the thriving holiday resort envisaged by the original promoters of the railway.

PLAN OF THE MONTH
Abbots Ripton
To mark this year's centenary of the 1923 Grouping, Josh Williams suggests an East Coast Main Line layout set in the first year of the London & North Eastern Railway's existence.

 

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. 

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.