The Railway Magazine Guide to Modelling - Issue 3

RAILWAYMagazine The

GUIDE TO

Modelling FEBRUARY 2017

REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, NOSTALGIA, ADVICE

INDUSTRIAL RAILWAY PERFECTION

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

LAYOUTS WE LOVE

A LOOK AT HORNBY'S PAST

From

King’s i g Cross to Leeds in a Victorian schoolroom

MARKLIN GIVEAWAY || NEM-362 COUPLING EXPLAINED || COLLECTORS' CLUBS

CONTENTS

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32 60

Contents 08 ON THE COVER King's Cross modelled in cardboard in a former schoolroom in Gainsborough.

See page 22.

22 32 38

What’s in the shops?

Hawksworth autotrailer, BM PRV and Hornby Peckett.

Get your track fix

King’s Cross station in a Gainsborough schoolroom.

Getting started

Where to begin if you’re planning a layout.

Small is beautiful

What is the universal appeal of modelling?

42 46 49 54

38 Past and present

Why join a collectors’ club?

58

Stockists

Where to get your copy of RMM.

60

Blasts from the Past

Tony Stratford takes a look at Hornby.

Falkirk Show review and this month's giveaway

Win a My World set.

66 68

Layouts we love

What’s caught our eye this month?

Ask a daft question

Looks at NEM362 coupling.

Diary dates

Get out and about.

Places to visit

Mevagissey in Cornwall.

February 2017

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A view of the station at ‘Rumbling Bridge’ which was an intermediate station on the secondary line between Kinross and Alloa. The model is set in the early 1960s transition era between steam and diesel traction. NIGEL BURKIN

From the editor

Staff

Editor Sarah Palmer RMModellingeditor@Mortons.co.uk Contributors Brian Sharpe, Matt Wickham, Tony Stratford, Nigel Burkin, Ian Lamb Production editor Sarah Wilkinson Senior designer Kelvin Clements Designer Libby Fincham Picture desk Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield Advertising manager Sue Keily Publisher Tim Hartley Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole Subscription manager Paul Deacon Circulation manager Steve O'Hara Marketing manager Charlotte Park

To advertise, contact: Colin Smith 01507 529454 csmith@Mortons.co.uk Fiona Leak 01507 529573 fleak@Mortons.co.uk

Where to find us

Editorial, advertising and administration Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR Tel 01507 523456

www.railwaymagazinemodelling.co.uk

Copyright

© Copyright Mortons Media Group Ltd. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or part, without prior approval in writing is prohibited. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements, or for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations.

Printing

Mortons Print, Horncastle, Lincs.

Tel 01507 523456

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February 2017

R Sarah Palmer Editor

ecently scanning through the BBC iPlayer I came across an old series of Big Dreams Small Spaces. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s a gardening programme where Monty Don tries not to pour scorn on some outrageous gardening projects, while offering some brawn and advice.

The particular episode I watched involved a couple who wanted to build a model village in their front garden. They were duly sent to Bekonscot, the oldest model village in the world, for inspiration (see page 38 for more on this).

Sadly their model village fell short of the installation of a garden railway, although they did toy with the idea.

But it did get me thinking about the dreams people have whether they be for gardens or model railways, and does it really matter if an ‘expert’ tells you it’s not how it should be? Do you really have to follow the rule book, surely it’s the journey that counts not the destination.

Certainly the front-garden model village couple were very happy with what they had created, so much so that it featured

in an annual art walk where they lived.

What are your dreams for this year, and are you planning to do it by the book, or throw the rule book out of the window?

We’d love to hear about your projects, whether they’re a dream or a reality!

We’ve got plenty in this third issue of The Railway Magazine Guide to Modelling to help with your modelling dreams, whether they’re armchair or baseboard based. Nigel Burkin has reviewed the Hornby ‘Peckett’ which he describes as one of Hornby’s most appealing models of recent times, while I went to visit a former Victorian schoolroom to discover a labyrinthine model of the East Coast Main Line from King’s Cross to Leeds Central. Ian Lamb talks about the importance of collectors’ clubs and also interviews a former driver on the Highland Railway about dealing with winter weather. Oxford TRAINing offers some advice if you are thinking of starting on a dream layout, and if you want to know more about NEM-362 couplings, then we’ve got the answers in Ask a Daft Question!

What's in the shops

SPONSORED BY

Bachmann reissued its Hawksworth Diagram A38 auto-trailer in early 2017, including a 1951 version finished in BR carmine and cream livery as No. W234.

A match made at Bachmann Nigel Burkin describes Bachmann’s new Hawksworth auto-trailer as the perfect companion to the 64xx pannier tank.

B

achmann’s Hawksworth auto-trailer model represents a late chapter in the GWR’s successful and longlived steam powered push-pull operation, although it was not the last.

Twenty-five auto-trailers (also called autocoaches) were constructed at Swindon in 1951 (Nos. 220-234) and 1954 (Nos. 235-245) by BR to replace ageing trailers still working branch line duties in the South-West and other parts of the former GWR system. They retained the same distinctive bow-ended shape at the cab and inner end as earlier autotrailer designs. However, the body sides were smoother and there was a distinct change in the design of the passenger saloon windows compared with earlier builds.

GWR auto-trailers were used in push-pull trains and feature a single driving cab at what would be the leading end. The opposite

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February 2017

end has a guard’s compartment and blank panelling instead of a driving cab.

Locomotives designed to work with auto-trailers would be coupled to the guard’s end and driven remotely using duplicate controls in the cab of the trailer, which included a steam regulator, brake and electric bell communication equipment.

The fireman remains in the locomotive to feed the firebox with coal and control the water supply to the boiler, among other duties.

A simple control rod runs the length of the auto-trailer, from front headstocks to the inner-end headstocks, linking the remote cab controls with auto-fitted locomotives via a flexible linkage.

The control rod and linkage can usually be seen at the inner end of preserved auto-trailers. A box houses the electrical connections on the bufferbeams of autoequipped locomotives and on both ends of the trailers.

The concept was simple: one or more trailers could be used with an ‘auto-fitted’ locomotive to work in push-pull mode.

Operationally, it was a flexible method of working, which avoided run-round moves at branch terminus stations Model details:

Hawksworth 1951 and 1954 GWR auto-trailer coaches.

Manufacturer:

Bachmann Europe Plc.

Scale:

4mm (1:76) scale, OO gauge.

Era:

1951 to early 1960s.

Web:

www.bachmann.co.uk

Suggested retail price: TBC.

and those locations where a reversal of running direction was required. Two or more auto-trailers (of any GWR diagram) could be marshalled on either side of the locomotive to increase capacity. Several GWR tank locomotive classes were either adapted for autoworking or were equipped from new. Auto-fitted locomotives included the iconic ‘pannier tank’ locomotives of the 54xx and 64xx class. It should be noted that the 74xx class was not auto-fitted.

The model The model is a completely new tooling first released in late 2015 and while similar in appearance to the older Hornby model, it is a different version of the GWR design of auto-trailer. Its 1950s build date means that they should not normally be worked with locomotives in GWR livery (unless representing a heritage railway scene) and are perfect

NEWS

in brief

Bachmann news

Bachmann’s 2017 prices will come into effect as of February 1, 2017. The company maintains that price increases for 2017 have been held to a minimum, with 72% of the Branchline products either being held or being reduced in price, with an average of only a 6% rise in price.

“We have also been able to hold, or reduce our prices on 64% of our Graham Farish products with only a 4% average price increase where absolutely necessary,” said a company statement.

The new 2017 Branchline catalogue, which includes details of all of Bachmann’s new products, is now available.

One 1951 BR-built Hawksworth auto-trailer survived on the main line for many years after the remainder were withdrawn from service. W233W was allocated to a departmental role, becoming ADW150375 (Test Car 1).

for the relatively new Bachmann 64xx Class pannier tank model as finished in BR livery.

Three versions are offered in the 2017 release including the attractive BR carmine and cream livery applied to the 1951 batch, which would be exclusively applied to express passenger stock (plain crimson was the official livery for non-express stock such as auto-trailers, so this was a deliberate error on the part of the workshops). Following welldocumented objections from BR (WR) management, subsequent builds were finished in plain crimson and subsequently BR maroon is represented by the second model of the three.

One livery not applied on the trailers when in day-to-day passenger service was GWR chocolate and cream, or its BR (WR) variation. However, this is the third livery offered by Bachmann because there are several preserved trailers painted in this livery. As an aside, one auto-trailer of this type did run on the main line painted in chocolate and cream colours but as a departmental vehicle: No. ADW150375 (Test Car 1).

It was heavily modified for its role as a test vehicle and finally entered preservation in 2013.

Bodyshell Modellers generally agree that Bachmann has faithfully

captured the distinctive shape of the bow-ended body shell very well. Moulded detail is fine in appearance including the roof rivets (easily lost if weathering is heavy-handed), destination board brackets, door hinges, handles and the hand rails adjacent to the leading cab door and guard’s doors.

In common with models developed in recent years, there is a high reliance on separately moulded components. Notable parts include the fine-looking shell vents and the warning gong applied to the cab front.

Glazing is commendably flush and very clear allowing a good view of the model’s interior.

Assembly of the glazing, moulded details together with the separate wire hand rails is neatly and securely executed and without any traces of adhesive.

Looking along the roof from the driving cab end. The roof vents are separate mouldings with a good level of detail.

Bogies, wheels and underframe The high level of detail seen in the body moulding is also applied to the underframe and bogies. Trussing, battery boxes and brake linkages are all represented with individual components. The essential control rod is also fitted to the underframe, running down the middle of the coach, slightly off-set, between the trussing.

One feature of this vehicle is the retractable steps fitted

World-renowned publisher pulls out of railway titles

»

IAN Allan has pulled out of the sector after more than seven decades. The announcement, made before Christmas, has seen Crécy Publishing acquire the railway, transport and military books previously published by Ian Allan Publishing.

Crécy has also acquired the Oxford Publishing Company and abc imprints.

However, the company will not be allowed to publish under the Ian Allan imprint, and neither can the abc series retain the Ian Allan name.

Shepperton-based Ian Allan pulled out of railway magazine publishing several years ago, with its portfolio of titles being acquired by Stamford-based Key Publishing.

However, Ian Allan Publishing will continue in its own right as a publisher of Masonic books and will still run its dedicated bookshops in London and Birmingham.

February 2017

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What's in the shops Bachmann’s 64xx Class pannier tank is a perfect companion to the auto-trailer, the full-size locomotives being so fitted from new.

ÂŤ to the middle door for

use at stations with low or non-existent platforms. The step detail is, in common with the end foot steps, made up of strong but delicate-looking moulded details.

Bogies are as refined, fitted with split axle wheels allowing current pick-up from the axle ends. Interior lighting circuits are not fitted in this version or the 2015 releases of the model, but make it easier for the modeller to do so.

Electrical contact between the bogies and underframe of the coach is made through metal contacts allowing the bogies to be easily removed for repair. NEM-362 coupling pockets are fitted to the bogies together with standard tension lock couplings.

A pack of fine details including brake and steam hoses are supplied with the model to detail the headstocks at both ends of the model. I suspect that many modellers will only apply details to the front end headstocks after discarding the coupling, leaving the inner end unmodified so it may couple to the locomotive.

Livery application BR carmine and cream is a lovely livery and well replicated on the Bachmann model. There are subtle details in the livery including lining between the two body colours, particularly where it follows the roof line

The level of fine detail and quality of assembly is excellent, which together with well-researched livery application, makes for a very fine model.

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above the driving cab. Printed details are sharp, opaque and legible including the running number which is to the right-hand end of the trailer. The livery application is neat, pristine (no weathering) and with a delicate eggshell finishing coat.

In preservation Numerous GWR auto-trailers of various types can be found in operational condition on heritage railways today. Of the seven preserved Hawksworth

trailers, four, including former Test Car 1 reside on the South Devon Railway (Nos. 225, 228, 233 and 240). The remainder, are located on the Severn Valley Railway (No. 238), Didcot Railway Centre (No. 231) together with the Bodmin & Wentford Railway (No. 232). â–

Driving controls including the steam regullator are fitted to the cab interior. Tension lock couplings are clipped into NEM coupling pockets moulded as part of both bogies.

February 2017

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What's in the shops

SPONSORED BY

Bachmann OO gauge Passenge er Luggage Van (BR PMV) Nigel Burkin describes the popular parcels and miscellaneous van model which is being reissued by Bachmann (together with the CCT).

A

n important signature vehicle for modellers of the Southern Railway and British Railways is the Southern Railway four-wheel utility and luggage van, which was constructed in several different forms.

SR ‘Passenger Luggage Vans’ (PLV, latterly PMV) and ‘Covered Carriage Trucks’, were based on SCER vans built around 1919 and 1922 and were the subject of a new model released by Bachmann in October 2015.

They are characterised by the

use of two widths of planking on the sides, ends and the double loading doors.

Both PLV (PMV) and CCT vans were built either using 6½in planks (even planking) and a mix of 3½ and 6½in planks (uneven planking).

The result, together with the fixed ends of the PMVs and double end loading doors of CCTs offers Bachmann a wide range of body styles built on a standard underframe to reproduce over the next few years.

The review model represents a Southern Railway-built PLV van with even planking and fixed ends, as built between 1934 and 1939. Classified as a parcels and miscellaneous van (PMV)

by BR, it was used as a general merchandise van, which would have found use on a variety of traffics ranging from fruit and vegetables; newspapers and as a luggage van within passenger trains in Southern Railway days.

At around the same time, the Southern Railway constructed even-planked CCTs with twin

leaf end loading doors, which would be used at loading ramps at stations and in freight yards.

Providing Bachmann with an opportunity for variation in the models are those vans with bodies built from around 1938 to 1951 with a mix of narrow and wide planking on the same basic underframe. They included PMVs and CCTs, and the latter which is offered as a version of the model.

A further body variant emerged in 1940 when a further

NEWS

in brief

Model goes for £35K

A 5in gauge model of Flying Scotsman sold for £35,400 at Special Auction Services’ 30th Trains Galore auction at Newbury in December.

Originally owned by a stationmaster who had several live steam models, this beautifully executed and detailed live steam coal-fired model, built in the 1930s or 1940s, was highly sought after and bought by a UK collector.

It has an eight-wheel non-corridor tender fitted with hand pump, conjugated valve gear and screw reverse, whistle, injector, twin water gauges, boiler and steam chest pressure gauge and a steam brake with pressure gauge, and is painted in LNER green as No. 4472.

The underframe features fine brake linkages, vacuum cylinder and other separately moulded components – all neatly applied.

batch of PMVs were built with even planking except a single narrow 3½in plank midway up the body sides. Records indicate that these wagons also featured body bracing with a different profile to those built earlier.

BR built CCTs with ply sides/

One of two Southern Railway utility van models offered by Bachmann since October 2015 is the popular passenger luggage van or PMV.

ends and uneven planked doors and PMVs built with uneven planking on both the sides and doors between 1951 and 1955. Most of the SR-built vans survived on the railway network throughout the BR steam and transition eras with some surviving until the early 1980s by which time many of them had been painted in BR blue livery. They travelled widely in BR days regardless of the livery applied and could be found in freight yards, terminals and station loading docks – in fact almost anywhere – making it a universally useful vehicle to add to a modeller’s collection of NPCCS vehicles.

Latterly, many were transferred to departmental service as stores vans and internal-user vehicles. They rarely saw much cleaning and the simple BR crimson, maroon and green liveries soon became so dirty that it was often difficult to see the underlying livvery details. Number and daata panels would be the on nly parts of the body to be cleaned to allow staff to ideentify individual vehicles.

The model: Th second issue of the The popular former Southern Railway PMV includes a further BR green version as No. S1151S (39-530), together with Southern Railway PLV No. 1061 (39-529). Two CCT

Model details:

Former Southern Railway passenger luggage van (Classified as PMV by BR) with fixed van ends.

Manufacturer:

Bachmann Europe Plc.

Scale:

London’s toy fair

4mm (1:76) scale, OO gauge.

This year’s Toy Fair takes place at Kensington Olympia from Tuesday, January 24 to Thursday 26.

We’ll have a show report in next month’s issue of RMM.

Era:

1957 to 1966 (for the review model).

Web:

www.bachmann.co.uk

History films launched

Suggested retail price: £29.95.

versions are also to be released early this year including BR blue No. S1751 in weathered condition (39-528A) and a BR Departmental green version (39-529). The PMVs feature even planking while the CCTs have bodies with uneven planking.

All of the models use the same underframe in common with the full-size vans which are fitted with metal wheels, NEM coupling pockets and metal buffers in common with recently tooled models issued

by Bachmann. The review model is an even-planked PMV finished in BR green, which is a beautifully moulded and finished model exhibiting a high level of fine detail.

»

THE Independent Cinema Office is marketing a new compilation of railway films owned by the British Film Institute. Spanning from 1898 to 1970, the series of eight short films build to a feature-length programme available to rent by groups and societies.

Mostly steam-based, but with some modern traction – including a speeded up run on the Blue Pullman from Paddington to Bristol – ‘Britain on Film: Railways’ is a fascinating insight into the role our railways have played in the past, as well as a lesson in the development of filmmaking.

For more details, plus how to hire a copy, see independentcinemaoffice. org.uk February 2017

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What's in the shops «

Earlier releases from October 2015 include: • 39-525 SR PLV No. 2186.

Southern Railway green.

• 39-526 Former SR PMV No. S1068S. BR Crimson livery with black ends.

• 39-527 Former SR PMV No. S1101S. BR Green livery with green ends.

• 39-528 Former SR Van U (CCT) No. S1733. BR blue livery.

Bodyshell: Crisp and accurate tooling of the body shell together with the fitting of many additional details such as separate handrails makes this a very good-looking model. Planking is of the correct width and of the correct number. The elliptical profile roof common to SR-based stock is also nicely done as are the tiny moulded details such as door handles, bolt heads on the diagonal bracing and end bracing.

Underframe: A common underframe can be used for virtually all variations of this family of NPCCs van and Bachmann has made a very good reproduction of it complete with delicate trussing, brake linkages, brake levers and footsteps adjacent the loading doors – all separate mouldings neatly and seamlessly fitted to the underframe. Brake shoe yokes are supplied in the box for the modeller to fit if desired.

Couplings and wheels: The model runs freely and

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SPONSORED BY

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February 2017

The version of the former SR PLV (BR PMV) modelled by Bachmann has even-width planking on the sides and loading doors. The body shell moulding represents the shape and character of the vehicle perfectly.

smoothly on metal wheels that are fully concentric.

It rolls smoothly through standard OO gauge track such as Peco Streamline and also performed well through more specialist track products such as that produced under the C&L Finescale label. Close coupling cams are fitted to the underframe complete with NEM-362 coupling pockets allowing the supplied tension lock couplings to be exchanged for a wide range of compatible couplings with the NEM swallowtail fitting.

Livery application: The review model was finished in BR Southern Region green livery,

which was smoothly applied over the body with no hint of dust or other imperfections. Both the green applied to the body sides and ends together with the roof grey colour are opaque with no translucency showing over the sharp body detail.

Printed number sets and vehicle data lettering is sharp, opaque and level. The overall finish is eggshell with very little hint of shine. For many modellers the finish is far too clean for an in-service vehicle of this type and the well-applied livery is perfect for weathering and distressing the model.

Overall: Non-passenger carrying vehicles such as the SR PLVs and CCTs are important everyday vehicles that were expected to earn their keep on the railways. Often neglected and dirty, they are desirable vehicles for modellers because they represent the ordinary or everyday railway – unglamorous, and very often grimy and neglected.

Bachmann does a great deal to offer the unglamorous for the discerning modeller and this model is a perfectly formed example, which should be part of every modeller’s fleet. ■

BELOW: The Southern Railway design with elliptical profile roof is beautifully reproduced.

February 2017

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What's in the shops

SPONSORED BY

Industrial railway perfection: The Hornby OO Gauge W4 0-4-0ST ‘Peckett’ One of Hornby’s most appealing models of recent times is described by Nigel Burkin.

R

ailway history is adorned with many examples of largely ignored work-a-day locomotives, and the Peckett W4 0-4-0ST is a typical industrial steam locomotive overlooked in favour of more exciting main line steam.

Despite this, the excitement surrounding the development and release of the new Hornby model has demonstrated the appeal of small non-main line shunting engines: the smaller, the better! As if the keen attention surrounding the model’s development was not enough, proof that modellers seek the ordinary as well as the glamorous is clearly evident by the fact all three versions of this model sold out at Hornby within weeks.

The Peckett W4 locomotive (a product of the Peckett & Sons Company of Bristol) was introduced as a rugged, low-

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maintenance saddle tank engine to be sold for industrial use. A total of 140 were built between 1885 and 1906 to a basic design using as many common components as possible. The locomotive could be adapted for individual customer requirements and modellers keen on making some changes to the model could usefully spend a little time researching some of the customer specified modifications. The locomotives are identified by their works numbers which are clearly shown on the cab-side works plates.

Industrial steam locomotives usually spent their lives serving industrial sites as part of a process or shuffling wagons over private branch lines and sidings to exchange traffic with main line railways, and the Peckett W4 and its sister locomotives were no different in that respect.

They found homes in foundries, steel works, large manufacturing sites and on private industrial railways serving specific industries such as docks and collieries. Few were passed for use on the main line and most were worked in poor conditions and with minimal maintenance. Despite the dirt and neglect evident in many photographs of them, the locomotives performed well and enjoyed a long operating life, sometimes changing hands from one owner to the next.

Model details: Hornby Hobbies released three versions of the Peckett W4 0-4-0ST locomotive in late 2016, which promptly sold out at all but a handful of retailers.

It is a four-wheel industrial locomotive offered in three livery schemes, with a fourth appearing in the 2017 catalogue.

The model reviewed here is

R3428 Manchester Ship Canal No. 11 carrying works number 654. The other models are dressed in leaf green as No. 563 ‘Dodo’ and Huntley & Palmers blue as No. 832. No. 883 decorated in plain black livery for Lilleshall Co. is included in the 2017 release programme.

There is no doubt that Hornby has done an exceptional job on this small but perfectly formed model.

Body shell and detailing: Modern tooling techniques lend themselves to small delicate components which are a feature of the Hornby Peckett.

Die-casting has been extensively used in many areas of the model to bring its weight up to deliver a reasonably good performance for such a small model. Other areas are moulded in plastic with some very thin sections such as the can end and sides.

While the overall proportions

NEWS

in brief

New home

A Liverpool miniature railway is set to move to a new home to make way for a new housing scheme. The Calderstones Park railway has been run by volunteers from the Merseyside Live Steam and Model Engineers club for some 75 years. They offer free rides to children most Sunday afternoons.

The railway is hoping that the move will enable it to expand.

All locos great and small at SVR

After thoroughly cleaning the track and adjusting a couple of very minor track defects on this compact OO gauge layout, the Peckett ran impeccably, shunting wagons smoothly.

of the cab, saddle tank and running plate are correct, the truly remarkable details include the cab interior detail including the boiler back head; pipework and small fittings such as the gauges and levers. Look carefully at the cab interior and while the individual dials and controls are the first things to catch the eye, Hornby has included the cab-side coal bunker and the brake stand too.

Note the small pipe leading to the ceiling of the cab to supply the whistle with steam.

Careful examination of all three models shows that Hornby has incorporated locomotive-specific details to each of the models.

Short wheelbase chassis and performance: Industrial railway systems were built in very restricted locations and invariably the track work featured sharp

curves and turnouts with sharp diverging angles. While perfect for the modeller, the full-size locomotive builder had to incorporate short wheel base

chassis in industrial locomotives to allow them to work over track that curves sharply into and between buildings. The Hornby Peckett has a 22mm wheel base equating to the fullsize locomotives’ 5ft 6in. They could squeal their way around some incredibly tight track, albeit slowly.

The 22mm wheelbase makes life a little challenging for the modeller. The model has only four wheels over which to collect current, making cleanliness an important factor.

Furthermore, the model, if not correctly maintained and cleaned, will stall on the plastic frogs of Hornby set track and those of Peco ‘Insulfrog’ points. Layouts using Peco ‘Electrofrog’ points should not A rear view of the model with flush glazed cab windows and the curved section, which accommodates the brake stand.

»

Locos of all sizes will be in full working order at the Severn Valley Railway’s Open House Weekend which returns from April 8-9, giving visitors the chance to marvel at up to 30 model railway layouts on display in the Kidderminster Diesel Depot and The Engine House Visitor Centre.

Model railways include: Oakenshaw – a fictitious West Yorkshire mill town set in the 1960s somewhere near to the real town of Keighley on the Airedale line. With thanks to Redditch MRC. Ashburton – depicting the much-missed terminus of the Great Western Railway’s branchline along the River Dart from Totnes to Ashburton. With thanks to Tony Minchin.

Thornton Gate Tramway – scratch-built N gauge prototypical Blackpool tramway layout, based on Blackpool’s former P'way sidings. With thanks to Tom Williamson. St Andrews Road – making one of its first exhibition appearances; a 1960s BR London Midland region motive power depot with branchline. With thanks to Ben Davies. Visit svr.co.uk for more information or call 01562 757900.

February 2017

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What's in the shops

SPONSORED BY

The trio of models released by Hornby in late 2016 are supplied with locomotive-specific details including different pipework, domes and chimneys.

« encounter such ‘gapping’ of the locomotive’s power supply.

Countering the lack of wheels is an excellent level of ballasting in a model that is only 72mm long over the bufferbeams (84mm over buffers) thanks to the use of finely diecast components including the saddle tank. It tips the scales at 130g allowing it to deliver some good tractive effort. Ten four-wheel wagons on the level presented no difficulty for the locomotive at all.

Motor and electronics: With no lighting fitted to the model, electronics are quite simple. Four phosphor bronze pick-ups are fitted – one to each wheel. Wiring includes a non-standard four-pin DCC socket, which accepts Hornby’s specially adapted X9659 decoder.

A small motor was chosen to fit in the boiler of the model, 18

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February 2017

leaving the cab area free for the high level of exquisite detail already described above. The motor packs quite a punch for its small size with excellent torque being supplied to the driving wheels via tough plastic gearing.

Testing included some shunting duties on one of my compact OO gauge layouts using a handful of four-wheel wagons, after thoroughly cleaning the track and running-in the model.

I found that the locomotive was capable of picking out some minor imperfections in the track, particularly at joints in the rail that larger locomotives did not seem to mind. After adjusting a couple of rail joiners, the model proceeded to run smoothly over the layout, although with a slightly high top speed. The valve gear action was a delight to watch and there was absolutely no sign of tight spots in the mechanism.

Livery and finishing: The simple lined green livery applied to the review model is superbly applied with no signs of any imperfections. It is very fine and of consistent width on all areas of the model, including the curved surface of the cylinders. Red is applied to the bufferbeams together with the coupling rods. Both works and numberplates are printed, the former with perfectly legible lettering. The cab interior has the greatest number of individually painted details, including brass to the back plate details, brass-coloured pipes and a light grey inner walls to the front of the cab together with the ceiling.

Layout potential: One’s imagination could go into overdrive with such a model and this is why producing small industrial locomotives is such a great

idea. Unlike models of main line prototypes, your typical 0-4-0ST or 0-6-0ST saddle tank industrial locomotive could turn up anywhere and in any livery one desires. They make the perfect freelance layout theme locomotive and furthermore will suit compact or micro-layouts with tight track work and sharp curves.

The relatively low suggested retail price of the model makes it an affordable entry-level model for the new but serious modeller who wants finely detailed models that are better than the Railroad range from Hornby. Add a selection of wagons, a handful of turnouts and straight track sections and you have the start of a micro layout for shunting operations.

It would not take long to assemble a baseboard kit such as those produced by Tim Horn and collect some pre-made buildings to create an industrial scene for the Peckett to serve.

NEWS

in brief

Model attraction looks for new investors

Performance of the model was smooth and with no hint of the valve gear or mechanism catching or rubbing.

The model can be further enhanced with minor detailing items such as etched works plates, a driver, oil lamps and some tools.

Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Crafty Hobbies of 56 Cavendish Street, Barrow-in-Furness for sourcing what is an increasingly scarce model. The model shop provides a comprehensive mail order service and supplies a wide range of modelling and crafting products including Hornby model railway equipment. Its website is www.crafty-hobbies.co.uk ■ Manufacturer: Hornby Hobbies.

Scale:

4mm (1:76) scale, OO gauge.

Versions:

R3427 Base livery as ‘Dodo’.

R3428 Manchester Ship Canal No.11.

R3429 Huntley & Palmers.

Era:

Built between 1885 and 1906.

Operated until at least the 1960s.

Suggested retail price: £87.99.

Web:

www.hornby.com

In December, Birmingham’s Wonderful World of Trains and Planes, announced that they had closed their doors for good.

This unique attraction opened in July 2014, offering an educational and entertaining experience for families, tourists and schools while also catering towards modellers and anyone with a keen interest in the evolution of railway and airway travel.

Now, the venue’s main partners are seeking new investors in the hope that they can reopen.

If you would like more information contact Steve Jordan, steve@ wonderfulworldtrainsplanes. co.uk or 07740 780819.

Model train video goes viral

James Risner, of Ohio in America, built a spiral track and placed his HO scale model train set on it and filmed it going round.

In the mesmerising video, the train is seen being fed on to the spiral track, which has been looped round 13 times.

Watch it on YouTube – tinyurl.com/jql7xgu

Oldham model collection sale raises £231K for charity

A collection of 4000 model trains has fetched £231,000 at auction for charity.

Late solicitor and councillor, Antony Adler from Oldham, left instructions to sell off his collection, which includes rare pieces from all over the world including America, Italy and Switzerland.

Auctioneers Wright Marshall Fine Arts said it does not know which charity would benefit from the sale.

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Get your track fix

Travel from London to Leeds in a schoolroom…

Believed to be one of the largest model railways of its type in the country, Gainsborough Model Railway Society’s model of the East Coast Main Line between King’s Cross and Leeds is a sight to behold, writes Sarah Palmer.

W

hen I mentioned in the RMM and Heritage Railway office I was visiting this particular model railway several people said: ‘Ooh I’d love to see that’, ‘I’ve heard it’s really good’ and also ‘I went once but couldn’t find it!’

As I wandered around the Tesco supermarket in Gainsborough I could concur with that last sentiment. Tardis-like, the building that houses this layout seems inauspicious from the outside, and not particularly large; on the day of my visit it took asking directions – twice – for me to be able to find it. But once inside, and located, the scene that greets is awesome and worth the wait. It must be good, Alan Pegler – he of Flying Scotsman infamy – was for many years the society’s president.

For the last 70-plus years members of the Gainsborough Model Railway Society have been building one of the country’s largest model railways; a significant chunk of the East Coast Main Line, between King’s Cross and Leeds, which is recreated in this ground floor of a Victorian school

building. It takes 10 signalmen, cum drivers, cum station masters to run the working signals on the railway, using the same bell codes as British Railways, as it weaves its way through rooms more used to hosting boisterous schoolchildren but which, since 1949, has been home to the GMRS. The first thing you notice when entering the building is the twin-roofed model of King’s Cross station, which one of the many information boards will tell you takes its name from a short-lived monument to King George IV that stood in the area from 1830 to 1845. The station model represents the days following the Second World War with the locos and rolling stock mostly representing the variety that could be seen on the line between the 1920s and the 1960s. Many of the locos, carriages and wagons are in the liveries of the Big Four – the LNER, which absorbed the Great Northern Railway and the other companies forming the East Coast route, with the larger part of the collection being in British

Engines and scenery pictured at Doncaster station.

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Railways’ livery. This is also the era in which most of the stations along the route are modelled.

The northern terminus of the layout is Leeds Central – this is not the Leeds station of today, which used to be known as Leeds City – but one of our system’s many lost stations.

The model puts Leeds Central in a good light, belying the fact that by the 1950s it was covered in the filth and grime of the industrial West Riding and much of the roof was missing. The station on which the model is based was demolished after closure and the modellers had to research earlier drawings, photographs and British Rail archives to get an idea of what the station was like. Space constraints mean that the station model is slightly larger than the original, while the engine shed area is much smaller and closer to the station than it was originally.

Most of the models run on the layout are hand-built, falling roughly into two types; scratch-built engines where the builder has

The layout represents life between the 1920s and 1960s.

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The model of King’s Cross station took five years to build from its constituent material; cardboard.

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Get your track fix

The name of former society member, Don Handley, has been added to this part of the model.

« measured, marked and cut out from

flat metal the parts needed to make the loco, whereas the kit-built ones are created from pre-made parts assembled by the modeller. The layout still has some locos made from food tins from the early postwar days of the layout!

“Our founder member was George Hinchcliffe, he had a great interest in railways and started the society, building every loco built by JG Robinson for the Great Central,” says the vice-chairman of the GMRS, Richard Woods, as we walk around this labyrinthine layout.

“George D Hinchcliffe was employed at an engineering works, and worked on minesweepers during the war before becoming a teacher. He originally founded the society with a few friends. He wanted to model the East Coast Main Line from King’s Cross to Leeds – it was three-rail originally but now it’s finescale. When he was growing up the railway used to go

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along the bottom of his garden, and he used to watch Great Central engines go past,” and that was the inspiration for this amazing O layout.

“The early part of the railway models King’s Cross and Ferme Park. In the middle of the layout is Hitchin before it goes on to Retford and Leeds.

“Doncaster station is also modelled, although the station faces the wrong way, but that’s modeller’s licence,” he laughs. as he points out a few peccadilloes of the model that deviate from railway reality.

It’s no mean feat to operate this

monumental layout, as it operates to a timetable on such an epic scale that it takes 10 people to run it, hence it being open to the public on just a dozen or so days a year.

“The railway is also unusual in that trains make a genuine journey from an origin to a destination, passing other stations along the way. Most of the trains are worked by steam, as the railway represents an era when most long-distance passenger travel or goods movement was still made by rail.”

The railways’ carriages are mostly LNER and its constituents’ designs, or early BR design. These include LNER varnished teak livery, ‘blood and custard’ or maroon liveries used in the 1950s and 1960s. There are also two Pullman trains painted in traditional umber and cream.

“We also run the LNER's streamliner train to Leeds, equivalent to the Silver Jubilee or Coronation called the West

»

NAMED TRAINS

The ECML was always well served by Pullman trains and so the GMRS layout runs the Yorkshire Pullman train, as well as the West Riding Limited; the Society has a model of one of the two A4 locos, Golden Shuttle, named to haul this train in honour of the shuttles used in the Yorkshire woollen industry, this loco was later renamed Dwight D. Eisenhower and is now preserved in the USA, but famously revisited this country a few years ago. The White Rose service ran every weekday, leaving London King’s Cross in the morning and returning from Leeds Central in the late afternoon, and finally, the West Riding (a postwar train, not to confused with the prewar West Riding Limited) did the opposite, leaving Leeds in the morning, and King's Cross in the afternoon.

The turntable at Retford station.

Get your track fix « Riding Limited. Being a prewar train it is

Many of the locos on the line are hand-built, although a few ready-to-run examples have joined the crew in latter years.

pulled by garter blue A4s complete with valances,” Richard continues.

The layout is housed in an old Victorian schoolbuilding, which was originally several high-ceilinged rooms. Part has been given an upper floor housing a library and workshop, so that the ground floor can be devoted to the layout and a small tearoom.

“The library is named in memory of Don Handley, our late carriage builder, loco painter and treasurer as it was his idea to create it,” says Richard. This isn’t the first time during my visit that Richard’s tone becomes reverential when he mentions the death of former members, highlighting a problem facing not just the world of modelling but also that of heritage railways – the need to engage younger people into the scene to replace those who leave it.

“People have talents and then they die and it’s not easy to replace their skills,” laments Richard.

I ask him about tackling the problem about getting new blood into the society.

“It’s difficult as young people want to support the railway but sometimes don’t have the knowledge or experience. The health and safety culture seems to mean that children these days aren’t allowed to benefit from mistakes, whereas mistakes and accidents are part of life.

“We need to have people with different skills to run it,” he says. This is theory put into practice by Richard, with the skill he brings to the table being joinery. He points out various ways in which he’s worked with wood to contribute to the layout including

STATIONS ON THE ROUTE RETFORD: Retford station is as near to being a scale model of the prototype as is possible in the available space, and is based on a British Railways’ trackplan. Retford has its own goods yard and motive power depot, supplying both goods and passenger engines for the main line. Some expresses change engines here, so a large express locomotive is often to be found among the goods engines. The model is constructed basically from card and took three years to build.

LEEDS CENTRAL: Central station was, for more than 100 years, the Leeds terminus for trains from London King’s Cross until it was closed in 1967 and by the end of the year no trace of it remained, with all modern railway services being concentrated on Leeds City station. The two underslung signal gantries at the platform ends were a prominent feature 26

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of Leeds Central, as portrayed on the model.

Unusually this station actually has one more platform than in reality, and some of the platforms are longer than in real-life to cope with the need to match the capacity of King's Cross. The perils of research are also shown in that since the station building was built a few inaccuracies have come to light, although the society is not aware of anyone ever spotting them.

DONCASTER: In LNER and early BR days Doncaster was the mecca for steam enthusiasts. The GMRS model of Doncaster is based on the prototype as far as is practical, with three main platform faces, two through roads and a bay at both ends for local trains to Leeds and Retford. The main building is an exact replica of the real thing, made to drawings supplied by British Railways.

»

This is just one part of the model, which winds its way through the ground floor of a former Victorian school building.

OPENING DATES: April 15-16, plus Easter Monday; June 17-18; July 23; August 26-27, plus bank holiday Monday; October 8; December 3; December 30. For more information telephone 01427 610475 or visit www.gainsboroughmodelrailway.co.uk

Did you know?

The workshop is housed in a mezzanine level of the former school.

■ Queen Boudica of the Iceni who battled the Romans in AD60-61 is buried beneath the platforms of King’s Cross station, while the Harry Potter stories have more recently made the station well-known to millions of children though the invisible Platform 9¾, from which the Hogwarts Express departs.

■ The layouts has 180 locos, 250 wagons and vans, 160 pieces of pointwork, half a mile of track, nine stations and seven engine sheds.

■ In 1952 the society was asked by British Railways if it could provide a layout for celebrations in Retford to mark the centenary of the King’s Cross to York main line. It was here that society members met Alan Pegler, who went on to become the long-serving president. The model was subsequently exhibited at King’s Cross station.

■ The model of King’s Cross station

occupies more space than many model railways but there isn’t space to represent the whole station, which had 15 platforms, plus a number of carriage docks and other lines. Instead, space constraints mean that the suburban station is represented by just one platform and a line emerging from the Hotel Curve Tunnel used by the suburban trains from the City terminus at Moorgate.

The main engine shed, known as Top Shed, was situated some distance away in the middle of King’s Cross goods yard and so also doesn’t appear in the model.

■ The layout features a model of Decoy Yard near to Doncaster station. The area on which the railway is built is very marshy, reflected in the names of Potteric Carr, Black Carr and Bessacarr junctions, from the Old Norse name ‘kjarr’ for a marsh. As such the area used to be popular for duck hunting, hence the name Decoy Yard.

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CRAFTSMANSHIP « the operating consoles, which are based on kitchen units with doors placed on their backs, a neat way to hide all the wiring.

“People don’t realise how much wiring there actually is,” says Richard as he lifts up one of the console lids, which on the surface is an array of tidy buttons, while underneath it hides a wealth of wiring.

“Work on the layout today is mostly about maintenance, as the railway has already been upgraded and altered over the years. Originally, the baseboards were made of anything the modellers could get

their hands on but they’ve been gradually updated and replaced over the years.”

This make-do-and-mend mentality is entirely concomitant with the immediate postwar date of the layout, which celebrated its 70th anniversary last year.

Sadly, the club’s seventh decade saw it lose the last of the young adults who had founded it just after their return from service in the Second World War. Let’s hope that a new generation of young adults is coming forward to take his place. ■

Ragouts from 1952’s The Railway Magazine celebrating 100 years of King’s Cross station.

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Most of the locos, carriages, wagons, points, signals and buildings were hand-built by members; fine examples of craftsmanship, yet able to withstand the rigours of running on what is a layout on an epic scale.

It was the twin-arched reconstruction of King’s Cross station, made largely from card, that took my attention; the tearoom shows the card roof struts that make up the building that seem to be too delicate to support the roof of this capacious building but, in true Gothic-cathedral style, they do.

The twin-roofed structure of the Great Northern’s King’s Cross station.

Demonstrating a mix of freight and passenger traffic that would have been a familiar sight before the car started to reign supreme.

King’s Cross The society’s model of King’s Cross station took five years to build, not including the many years of research. It has 40 arches made from cardboard, coated with shellac and then painted.

The original station was the terminus of a railway running to Doncaster built by the Great Northern Railway and opened in stages between 1849 and 1852 forming the southern section of the East Coast Main Line, which stretches from London to York, Newcastle, Edinburgh and on to Aberdeen and other destinations within Scotland.

The society’s railway between Doncaster and Leeds is effectively a branch line, although a very important one, and of slightly later date, part of this line (between Doncaster and Wakefield Westgate) being jointly owned by the Great Northern and Great Central Railways.

The real-life station measures 800ft in length, 105ft in width and is 71ft high. The model is to scale in width and height, but is just over half the length it should be because of space limitations.

The architect for King’s Cross station was Lewis Cubitt who based his design on the roof of the Czar’s riding school in Moscow. It occupied the site of an old smallpox hospital and cost £123,000 to build and at the time of building in 1852 it was the largest building in London. The bricks for the building would have been made at the brick-building village of Belle Isle, which eventually became the site of Top Shed, the motive power depot for King’s Cross.

ABOVE: In this map the original King’s Cross station diagram can be seen in this feature from The Railway Magazine in 1962.

RIGHT: A map showing the full extent of the Gainsborough Model Railway.

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29

Starting out

How to get going, keep going and have fun 32

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HELP!

I NEED SOMEBODY

HELP! NOT JUST ANYBODY

HELP!

HELP! YOU KNOW I NEED SOMEONE

JOHN LENNON

Bernard Gudgin and Michael Watts are experienced teachers and trainers. They have several decades of modelling and exhibition experience across the gauges from T (scale 1:450) to 16mm (scale 1:19), as well as narrow gauge. They are often seen at exhibitions, where they provide free advice to newcomers and returnees under the brand name of Oxford TRAINing.

IAN MANDERSON

H

ELP! We all need help. It’s true for all of us, however knowledgeable, skilled and experienced we think we are. We are all learning, all of the time.

Here is an opportunity for us to learn together and from each other.

How do you get started – or perhaps restarted after a break or a disappointment?

Nothing succeeds like success. It is far more satisfying to build a smaller layout that works rather than a larger one that can take years to build – and will become a burden. It’s important to realise and be honest about your abilities. Building a model railway usually involves planning, woodwork, adhesives, tracklaying, electrical wiring, soldering, kit-building, creating scenery, etc, etc. Of course, most of these skills can bought in (some firms will even design and build a complete layout for you) but where is the satisfaction in that?

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Starting out

Buildings for railway, commerce, and town are available as card or plastic kits, resin castings to be assembled and painted or even as quality finished items. The O gauge item here has had the doors repainted, curtains hung with a post box and telephone kiosk kits added, and the signage has been doctored too. Examples here are all from the Bachmann Scenecraft ranges.

The difference in size of N gauge (scale 1:148), OO gauge (scale 1:76), and O gauge (scale 1:43.5).

Ready-to-run locos and stock can be bought second-hand for very attractive prices. Even if GWR isn’t your favourite railway, there is much to be said for choosing it for your first small venture.

Most of the relevant bits for a GWR layout are readily available, both new and used, in N, OO, and O scales. Note: Small green squares are 10mm, large ones 50mm (about 2in).

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Why choose to model a big and complex layout if you are a newcomer or returnee to railway modelling? That would be inviting disaster, as it would be for any project within a new subject area.

So, how big will your layout be?

Exhibition layouts look small because we lose a sense of size in a large exhibition hall. Remember that exhibition models are often built, transported, assembled and operated by a team. You will probably be working on your own – if friends come around it will be to help run the trains, not to build your layout! Many exhibition layouts would occupy the whole ground floor of a modern house – hardly practical in a family household.

It may seem strange to start with planning, especially since we encourage you to get building. But good planning will save you a lot of wasted money, time and effort. You’ll get less frustrated, gain greater satisfaction, and complete it quicker.

There are many publications for builders of the smaller layouts. PECO has 60 Plans for Small Layouts and there are excellent books by Iain Rice, Paul Lunn and Lance Mindheim (and others) that concentrate on smaller layouts.

What is a smaller layout? Many newcomers think of 6ft x 4ft simply because it’s a standard commercial size for sheet materials. 6ft x 4ft has an area of 24sq ft, so let’s take that as being small.

There are many excellent layouts that are much smaller. For a 24 sq ft area, many formats are possible. A real railway is inevitably long and thin, so consider 24ft x 1ft, or 16ft x 1.5ft. Shelf layouts have these dimensions – housed on a shelf, they look more realistic and are more easily |

February 2017

incorporated into the living space used by the whole family.

How much track can be crammed into this space? This may be valid if you are portraying a locomotive shed or town centre terminal station (Cyril Freezer’s 'Minories' for example) but for most layouts more is often less. Why not imagine a local landscape? Most real railways run through countryside, often finishing in a town or city with little railway emphasis. Picture these areas in your mind, designate them as railway-lite areas, then design and build accordingly.

Modelling this environment adds greatly to the visual realism and to the appeal of the finished model.

Given the relatively limited space of 24 sq ft, many think of N, Z, or even T gauge.

One of these may be right for you but there are many fine examples of OO and O gauge layouts in even smaller spaces.

Not possible? Some of the just postwar magazines give examples – when O gauge was established and OO was the new kid on the block. There are excellent designs for small O gauge layouts. How about scale?

A wide variety of rolling stock is readily available for narrow gauge. For example: OO-9 is 4mm (OO, 1:76) scale stock running on 9mm gauge track – the equivalent of a 2ft 3in narrow-gauge track. Similarly, O-16.5 is 7mm (O, 1:43.5) scale stock running on 16.5mm narrow gauge track. Modelling narrow gauge gets a larger scale into a smaller space and yet it retains the realism.

Choice of power-supply-controller type – analogue or DCC – is a contentious issue.

Stick with a basic analogue controller for a first layout. There is no need to spend loads of dosh just yet and you will learn much

Don’t overlook the relatively new-on-theblock laser-cut kits in card, MDF and plywood.

They come in all scales and the ranges are now fast growing in the UK. Laser kits are common in Europe covering a very wide range for railway, commercial, domestic, rural and retail buildings and structure models.

And then there are etched-brass fences, detailings, and even buildings. Examples here (above) for N are available from Osborn’s Models, and (below) for O from Timber Tracks.

»

A straightforward GWR branch-line terminus in N gauge. Not trackheavy, but plenty of variety in the buildings, activities and people to justify the non-prototypical busy-model timetable. Branch-lines are great for a starter model because they can be justifiably small and the trains relatively short. There are economic savings here, as well as the ever-challenging available space issue. Buildings and kits are from Peco and Bachman – no scratch-building here. IAN MANDERSON.

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This mock-up of an O gauge project is only six-foot long but will provide considerable operation potential. A four-foot fiddle-yard can be added at either end or both. Who said that O gauge is too big for me? Here, the main parts of the resin-cast building-kits are moved to various positions to help decide their final, most effective locations. Semi-relief buildings are huge space savers – especially in baseboard width.

« more quickly if you stick with the small

and straightforward, tried and tested in all respects. And don’t believe DCC only needs two wires!

Based on the experience of training many hundreds of would-be modellers, we advocate the following: Choose a small plan, with only a few points and no complications. Compromise with yourself for the period, rail authority, scale, power-supply and the ready availability of used stock and scenic items. Probably OO, GWR steam is a good option because of the wide range and availability of used, low-cost items – but it is wise to use only new track since this, with the baseboard, is the foundation of your railway. Having planned it, build it, get it working, enjoy it and learn from the experience. You will be amazed at

the results – your increase in knowledge, skills and, above all, your increase in confidence and enthusiasm to move on to something a little more advanced. Fun and learning combined!

But, whatever you choose, there are basic planning, design and building matters to consider: 1. Be honest about what really interests you, your time, skills and ability.

2. Take account of your current skills and interests. Build for pleasure, not as a chore.

3. Your new project will take some of your leisure time. If it dominates, it can become a burden.

4. Building time depends on all three dimensions of your layout, not just the baseboard area. Even without You don’t need to fork out for a new powersupply-controller. Perfectly serviceable used and/or obsolete items are readily available at low cost – especially at shows. Why invest in expensive kit when you are just starting out? You are still trying to decide what you need and discovering what skills you already have, or can acquire. Such items are always going to be useful anyway – for testing, or for running-in locos. If in any doubt, get a qualified electrician to check for safety.

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multiple track levels, scenery and buildings have height.

5. Demonstrate your interests: design, build, operate, kit-construction, rolling-stock, scenery etc …

6. Plan and build at least part of it quickly. This encourages you and gives you confidence.

7. Follow the above and you will have fun, enjoyment and satisfaction.

Happy planning, designing and building (in that order)! ■ References Bachmann Europe PLC Moat Way, Barwell, LE9 8EY. t 01455 841756 f 0870 751 9991 www.bachmann.co.uk Osborn’s Models 7 Honestone Street, Bideford, EX39 2DL. 01237 423453 maurice040947@aol.com www.osbornsmodels.com PECO Pritchard Patent Product Company Limited, Underleys, Beer, Seaton, EX12 3NA. t 01297 21542 f 01297 20229 www.peco-uk.com Timber Tracks Longridge House, Cadbury Camp Lane, Clapton in Gordano, Bristol BS20 7SD. t 01 275 852 027 sales@timbertracks.co.uk www.timbertracks.co.uk/

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is be a

Life in miniature

l u f i t u

l l Sm a

Put the word 'miniature' into a search engine and you’ll be provided with everything from cooking tiny food (a Japanese hobby) to the Tiny House movement (where people radically downsize their house square footage). It’s certainly something with universal appeal. But what is the big draw of small things? Sarah Palmer investigates.

W

e’re now three issues in to RMM, and the passion that people have for railway modelling has got me thinking about why this hobby appeals to people and if it taps into some deep-seated desire we as humans have to make big things into small things.

Bekonscot in Buckinghamshire lays claim to being the world’s first model village, opening for the first time in 1929.

14 million visitors later and the attraction is still going strong, now covering 1.5 hectares and including a ride-on railway, gardens, maze and model railway. It was founded in 1928 by Roland Callingham, a Londonbased accountant who, once his model

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railway had outgrown its indoor home found a new home for it, as suggested by his wife. Callingham commissioned model maker Bassett-Lowke to build the largest outdoor railway in England and went on to landscape the site with his head gardener.

There may be some clue to the enduring appeal of the small on Bekonscot’s website, which claims you can: “see England how it used to be, and discover a wonderful little world tucked away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.”

Nostalgia Simon Kohler of Kohler Coms agrees with the sentiment: “For me the fascination

with modelling is the creation of a 3D moving image. A moment in time, a piece of history that can be played over and over again.”

Bernard Gudgin and Michael Watts of Oxford TRAINing concur that nostalgia is a big part of it.

“Many modellers of railways, boats, planes, cars and war-games are retirees from the manufacture, operation, management, and maintenance of the real thing.

Historically this has especially been so for the railways and the Navy. Maybe it is practical nostalgia within an affordable budget and the convenience of domesticity.

It might also be to show the young’uns what

Details of Rhyd by David John. NIGEL BURKIN

it was like back then. Or maybe also they believe that they can manage the service in miniature better than the prototype of yore?

“Nostalgia certainly is the most common and dominant inspiring factor. It seems to be centred on the combination of childhood and the home locality. This also defines the focus on motive power – steam, diesel, or electric, and the geographic region. Some mix power and region on the basis that it is my railway and I will do what I want. A few are inspired by holiday experiences, ranging from narrow-gauge in Wales to Swiss railways.”

Writer for RMM, Nigel Burkin agrees: “The need to build models is deeply embedded in the human psyche. On a personal level, the desire to create railway scenes in miniature is both complex and simple at the same time. There’s no doubt that nostalgia is an important part of that desire and nostalgia for even the recent past following a period of significant change on the railways is very common.

Railway modelling can be used to create scenes from the past, from seemingly less complicated times. Whatever I model, rose-tinted spectacles always have an important role to play!”

But modelling things in miniature just doesn’t date back to the 20th century when you could argue that the pace of technological change encouraged nostalgia and a desire to recreate what once was.

Nor is it just a ‘British thing’. Miniatures have also been found in Egyptian tombs.

These ancient people created all sorts of models from small representations of objects such as tools or boats to gateways or entire buildings, people included.

So maybe there is something in the human psyche that wants to create model-sized creations of the world around it in order to make sense of it or even retreat from it.

Control and escapism “We can recreate our own worlds and escape into them if we so wish,” says Dennis Lovett of Bachmann.

Creating something small gives the illusion of control, particularly in a modern world where things may seem like they are overwhelming. Small-scale models allow us to stop the clock and retreat.

It could also have something to do with a desire to return to the carefree days of childhood. Just look at the explosion in adult colouring books in recent years; encouraging us all to simply pick up a pack of crayons and go back to our childhood

selves where hours could be whiled away in the innocent pastime of colouring.

Ownership As well as the turning-back-the-clock aspect of modelling, Dennis thinks that the dream of wanting to own an object may have something to do with modelling.

“When we are unable to either accommodate or afford (or even both) the real thing, we can at least have a model of it,” he says.

“While there are a number of owners of real locomotives such as Sir William McAlpine others are owned by groups,

»

One appeal for things in miniature may be that they offer a perspective shift, we are fascinated by very small and very large things, above and below the way we see the everyday world.

SMITHSONIANMUSEUAM/DEVEIONACCKER/MINATUREEFFECT/FLICKR/CREATIVECOMMONS

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Life in miniature

 museums or heritage railways. Unless you have a house with extensive grounds or are a Lottery winner or millionaire, most of us will never achieve our dream of having our own full-size locomotive!

“While miniature railway locomotives are more affordable they still require the same care and attention as a real one, have to carry public liability insurance and undergo a rigorous maintenance regime.

They are not cheap either!

“So many of us settle for the next best thing – something smaller. We can now own our favourite locomotives to display or better still operate on a layout.

“Even if I can’t afford a real Ferrari, there is nothing to stop me having one in model form,” says Dennis.

»

Health benefits Modelling could also help with mental health, a couple of hours spent piecing together or painting your model can clear your mind of the problems of the world and relieve stress.

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But in the longer term, studies have also shown that engaging in a creative hobby helps reduce the risk of dementia and preserve memory. Researchers found participants who engaged in artistic hobbies such as painting, drawing or sculpture in both middle and old age were 73% less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who didn’t. This may have something to do with the fact that modelling encompasses and encourages so many life-long skills including history, basic carpentry and electrical skills, artistic techniques, how to research, visualisation and planning and geography.

A treatise in the 16th century is interesting in its notes on art, which was considered to be merely mechanical, arguing that ‘disegno’ (or design) was the ability to abstract beauty from nature through imagination and a trained hand, a combination of mind and body – modelling to a T. This theory, old though it is, may go some way to explaining why hobbies of this kind are effective in staving off dementia.

Talking of imagination…

I really enjoy looking for the tiny details when I look at a model railway, things that are quirky, funny, cheeky, clever; things that take imagination to plan. Simon Kohler agrees.

“When I look at a beautifully modelled railway layout, I do not always check to see if the correct locomotive is pulling the appropriate rolling stock but I look for that added bit of detail. The passenger reading his newspaper while waiting for a train. Or it could be a courting couple canoodling under a tree on the grassy bank of a railway cutting. It could even be something as subtle as a fox peeking out from a hedgerow, head cocked to one side listening for the master of hound's horn.

“Such little details fascinate me but for others it could be just trains tail chasing around the layout or others may be fascinated at the complexities of the track work. In my opinion there is not just one thing but a whole cacophony of reasons why people are fascinated with all aspects

 1: Rhyd by David John. NIGEL BURKIN 2: While not all of us are lucky enough to be able to own our own loco, we do have the chance of owning a small version of it!

3: Nostalgia has a big part to play in why we love things in miniature, as you can see in this picture of Bekonscot Model Village, which aims to evoke 1930s England.

DAVIDSHORT/BEKONSCOTMODELVILLAGE/FLICKR/ CREATIVECOMMONS

 of modelling, which is probably why such things continue to attract young and old alike.”

Solitary and secret pastime This wasn’t something that I had on my list of ‘reasons why we model’ but it was brought to my attention through Michael and Bernard, that being small can mean discreet and secret.

“Many modellers hide away in the loft, or choose to be isolated in a garden shed.

This is in strong contrast to many other hobby/pastimes. This requires a focus on the miniature, hiding away, isolationism, and it significantly affects confidence, or perhaps it reflects lack of confidence.

“Small parcels that arrive by post are hardly noticeable to the wider family, or are frequently delivered to the work address to maintain secrecy. The majority of railway modelling trainees and exhibition visitors are not members of modelling clubs or societies and, typically, are working alone.”

When I looked further into this idea I came

 across the artist Nicholas Hilliard, the famous Elizabethan miniature watercolour portraitist, or limner, who said of his hobby: “Moreover it is a secret, a man may use it and be scarcely perceived from his own folk (and it is) sweet and cleanly to use.” In other words limning, could be practised discreetly taking up neither undue stress or time unlike more laborious forms of painting such as with oils and also, just as importantly, hidden from his family.

For men the arts were something to be exercised as a secret pastime only in a boy’s youth, to be abandoned when the time came for business of greater importance. I found this fascinating as it ties in completely with the typical modelling trajectory of ‘playing trains’ in childhood, only to abandon it when careers, mortgages, marriages and kids come along. Sometimes being rediscovered much later in life when ‘business of greater importance’ is passed over in favour of retirement.

“Sadly there are still people who think of a model railway as just a toy, something to buy the kids at Christmas or the

4: The painter, or ‘limner’ Nicholas Hilliard made the portrait miniature fashionable in Tudor England.

plaything of eccentric Peter Pans. What they don’t understand is the all-pervading enjoyment to be found in creating a world in miniature,” says Mike Gill in The Peco Book of Model Buildings.

That said, there’s also enjoyment to be had in creating a miniature world with younger members of your family. I’ve been contacted by a few granddads since this magazine was launched, eager to tell me how they are encouraging their grandchildren into the hobby, maybe there is also an age-old element of wanting to pass down skills to the younger generation?

But maybe the best reason to model is simply for its own sake: “The overriding justification for any model railway is that it satisfies and fulfils the one who built it. This is an unassailable bastion against which no argument or criticism can prevail,” says Jack Ray in Historical Railway Modelling.

Do you have any theories about the reason people model? I’d love to hear if you do, email rmmodellingeditor@mortons.co.uk  February 2017

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Past and present

The benefits of

collectors' clubs This month Ian Lamb talks about the benefits of joining a collectors’ club when starting with the hobby of modelling, and his memories of the Ian Allan Locospotters' Club.

I

n my experience there are basically three kinds of railway modelling enthusiasts – those (the majority) who simply ‘play trains’ without worrying about whether or not their display is authentic; next come the realistic modellers (which I mainly identify with) who strive hard to create as near the real thing as possible, usually round a specific theme or moment that personally meant so much to them.

Lastly (and increasingly) – and I include myself – are the collectors, who derive their pleasure from storing and displaying specific model trains or individual locos and accessories.

Whatever category you may place yourself in at any one time, it is good to share your hobby with others, or keep up to date with the latest models, etc. Model railway clubs are the ideal location for such support, but there may not be one near you. Even if there are, you may not wish to socialise, preferring instead to deal direct with the manufacturer.

All three main manufacturers –

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Bachmann, Dapol and Hornby – encourage purchasers of their models to develop a close relationship in order that they can have regular feedback and be an immediate support to the purchaser should any problems arise with the model. Many model railway enthusiasts subscribe to more than one of them, as they all have their own attractions.

Club membership is nothing new; indeed the Hornby one has been around for as long as the hobby, and its purpose is as relevant today as it has always been.

After the First World War, Hornby became concerned that once they’d bought the railway models some owners knew little about running a railway system in miniature, and it wanted every purchaser to be one of the really happy kind, obtaining 100% from their hobby.

The solution the company came up with was that an organisation should be formed to look after the interests of Hornby train owners. Step by step the scheme was developed, and in October 1928 the

genesis of today’s Hornby Collectors’ Club was formed with, “the one object of the organisation to ensure that every Hornby or Hornby-Dublo train user in the world is getting every possible ounce of fun from his miniature railway.”

Competitions were regularly held and venues for like-minded members to visit were encouraged, so strengthening their allegiance to the company and its products.

It started off as The Hornby Railway Company with boy directors and officials and its literary reference evolved in Liverpool as the Meccano Magazine.

To entice membership its paperwork stated that it, “…admits you to the greatest organisation of miniature railway enthusiasts in the world. The sole object of the Hornby Railway Company is to increase mechanical knowledge in general and the knowledge of railways and railway practice in particular.” Having been in education for most of my working life, I really like that statement, summing up beautifully what should be at the core of

The Ian Allan Locospotters' Club

our hobby.

The next statement might raise a few eyebrows, but the sentiment is still relevant in the 21st century. “The members of the company are a body of intelligent and progressive boys and men, who profit greatly from the delightful fun they have and the valuable experience they gain, in running their railways on the lines of real railway practice.”

There were no financial subscriptions other than a ‘10d’ fee for a badge for members to wear and be easily recognised by fellow Hornby members. While purchase of the monthly Meccano Magazine was not compulsory, all members were expected to register for a regular copy.

The magazines provided by Bachmann and Hornby today are of an extremely high standard, not possible in the days of the Meccano Magazine, yet still providing the necessary support and encouragement to those currently enjoying the hobby of model railways, hopefully as much – if not more – than those of the 20th century.

During my very early teens I became an active member of the Edinburgh branch of the Ian Allan Locospotters' Club.

I was given a membership badge that enabled me to be recognised by fellow trainspotters and I still treasure it.

Undoubtedly, some people will say that's childish, but though it may be small in size, what the badge represented was large in opportunity.

The group arranged periodic Sunday outings for shed bashing in the hope of seeing that ever-elusive engine.

Many of these weekend trips were ‘over the Border’ to the likes of Newcastle and Carlisle. Indeed, Carlisle really stands out in my memory.

Being the son of a railwayman meant that I could travel to these places free or with a ‘PT’ (privilege ticket).

An early-morning start from Edinburgh’s then Princes Street station, in a local train behind a Fairburn tank engine, took us to Symington station on the main line between Glasgow and Carlisle.

In the 1950s connecting trains were not always made at Carstairs.

There is little trace of Symington station today, but on that visit it was very wet and windy, with a heavy mist all around.

Soon the steady exhaust of the Londonbound express could be heard, and then – a view ingrained on my mind for evermore – out of the gloom emerged a gleaming Stanier Pacific 46230 Duchess of Buccleuch. The locomotive appeared massive as it slid by the platform, shining like a bright emerald highly polished in the heavy rain.

While that engine had no specific role to play

on my LEVEN layout, nevertheless I just had to have a model of it.

The Hornby model at the time was acquired, shortly followed with conversion of the number and name.

Consequently this engine became my first specific ‘collector’ model.

The quality of Hornby models has moved on considerably since then, with the class being well represented by that of the NRM loco 46233 Duchess of Sutherland.

Ironically, out of 38 Coronation class, only six of them escaped my eyes in BR revenueearning service; one of which was 46233!

Hornby’s model of the NRM Stanier Pacific loco 46233 Duchess of Sutherland in BR Brunswick green lined livery, sister engine to 46230 Duchess of Buccleuch.

February 2017

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Past and present

The old Dava line in winter...

T he Dava Project model railway details the old Dava line between Grantown and Forres on the old Highland Railway line in Scotland and came about in an attempt to show the importance of the railway in the development of the local community as well as demonstrating to young people what can be achieved with limited resources, as the railway uses scrap material and mainly second-hand locomotives and rolling stock, says Ian Lamb.

From the initial display, some workshops were set up to enable young people to develop skills relevant to modelling, especially in the way of scenery and kits.

Indeed, to create a day in Dava during the lifetime of the line, the whole operation

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of the layout is based on a young boy standing on the station footbridge simply watching the trains go by.

This model railway project has been exhibited throughout Britain and more than 45,000 visitors have now had the opportunity to see the project in action.

After 15 years vibrating its way over Britain’s many roads between Inverness and London to and from shows, the layout is showing its age and is currently stored until funds are forthcoming to rebuild it to exhibition standard.

It is easy to recall the halcyon prewar days when Highland locomotives still ruled locally, and reliable summers were still the norm as shown by this image of Dava.

However, it is quite another in reality –

especially in winter weather when engines had to face the rigours of high winds and blinding snow.

Recently I spoke to 93-year-old Jock Hay who started off his railway career on Highland engines in LMS days during the Second World War, ending up training the current HST125 drivers based at Inverness.

After a Christmas of unseasonably high temperatures it can be hard to imagine what conditions were really like when road and rail routes were troubled with deep snow. Often it was a case of drifting snow filling up almost as quickly as the line had been cleared; endless warfare waged against the elements.

Jock – who ‘broke his teeth’ cleaning Highland Railway locomotives recalls

what life was like on the footplate during a winter storm.

In particular, the winter of 1947 was one of the harshest experienced in Britain in the last century. The Inverness-Perth County March at Drumochter was looking ugly, with no let-up in the weather. Jock was firing to driver Donald ‘Dot’ Kennedy, and the pair were dispatched on a ‘Barney’ 0-6-0 freight loco to clear a snow drift that had blocked a goods train just south of Dalwhinnie. These powerful goods engines, the vanguard of the locomotive army, sallied forth into the mountain wastes, bearing with them the mighty full-size ploughs.

“It was dark when we left Aviemore and the snow was getting worse when we climbed out of Newtonmore and eventually arrived at Dalwhinnie signal box on the Up line. I put a good delver into the firebox and off we went. The ‘Barney’ we were on had iron bars fitted to the tender and was covered with a wagon sheet to try to keep the coal dry. The cab had a wooden contraption fitted to it with a place where we could put our heads in and look out of a small pane of glass to see where we were going.

“That was a Wednesday, and on the Friday Dot and I left Aviemore to go to Dalwhinnie to pull back the goods train that had stuck in the snow. There were cattle trucks on the train. At the bottom you could see two small holes and the vapour coming out where the sheep were alive. I was told that the snow was dug out of the trucks at Perth and sadly 50 sheep had died, but a lot of the sheep went out of the top wide bars of the cattle trucks and on to the hill.

“It is said that on one occasion when a train became immovable near Dalwhinnie, a Highland piper played for the best part of the night entertaining the passengers, but also to prevent them from falling asleep in the ice-cold atmosphere of the train.

“At one time two trains were lost in the snow on Dava Moor; one – a regular passenger train – was not found for a week although the passengers and crew managed to escape to Dava Station in the nick of time. When it was eventually salvaged, the drift wherein it had been buried was found to be 72ft in height above rail level.

The other train did not fare so well; it was a cattle train bound for London just before Christmas and was caught by a blizzard on Dava Moor. These terrified animals refused to leave what little shelter there was with the result that every one of them was buried with the train."

Conditions can be just as bad for today’s modern traction. Thus do the Highland railwaymen wage their ruthless war on winter weather, always prepared, as Kipling says, “to take such steps as may be necessary for the resumption of traffic and all that implies”. 

  1: Jock on board the Strathspey Railway’s Ivatt 2-6-0 loco in 2013. RON SMITH 2: The DAVA Project’s model of Highland ‘Barney’ 17695 approaches Dava station with a train of empty cattle wagons for Grantown on Spey. ERIC DALE 3: Snow blockage on Dava in February 1963.



One of Scotland’s greatest photographers, WJV Anderson, took this magnificent picture of the main snowplough being prepared at Aviemore. His comments in support of the image are most apt. “February 1951 was particularly difficult for Scottish Railways; the West Highland was snow blocked for days. The Highland managed to stay open. A journey north on the 6.47am ex-Perth to Inverness on the Monday morning after a particularly bad weekend was a memorable occasion. Over the summit it was more like being in a ship on an endless sea of snow. Three engines were used to haul the train, and the noise from the wheels was completely deadened by snow. There was not much snow at Aviemore, and the snowplough engine was there to photograph if it could be moved forward a wee bit. To the chagrin of the photographer, it was a bowler-hatted inspector who put his head out of the cabside in answer to a hail; but he proved most obliging.”

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Finding a stockist Here's where you can pick up a free copy...

Not sure where you can get your great value copy of The Railway Magazine guide to Modelling? Here's the latest list of stockists... and if there's no model shop near your home, ask your local retailer to call us on 01507 529401 BEDFORDSHIRE Dunstable Model Centre, 23/25 West Street,, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU6 1SL Tel: 01582 662566 East Bedfordshire Model Railway Society, The Roundabout Club, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1EL Tel: 01626 864942 AGR Model Railway Store, 9 High Street Mews, 28 High Street, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 1EA Tel: 07525 854788 BERKSHIRE JW Toys at Reading Collectors Centre, Unit 15 Harris Arcade, Station Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 1DN Tel: 0118 9588666 Timemachine, 32 Westborough Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 4AR, 01628 622603 MDR Direct, The Old Bank, High Street, Cookham, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 9SJ Tel: 01628 528459 Model Junction, 916 Yeovil Road, Slough Trading Estate, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4JG Berkshire Dolls House and model Company, 9 Wargrave Road, Twyford, Berkshire, Berkshire, RG10 9NY Tel: 0118 934 3700 Bracknell Railway Society, Pinewood Leisure Centre, Old Wokingham Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 3AQ, 07543 679256 EM Gauge Society, c/o 272 Sylvan Road, Upper Norwood, Berkshire, SE19 2SB Tel: 01895 676282 BRISTOL Brunel Model Railways (Richards Railways), 120 High Street, Yatton, Bristol, Bristol, BS49 4DH Tel: 01934 876328 Model Railways Direct, Retail Unit 2, Phoenix Way, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 7GP Tel: 01275 774224 Modelmania of Bristol, 13 Clouds Hill Road, St George, Bristol, BS5 7LD Tel: 01179 559819 Antics (Bristol), 8 Fairfax Street, Bristol, BS1 3DB Tel: 01179 273744 E Harding Prams and Toys Ltd, 45 East Street, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 4HB, 0117 9663584 Angel Barracks – K&M TREES, 50 Littleton Court, Blakeney Road, Patchway, Bristol, BS34 5RT Tel: 07922 160377 Avon Valley Railway, Bitton Station, Bath Road, Bristol, BS30 6HD Tel: 0117 9325538 C and L Finescale Modelling Ltd, Aran Lodge, Severn Road, Hallen, Bristol, BS10 7RZ Tel: 01179 505470 GMW Retail Ltd, 17-19 Cranleigh Court Road, Yate, Bristol, BS37 5DQ Tel: 01454 322121 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE SPD UK, Unit 15 Bessmer Crescent, Rabans Lane Ind Est, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP19 8TF Tel: 01296 334677 Garden Railway Specialists, 6 Summerleys Road, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, HP27 9DT Tel: 01844 345158 Modelling Tools.co.uk, Uncle Jacks, Lavendon Road, Olney, Buckinghamshire, MK46 4HH, 01234 711980 Transport Treasures, 2 London Road, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP22 5HQ Tel: 01296 631002 Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Quainton Road Station, Quainton, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP22 4BY Tel: 01296 655720 High Wycombe & District Model Railway Society, c/o Block A, Top Floor, Commercial Square, Leigh Street, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP11 2RH Tel: 07929 905502 CAMBRIDGESHIRE Nene Valley Railway, Wansford Station, Stibbington, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE8 6LR Tel: 01780 784444 Glendale Junction, 5 New Row, Deeping St James, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE6 8NA Tel: 01778 343183 City Cycle Centre, 7 Market Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4PB, 01353 663131 Trains4u, 27 St Davids Square, Fengate, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE1 5QA Tel: 01733 895989 Cambridge Toy Shop, 15 Sussex Street, Cambridge, CB1 1PA Tel: 01223 309010 DB Models Ltd, 28c Europa Way, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 2TZ Tel: 01945 429252 New Modellers Shop Ltd, 25 Eastern Avenue, Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE1 4PH Tel: 01733 704502 Broadway Junction, The Coach House, 9 The Broadway, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 5BX Tel: 01480 464684 CHESHIRE Holder Collectables, Culcheth Model Railways, CPS Shopping Centre, Common Lane, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 4EH Tel: 0800 046 3595 High Lane Model Railways, Unit 3 Stockport Market Hall, Stockport, Cheshire, SK1 1ES Tel: 01663 810 299 The Model Shop, 167 Witton Street, Northwich,

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Cheshire, CW9 5EA Tel: 01606 47740 Grimy Times Model Railways, 187 Orford Lane, Warrington, Cheshire, WA2 7BA Haslington Models, 134 Crewe Road, Haslington, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 5RQ Tel: 01270 589079 Waltons Models, 30 Stamford Street, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 1EY Tel: 0161 928 5940 Widnes Model Centre, 128 Widnes Road, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 6AX Tel: 0151 424 1196 Hattons Model Railways, 17 Montague Road, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 8FZ Tel: 0151 7333655 Chester Model Centre, 71-73 Bridge Street Row (East), Chester, Cheshire, CH1 1NW Crewe Heritage Centre, Vernon Way, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 2DB Tel: 01270 212130 Alsager Toys & Models, 58 Sandbach Road South, Alsager, Cheshire, ST7 2LP Tel: 01270 882871 G Scale Direct, 39 The Parklands, Congelton, Cheshire, CW12 3DS Tel: 01260 279194 CLEVELAND Redcar Models & Hobbies, 130 High Street, Redcar, Cleveland, TS10 3DH Tel: 01642 494912 Stockton Modeller, 10 Silver Street, Stockton-onTess, Cleveland, TS18 1SX Tel: 01642 616680 Cleveland Model Railway Club, Unit 2 The BHive Centre, Skelton Ind Est, Skelton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Cleveland, TS12 2LQ Tel: 07864 880242 CO DURHAM Windsock Models, 5-7 Fore Bondgate, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, DL14 7PF Tel: 01388 603759 Models4Hobby, Unit 13 Avenue 3, Chilton Business Park, Chilton, Durham, DL17 0PB Tel: 01388 417940 Locomotion – The National Railway Museum, Shildon, Co Durham, DL4 1PQ Tel: 01388 777999 North East Model Centre, The Old Chapel, Durham Road, Chester Moor, Durham, DH2 3RJ Tel: 0191 3881128 National Railway Museum Shildon, Locomotion’, Shildon, Co Durham, DL4 1PQ, 01388 771439 Head of Steam, Darlington Railway Museum, North Road Station, Darlington, Co Durham, DL3 6ST Tel: 01325 460532 Durham Trains of Stanley, 6 Station Road, Stanley, Co Durham, DH9 0JL Tel: 01207 232545 Connellys Toy Shop, 9-11 The Bank, Barnard Castle, Co Durham, DL12 8PH Tel: 01833 637 396 Bishop Trains, The Railway Station, Bob Hardisty Drive, Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham, DL14 7TL Tel: 01388 661394 CORNWALL Bodmin & Wenford Railway, General Station, Lostwithiel Road, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL31 1AQ Tel: 01208 73666 Great Western Scale Models, 5 Pentowan Road, Loggans, Hayle, Cornwall, TR27 5AR Tel: 01736 757679 Kernow Model Rail Centre, 98a Trelowarren Street, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 8AN Tel: 01209 714099 Liskeard Railway Models, Station Road, Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14 4BX Tel: 01579 349950 World of Model Railways, Meadow Street, Mevagissey, Cornwall, PL26 6UL Tel: 01726 842457 Blewetts of Hayle, 19 Penpole Terrace, Hayle, Cornwall, TR27 4BQ Tel: 01736 753012 Falmouth Society of Railway Modellers, c/o The Athenaeum Club, Kimberley Place, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 3QL Tel: 01326 312338 Hidden Valley Adventure Park, Tredidon, St Thomas, Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 8SJ Tel: 01566 86463 CUMBRIA Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway Co Ltd, Haverthwaite Station, near Ulveston, Cumbria, LA12 8AL Tel: 01539 531594 Stainmore Railway Co, The East Station, South Road, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, CA17 4LA Tel: 01768 371700 C & M Models, 1 Crosby Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 1DQ Tel: 01228 514689 E Atkinson & Sons Ltd, Promenade Shop, Lake Road, Bowness On Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 3DE Tel: 01539 443047 Crafty Hobbies, 54 Cavendish Street, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, LA14 1PZ Tel: 01229 820759 Armstrong Ward, 8 Wainwrights Yard, Stricklandgate, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 4DP Tel: 01539 720400 Broughton Rail, The Post Office, 11 Princes Street, Broughton-In-Furness, Cumbria, LA20 6HQ Tel: 01229 716220 Furness Model Railway Club, c/o The Flat, 1 Dundee Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA14 2RP Tel: 01229 583595 Harpers Toymaster, 1-2 Middlegate, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7PG Tel: 01768 864475 Hadrians Hobbies, Unit 6 The Old Brewery, Craw Hall, Brompton, Cumbria, CA8 1TR Tel: 07962 177904 Jacksons Models & Railways, 33 New Street, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 9AL Tel: 016973 42557

DERBYSHIRE Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Association, Wirksworth Station, Station Road, Coldwell Street, Wirksworth, Derbyshire, DE4 4FB Tel: 01629 823076 Malcs Models, 2-4 Pelham Street, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 8AR Tel: 07786 896807 Midland Railway Trust Ltd, Butterley Station, Ripley, Derbyshire, DE5 3QZ Tel: 01773 747674 Mount Tabor Models, Scarthin, Cromford, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3QF Tel: 01629 822294 TTCDiecast (Derby), 107 Nottingham Road, Derby, Derbyshire, DE1 3QR Tel: 01332 343943 WD Models, 25-27 Chatsworth Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2AH Tel: 01246 208244 Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre, Campbell Drive, Barrow Hill, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S43 2PR Tel: 01246 472450 Peak Rail PLC, Matlock Station, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3NA Tel: 01629 580381 Chesterfield Railway Modellers, c/o 6 Fishponds Close, Wingerworth, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S42 6SD Tel: 01246 271099 Galactic Models, 3-4 The Strand Arcade, Sadler Gate, Derby, Derbyshire, DE1 1BQ Tel: 01332 344033 High Peak Models, 132 Market Street, Chapel-en-le Frith, High Peak, Derbyshire, SK23 0HZ Tel: 01298 812424 Historical Model Railway Society, Museum & Study Centre, Midland Railway Centre, Butterley Railway Station, Ripley, Derbyshire, DE5 3QZ Tel: 01773 745 959 DEVON The Model Shop Exeter, 4 St David’s Hill, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3RG Tel: 01392 421906 Antics (Plymouth), 30 Royal Parade, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 1DU Tel: 01752 221851 Exmouth Model Railway, Queen's Drive, Exmouth, Devon, EX8 2AY Tel: 01395 278383 Bekra Models, 91 Queen Street, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 2BG Tel: 01626 334884 Buffers Model Railway Ltd, Colston Cross, Axminster, Devon, EX13 7NF Tel: 0129 735557 Peco Model Shop, Underleys, Beer, Seaton, Devon, EX12 3NA Tel: 01297 21542 Shady Lane, 11 Grenville Street, Bideford, Devon, EX39 2EA Tel: 01237 238872 Dartmoor Railway, Okehampton Station, Station Road, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 1EJ Tel: 01837 55164 Antics, 86 Cornwall Street, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 1LR Tel: 01752 221851 Anything Narrow Gauge, Shop 2 Holsworthy Market Parade, Holsworthy Square, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 6DL Tel: 01409 259009 Austins of Newton Abbot, 6 Courtenay Street, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 2DU Tel: 01626 333444 Collett’s Model Trains, 6B Albion Street, Exmouth, Devon, EX8 1JL Tel: 01395 224608 Dart Valley Railway, Queens Park Station, Torbay Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 6AF Tel: 01803 555872 Devon Railway Centre, The Station, Bickleigh, near Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8RG Tel: 01884 855671 DORSET Platform Models, Unit 1, 10-12 Alder Hills, Poole, Dorset, BH12 4AL Tel: 01202 798068 Swanage Railway, Station House, Swanage, Dorset, BH19 1HB Tel: 01929 475204 Redlands Models, 71 Greenway Road, Redlands, Weymouth, Dorset, DT3 5BD Tel: 01305 812183 Scale Link Ltd, Unit 27 Applins Farm Business Centre, Farrington, Dorset, DT11 8RA Tel: 01747 811817 Bournemouth Model Railway Centre, 329-331 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH8 8BT Tel: 01202 309872 Howleys Toy Master, 5 Frederick Place, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8HQ Tel: 01305 779255 Christchurch Model Railway Club, 8 Belvedere Road, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 1PT Tel: 01202 486802 Dorchester Toymaster, 25 South Street, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1BY Tel: 01305 261152 East Dorset Area ‘N’ Gauge Group, c/o 3 Riggs Garden, Bournmouth, Dorset, BH11 8QZ Tel: 01202 546679 Aspire Gifts & Models, Unit 9 Court Farm Business Park, Buckland Newton, Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 7BT Tel: 01300 345355 F Herring & Sons, 27 High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1UP Tel: 01305 267917 Frost & Co Ltd, 34 West Street, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3QP Tel: 01308 422271 EAST SUSSEX Train Times, 37 Seaside, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN22 7NB Tel: 01323 722026 Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park Station, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 3QL Tel: 01825 720803 Classic Rail, 30 High Street, Ticehurst, Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 7AS Tel: 01580 200400 Silverhill Models & Toys, 383 London Rd, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, TN37 6PA Tel: 01424 431133

The Hobby Box, 121 High Street, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 1RN Tel: 01825 765296 Brighton Model Railway Club, c/o London Road Station, Shaftsbury Place, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 4QS Tel: 01273 771929 Hastings & St Leonards Model Railway Club, c/o Baldslow Memorial Hall, Harrow Lane, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, TN37 7PR Tel: 01424 753684 EAST YORKSHIRE 53A Models, 430 Hessle Rd, Hull, East Yorkshire, HU3 3SE Tel: 01482 227777 Bridlington (Area) Railway Modellers & Train Enthusiasts' Society, Barmates, Bridlington Railway Station, Station Approach, Bridlington, East Yorkshire, YO15 3EP Tel: 01262 603309 Croppers Models, 17 Landsdowne Road, Bridlington, East Yorkshire, YO15 2QU Tel: 01262 677231 ESSEX Clacton Art & Craft Centre, 93 Pier Avenue, Clacton on Sea, Essex, CO15 1QE Tel: 01255 436346 Flair Rail, Unit 7 Springfield, Nursery Estate, Burnham on Crouch, Essex, CM0 8TA Tel: 01621 786198 Plus Daughters, 8 Brittania Court, Burnt Mills Ind Est, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1EU Tel: 01268 726211 John Dutfield Model Railways, Wards Yard, 133 Springfield Park Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6EE Tel: 01245 494455 Mankim Models, 213 Shrub End Road, Colchester, Essex, CO3 4RN Tel: 01206 574929 Marquee Models, Unit 71 The Harvey Centre, Harlow, Essex, CM20 1XS, 01279 423334 Roneo Models, 32 Roneo Corner, Hornchurch, Essex, RM12 4TN Tel: 01708 442836 Chiltern Model Railway Association, 119 Ipswich Road, Colchester, Essex, CO4 4EJ Tel: 01438 715580 Colchester A1 Models, 64 London Road, Colchester, Essex, CO3 4DF Tel: 01206 572094 Colchester & District Model Railway Club, c/o The Clubhouse, Armoury Farm, Armoury Road, West Bergholt, Essex, CO6 3JP Tel: 01376 570156 Colin Bliss Models, 7 King George's Place, High Street, Maldon, Essex, CM9 5BZ Tel: 01621 851327 Argosy Toys, 553 London Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 9LJ Tel: 01702 346806 Braintree & Halstead Model Railway Club, c/o East Anglian Railway Museum, Chapple & Wakes Colne Station, Essex, CO6 2DS Tel: 01787 222920 Chelmsford Model Railway Club & Mangapps Railway, c/o Mangapps Railway Museum, Southminster Road, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8QG Tel: 01277 225206 Colne Valley Railway, Castle Hedingham, Essex, CO9 3DZ Tel: 01787 461174 Epping Ongar Railway, Station House, High Street, Ongar, Essex, CM5 9BN Tel: 01277 365200 Flair Depot Mk 2, Manor Garden Centre, Pound Lane, Bowers Giffird, Basildon, Essex, SS13 2JS Tel: 01268 725556 G F C Models, 2 Milton Road, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 5ED Tel: 01277 219254 Hedingham Models, 7 Market Street, Phoenix Shopping Centre, Braintree, Essex, CM7 3YA Tel: 01376 320522 GLOUCESTERSHIRE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, The Shop, The Railway Station, Toddington, Gloucestershire, GL54 5DT Tel: 01242 621405 Forest of Dean Models, High Street, Bream, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 6JF Tel: 01594 563054 Antics (Gloucester), 81 Northgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2AG Tel: 01452 410693 Antics (Stroud), 49 High Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 1AN Tel: 01453 764487 Cheltenham Model Centre, 39 High Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 1DY Tel: 01242 234644 Dean Forest Railway, Norchard, Forest Road, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4ET Tel: 01594 845840 Bourton Model Railway, Box Bush, High Street, Bourton On The Water, Gloucestershire, GL54 2AN Tel: 01451 820686 Antics (Stonehouse), Unit One Springfield Business Centre, Stroud Water Business Park, Brunel Way, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 3SX Tel: 01453 825645 Derails, Unicorn House, Market Place, 37 Cole Ford, Gloucester, GL16 8AA Tel: 01594 835692 Forest Discounts, 16 High Street, Cinderford, Gloucestershire, GL14 2SH Tel: 01594 510540 Forest of Dean Model Railway Club, Cobbett, Pettycroft, Ruardean, Gloucestershire, GL17 9XH Garden Railway Centres Ltd, Capel Orchard, London Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL52 6UZ Tel: 01242 519770 GREATER LONDON Fagins Toys, 84 Fortis Griffin Road, Muswell Hill, London, N10 3HN Tel: 020 8444 0282

London Transport Museum, Covent Garden Piazza, London, WC2E 7BB, 020 7379 7310 Ian Allan Bookshop & Model Shop, 45-46 Lower Marsh, Waterloo, London, SE1 7RG, 0207 401 2100 E F Russ, 101 Battersea Rise, Battersea, London, SW11 1HW, 020 7228 6319 Northfields Model Shop, 217 Northfield Avenue, Ealing, London, London, W13 9QU, 078 064 711 73 Janes Trains, 35 London Road, Tooting, London, SW17 9JR, 020 8640 1569 Fenwicks (Brent Cross), Brent Cross Shopping Centre, Brent Cross, London, NW4 3FN , Hannants London, Unit 2 Hurricane Trading Estate, Graeme Park Way, Collindale, London, NW9 5QW, 0208 205 6697 HAMPSHIRE Mid Hants Railway, The Watercress Line, The Railway Station, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 9JG Tel: 01962 733810 The Magic Toy Box, 210 Havant Road, Drayton, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 2EH Tel: 02392 221307 Fratton Model Centre, 171-173 Fratton Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 5ET Tel: 023 928 27117 A C Models, 7 High Street, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 5LB Tel: 02380 610100 Alton Model Centre, 7a Normandy Street, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 1DD Tel: 01420 542244 Mainly Planes & Trains, 79 Stoke Road, Gosport, Hampshire, PO12 1LR Tel: 02392 581402 Moors Valley Railway, Moors Valley Country Park, Horton Road, Ashley Heath, Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 2ET Tel: 01425 471415 Ron Lines, 342 Shirley Road, Shirley, Southampton, Hampshire, SO15 3HJ Tel: 02380 772681 The Model Shop, 117 New Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO2 7QS Tel: 02392 653100 Waterlooville Model Centre, 225 Commercial Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 4BJ Tel: 023 9217 6367 Wicor Models, 7 West Street, Porchester, Hampshire, PO16 9XB Tel: 023 9235 1160 AC Models, 7-9 High Street, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 5LB Tel: 02380 610100 Church Street Models, 10a Church Street, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 7QE Tel: 01256 358060 Andover Toys, 20 Chantry Way, Andover,, Hampshire, SP10 1LX Tel: 01264 352263 B&D (Collectors) Toys, 2 Beaulieu Road, Dibden Purlieu, Hampshire, SO45 4PT Tel: 023 8084 4550 Fleet Toys, 195 Fleet Road, Fleet, Hampshire, GU51 3BL Tel: 01252 613949 Garden Rail Outlet, 7 Rosebery Avenue, Hythe, Southampton, SO45 3HA Tel: 023 8084 0834 HEREFORDSHIRE Hereford Model Centre, 4 Commercial Road, Hereford, HR1 2BB Tel: 01432 352809 Golden Valley Hobbies, Unit 1 Pontrilas Business Park, Pontrilas, Herefordshire, HR2 0AZ Tel: 01981 241237 HERTFORDSHIRE Hurricane Models, Unit 7 Impresa Park, Pindar Road, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, EN11 0DL Tel: 01992 447346 KS Models, 19 Middle Row, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 3AW Tel: 01438 746616 Junction 20 Models, 51 High Street, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 9HU Tel: 01923 270247 Cuthberts Toys, 21a Eastcheap, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, SG6 3DA Tel: 01462 486030 Cuthberts Toys, 2 Christopher Place, Upper Dagnell Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 5DQ Tel: 01727 838753 Garden Railway Ltd ( Martins Models), 3 Plaw Hatch Close, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 5BL Tel: 01279 831641 ISLE OF MAN Track Shack, Unit 4 Olive Court, Ramsey Road, Peel, Isle of Man, IM5 1RH Tel: 01624 845977 Model World, 16 St Pauls Square, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM8 1LH Tel: 01624 816048 ISLE OF WIGHT Isle of Wight Steam Railway, The Railway Station, Havenstreet, PO3 4DS Tel: 01983 882204 Reeds Hobbys, 5 Pier Street, Ventnor, PO38 1ST Tel: 01938 56189 Upstairs Downstairs, 3 Pier Street, Sandown, PO36 8JR Tel: 01983 406 616 Fort Victoria Model Railway, Fort Victoria, Westhill Road, Yarmouth, PO41 0RR Tel: 01983 761553 KENT Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, New Romney Station, Kent, TN28 8PL Tel: 01797 362353 Chalk Garden Rail, 4 Brewhouse Yard, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 2EJ Tel: 01474 351672 Manklows, 44 Seal Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN14 5AR Tel: 01732 454952 Model World, Unit 1 Anchor Business Park, Castle Road, Sittingbourne, ME10 3AE Tel: 01795 410630 Ramsgate Models, 74a Queensgate Street, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 9ER Tel: 01843 584073 The Model Shop, 8 Front Road, Woodchurch, Kent, TN26 3QE Tel: 01233 860008 Ashford Model Supply Centre, Unit 23, Ellingham Way, Ashford, Kent, TN23 6NF Tel: 01233 635837 Invicta Model Rail, 130 Station Road, Sidcup, Kent, DA15 7AB Tel: 0208 3027774

Kent Garden Railways, 66 High Street, St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent, BR5 3NH Tel: 01689 891668 Regal Models, The Old School House, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TZ Tel: 01634 838808 Rochester Games & Models, 21 Corporation Street, Rochester, Kent, ME1 1NN Tel: 01634-815699 The Hobby Shop, 122 West Street, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7JB Tel: 01795 531666 Bexley Model Centre, Broughton House, Iris Avenue, Bexley, Kent, DA5 1HH Tel: 0845 22 66 545 Fenwick (Canterbury), St Georges Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2TB Tel: 01227 766866 Fenwick (Tunbridge Wells), Royal Victoria Place, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 2SR Tel: 01892 516716 Braley Hobby Supplies, 4 Deer Park Way, West Wickham, Kent, BR4 9QQ Tel: 020 8462 0118 Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway, The Warren, Bredgar, Sittingbourne, ME9 8AT Tel: 01622 884254 Dream Steam, Ground Floor Suite, Vanguard House, Mills Road, Aylesford, ME20 7NA Tel: 0845 0773007 East Kent Railway, Station Road, Shepherdswell, Dover, Kent, CT13 7PD Tel: 01304 832042 Folkestone Hythe & District Model Railway Club, c/o New Broomfield Hall, 29-37 Broomfield Road, Cheriton, Folkestone, CT19 4DJ Tel: 01303 239889 HLS Models, Unit 5 Manford Ind Est, Manor Road, Erith, Kent, DA8 2AJ Tel: 0747 311 2524 LANCASHIRE Arcadia Models, 67 Rochdale Road, Shaw, Oldham, Lancashire, OL2 7JT Tel: 01706 882900 Bolton Model Mart, 58 Great Moor Street, Bolton, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, BL1 1SN Tel: 01204 382282 Conways (West Houghton), 46-48 Market Street, Westhoughton, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, BL5 3AZ Tel: 01942 812398 East Lancashire Railway, Bury Bolton Street Station, Bolton Street, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 0EY Tel: 0161 7647790 Model & Hobby World, 7 Owen Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2AW Tel: 01524 843553 Toys 2 Save, 1 Brighton Avenue, Cleveleys, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY5 2AA Tel: 01253 855 905 Trains & Diecast, 138a Wright Street, Horwich, Bolton, Lancashire, BL6 7HU Tel: 01204 669782 Transport Models Ltd, Unit 1 Oyston Mill, Strand Road, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 8UR Tel: 01772 733644 Hobby & Model Centre, 1 Hutton Lane, Bolton, Lancashire, BL3 4JB Tel: 01204 61446 Topslots N Trains, Maritime Street, Fleetwood, Lancashire, FY7 7PB Tel: 01253 773731 JPL Models, 129 Elliott Street, Tyldesley, Manchester, Lancashire, M29 8FL Tel: 01942 896138 MJR Models, Hobbies & Accessories, 11 Hindley Road, Daisy Hill, Westhoughton, Bolton, Lancashire, BL5 2JU Tel: 01942 386790 The Locoshed, 48 Bury Old Road, Whitefield, Manchester, Lancashire, M45 6TL Tel: 0161 772 0103 Tower Models, 44 Cookson Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 3ED Tel: 01253 623797 / 623799 West End Model Centre, West End Buildings, 113 Albert Road, Colne, Lancashire, BB8 0BT Tel: 01282 867711 Conways (Blackpool), 19-21 Birley Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 1EG Tel: 01253 626461 E C Toys, 44 Bond Street, South Shore, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 1BQ Tel: 01253 341897 Carnforth Models, Unit 5 Carnforth Station, Warton Road, Carnforth, LA5 9TR Tel: 07986 252205 Collectors Toy Shop, 138a Wright Street, Horwich, Lancashire, Lancashire, BL6 7HU Tel: 01204 669782 Diesel Depot Model Railways, 23 The Crescent, St Annes on Sea, Lancashire, Lancashire, FY8 1SZ Tel: 01253 780015 F & S Scale Models, 227 Droylsden Road, Audenshaw, Manchester, Lancashire, M34 5RT Tel: 0161 370 3235 Chorley & District Model Railway Club, c/o 101 Carr Lane, Chorley, PR7 3JQ Tel: 01257 412710 LEICESTERSHIRE Great Central Railway, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 1RW Tel: 08708 308298 The Signal Box, 1 Albion Street, Anstey, Leicester, LE7 7DD Tel: 0116 236 2901 Keith’s Model Railways, 2 Holyrood Drive, Countesthrope, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE8 5TR Tel: 0116 2778634 Ace Connections Ltd, 23 Market Street, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, LE17 4EJ Tel: 01455 557052 Scale Model Scenery Ltd, 62 Station Road, Hugglescote, Leicester, LE67 2GB Tel: 01530 456952 Acme Model Products, The Shops, 48 Highgate Road, Sileby, Leicestershire, LE12 700 Tel: 01509 812177 Fords Oakham Ltd, 8 Church Street, Oakham, Leicestershire, LE15 6AA Tel: 01572 722654 LINCOLNSHIRE Mad About Trains of Gainsborough, 106 Trinity Street, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 1HS Tel: 01427 811040 B & H Models, 7 The Strait, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN2 1JD Tel: 01522 538717 D Hewins Models & Hobbies, 7B East Saint Mary’s Gate, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, DN31 1LH Tel: 01472 347088 GRA RA’s A Models, 65 Scotgate, Town Centre, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 2YB Tel: 01780 751826 Model Railway Shop, 46 Watergate, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 6PR Tel: 01476 563472 Models & Computers Plus, 55 West Street, Boston,

Lincolnshire, PE21 8QN Tel: 01205 365102 RA Models, 182a Ashby High Street, Ashby, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, DN16 2JR Tel: 07561 400533 Caistor Loco, Ashtree Enterprises, 8 Market Place, Caistor, Market Rasen, LN7 6TW Tel: 01472 859990 Granary Models, 31 High Street, Swineshead, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE20 3LH Tel: 01205 820115 Masons Models, 20 New Road, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 1DQ Tel: 01775 722456 Shermans Model Shop, 19 Dunstall Street, Scunthorpe, DN15 6LD Tel: 01724 842439 York Model Railway Ltd, Veck House, Helmswell Cliff Business Centre, Gainsborough, DN21 5TJ Tel: 01427 667470 Digitrains, 15 Clifton Street, Lincoln, LN5 8LQ Tel: 01522 527731 DB Models Ltd, No 4 Wheatsheaf Court, Deeping St Nicholas, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 3TH Tel: 01775 630479 / 07723 336344 A Part Toys & Models, Room 11 Welland Stationers, Cherryholt Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 2EP Tel: 08701 424224 Angel Cottage Supplies – K&M TREES, 4 Brewery Lane, Carlton le Moorland, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 9HZ Tel: 07824 335583 Ashtree Enterprises/Caistor Loco, 8 Market Place, Caistor, Lincolnshire, LN7 6TW Tel: 01472 859990 Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers, c/o The Membership Secretary, Warner Group Publication, The Maltings, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 6PH Fraction Models, 10 Roman Bank, Skegness, Lincolnshire, PE25 2RU Tel: 01754 760077 Gainsborough Model Railway Society, Florence Terrace, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 1BE Tel: 01427 615871 MERSEYSIDE Kitstop Models, 20 Oxton Road, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH41 2QJ Tel: 0151 647 9067 DKG Hobbies, 14 Princes Street, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 1EZ Tel: 01704 500630 Formby Model & Hobby Scene, 77-79 Gores Lane, Formby, Merseyside, L37 7DE Tel: 01704 870432 Sawyer Models, 27 Bridge Street, Earlestown, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 9BE Tel: 01925 227 835 MIDDLESEX Enfield Town Model Railway Club, c/o St Paul’s Centre, 102 Church Street, Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 6PR Tel: 01992 639361 NORFOLK Hobbies, Units 8b-11 The Ravingham Centre, Ravingham, Norwich, Norfolk, NR14 6NU Tel: 01508 549330 Train Terrain Models, 199 Plumstead Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 4AB Tel: 01603 304379 Great Eastern Railway Models, 199 Plumbstead Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 4AB Tel: 01603 431457 Hunstanton Models, 36 High Street, Hunstanton, Norfolk, PE36 5AF Tel: 01485 533324 Buoys Toys and Models, 30 Louden Road, Cromer, Norfolk, NR27 9EF Tel: 01263 519652 Bure Valley Models, Aylsham Station, Norwich Road, Aylsham, Norfolk, NR11 6BW Tel: 01263 733858 Mid Norfolk Railway, Dereham Station, Station Road, Dereham, Norfolk, NR19 1DF Tel: 01362 690633 Association of Larger Scale Railway Modellers, c/o 8 Folkes Place, Runcton Holme, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE33 0AH Auto-Loco, 10 Station Road, Sheringham, Norfolk, NR26 8RG Tel: 01263 821777 Hobbies, Units 8b-11 The Ravingham Centre, Ravingham, Norwich, Norfolk, NR14 6NU Tel: 01508 549330 NORTH YORKSHIRE Monk Bar Model Shop, 2 Goodramgate, York, North Yorkshire, YO1 7LQ Tel: 01904 659423 P & S Hobbies & Models, 32 Castle Road, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 1XE Tel: 01723 377020 Starbeck Models, 16 Devonshire Place, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 4AA Tel: 01423 507089 The Model Centre & Custom Finish Locomotives, Hill Farm, Beckhole, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 5LF Tel: 01947 896040 The Toy & Book Warehouse, Rear of 9 Market Place, Pickering, North Yorkshire, YO18 7AA Tel: 01751 474672 The Train Shop, 41 Eastborough, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 1NH Tel: 01723 354019 White Rose Modelworks, Unit 10 Bedale Station, Bedale, North Yorkshire, DL8 1BZ Tel: 01677 422444 Buffers, Backoth Hill Farm, Storiths Bolton Abbey, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 6HU Tel: 01756 710253 North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Pickering Station, Pickering, N Yorkshire, YO18 7AJ Tel: 01751 473799 Ellis Clark Trains, Unit 1 Toller Court, Shortbank Road, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 2HG Tel: 01756 701451 Monkbar Model Shop, 2 Goodramgate, York, North Yorkshire, YO1 7LQ Tel: 01904 659423 Conways (Harrogate), Unit 27, The Victoria Centre, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 1AE Fenwick (York), Coppergate Centre, York, North Yorkshire, YO1 9WY Tel: 01904 643322 Harrogate Models, 67 Leeds Road, (above the post office), Harrogate, HG2 8BE Tel: 01423 871 364

Craven Model Centre, Unit 3 Mount Pleasant, High Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1JZ Tel: 01756 794919 Cutty Blacks, 38 Huby Road, York, North Yorkshire, YO1 9UD Tel: 07766 655686 Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, Yorkshire Dales Railway Museum Trust, Bolton Abbey Station, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 6AF Tel: 01756 710614 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE The Model Shop, 230 Wellinborough Road, Northampton, NN1 4EJ Tel: 01604 631223 Wellingborough Trains & Models, 26 Market Street, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN8 1AT Tel: 01933 274069 A & H Models Ltd, 95 High Street, Brackley, Northamptonshire, NN13 7BW Tel: 01280 701410 Daventry Model Railway Club, c/o Unit 10 Austin Way, Royal Park Ind Est, Daventry, Northamptonshire, NN11 8QY Tel: 07773 275428 H & A Models, 19 Keats Way, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, NN10 8DQ Tel: 01933 355531 A & H Models Ltd, 95 High Street, Brackley, Northamptonshire, NN13 7BW Tel: 01280 701410 NORTHUMBERLAND Trains & Planes Ltd, Unit 19b Airport Ind Est, Kingston Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, NE3 2EF Tel: 0191 286 4175 Collectors Cellar, 11 Hencotes, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 2EQ Tel: 01434 601392 J & J Models, 1 Packhorse Buildings, Newgate St, Morpeth, NE61 1AW Tel: 07792 925181 Aln Valley Railway Trust, Lionheart Railway Station, Lionheart Enterprise Park, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 2EZ Bowes Railway, Springfield Village, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, NE9 7QJ NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Access Models, 43/45 Castlegate, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1BE Tel: 01636 673116 D, J & F Benham of Edwinstowe, 45 High Street,, Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, NG21 9QR Tel: 01623 822302 Gee Dee Models, 21 Heathcote Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG1 3AF Tel: 0115 9412211 Geoffrey Allison Railways, 90 Cheapside, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 2HY Tel: 01909 473255 Sherwood Models, 831 Mansfield Road, Daybrook, Nottingham, NG5 3GF Tel: 0115 9266290 The Goods Yard, Station Lodge, Lodge Lane Ind Est, Tuxford, Notts, NG22 0NL Tel: 07930 557601 DJ&F Benham, 45 High Street, Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, NG21 9QR Tel: 01623 822302 OXFORDSHIRE Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway Assoc, Chinnor Station, Station Approach, Station Road, Chinnor, Oxfordshire, OX39 4ER Didcot Railway Centre, Station Road, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 7NJ Tel: 01235 817200 Bicester Toys & Nursery Ltd, 66/68 Sheep Street, Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 6JW Tel: 01869 323946 Cholsey & Wallingford Railway Preservation Society, 5 Hithercroft Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 9GQ Tel: 01491 835067 Dentons Cycles & Toys, 1 High Street, Whitney, Oxfordshire, OX28 6HW Tel: 01993 704 979 Tinders, 56-59 Broad Street, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 5BL SCOTLAND Alva Motor Factors Ltd, 31 Mill Street, Alloa, Scotland, FK10 1DT Tel: 01259 723033 Sports & Model Shop, 66 High Street, Dingwall, Scotland, IV15 9RY Tel: 01349 862346 Strathspey Railway Company, Aviemore Station, Dalfaber Road, Aviemore, Scotland, PH22 1PY Tel: 01479 810725 The Hamilton Toy Collection, 111 Main Street, Callander, Scotland, FK17 8BQ Tel: 01877 330004 Wildcat Models, 251 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, Scotland, G11 6AB Tel: 0141 3345599 Inverness Model Shop, 16 Victorian Market, Queensgate Arcade, Inverness, Scotland, IV1 1PJ Tel: 01463 712448 Mackenzie Models, Quarryside, Duncansby Head Road, John O’Groats, Scotland, KW1 4YS Tel: 01955 611210 Mac’s Model Railroading, 4-8 Reform Street, Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland, DD8 4BS Tel: 01575 572397 Waddell’s Models, 56 Bell Street, Merchant City, Glasgow, Scotland, G1 1LQ Tel: 0141 5528044 Wickness Models, 6 Greenlea Crescent, Collin, Dunfries & Galloway, Scotland, DG1 4PR Tel: 07920 407724 Wonderland Models, 97-101-103 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH3 9AN Tel: 0131 229 6428 Abbey Models, 2 Maygate, Dunfermline, Scotland, KY12 7NH Tel: 01383 731116 Harburn Hobbies, 67 Elm Row, Leith Walk, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH7 4AQ Tel: 0131 556 3233 Invergowrie Model Centre, 118 Main Street, Invergowrie, Dundee, Scotland, DD2 5BE Tel: 01382 561064 McLaren Models, 155 Grahams Road, Falkirk, Scotland, FK2 7BQ Tel: 01324 624102 Models Unlimited, 2 North Street, Inverurie, Scotland, AB51 4QR Tel: 01467 672277

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Finding a stockist Modelzone at WH Smith, 177 Sauchiehall Street, Sauchiehall, Glasgow, Scotland, G2 2ER Tel: 0141 331 2833 Pastimes (Glasgow), 126 Maryhill Road, St Georges Cross, Glasgow, Scotland, G20 7QS Tel: 0141 3311008 Uddingston Model Centre, 161 Main Street, Uddingston, Glasgow, Scotland, G71 7BP Tel: 01698 813194 Dumfries & District Model Railway Club, Lockerbie Railway Station, Station House, Lockerbie, Scotland Tel: DG11 2HA , Dundee Model Railway Club, c/- 2-4 Huntly Square, Craigie, Dundee, Scotland, DD4 7SX Tel: 01382 644342 / 07776 011601 Edinburgh & Lothians Model Railway Club, 47 Long Crook, South Queensferry, Scotland, EH30 9XR Durrans, 2 St Johns Square, Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, KW14 7AN Tel: 01847 893169 Ayrshire Model Centre, 41 Kyle Street, Ayr, Scotland, KA7 1RS Tel: 01292 886614 Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, The Scottish Railway Preservation Society, Bo’ness Station, Union Street, Bo’ness, West Lothian, Scotland, EH51 9AQ Brechin Railway Preservation Society, The Station, Park Road, Brechin, Scotland, DD9 7AF Falkirk Model Railway Club, Unit 5 Redding Ind Est, Falkirk, Scotland, FK2 9TT H&I &II Supplies t/a Model Warehouse, 5 Badentoy Place, Portlethen, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB12 4YF Tel: 01224 784799 Elgin Model Railway Club, Elgin, Moray, Scotland, IV30 4JT WH & MR Model Railways, Elgin Mart (Saturdays), New Elgiin Road, Elgin, Moray, Scotland, IV30 6BE Tel: 01343 543243 SHROPSHIRE Severn Valley Railway, The Railway Station, Hollybush Road, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV16 5DT Tel: 01746 765801 Classic Railway Models, 62 Whitburn Street, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV16 4QP Tel: 01746 769009 Antenociti’s Workshop Ltd, 5 Hebron Close, Clive, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 5QT Tel: 01939 220498 Cambrian Railways Society Ltd – Museum, Oswald Road, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY11 1RE 01691 671749 SOMERSET East Somerset Models, The Railway Station, Cranmore, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4QP Frome Model Centre, 1-2 Catherine Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1DA Tel: 01373 465295 Model Masters, International House, 50a Clifton Road, Weston Super Mare, Somerset, BS23 1BW Tel: 01934 629717 Signals Model Shop, 8 Holly Court, High Street, Midsomer Norton, Somerset, BA3 2BD Tel: 01761 402484 West Somerset Railway, The Buffer Stop, The Railway Station, Minehead, Somerset, TA24 5BG Tel: 01643 700387 Denners, 23-25 High Street, Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 1RU Tel: 01935 444444 Eric Snook Ltd, 22-24 Union Passage, Bath, Somerset, BA1 1RD Tel: 01225 464914 Bridgw gwater w Model Railways, Bridgwater Railway Station, St John Street, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 5HB Tel: 01278 427646 DCC Train Automation, Unit 4, The Court Yard, Bowdens Farm, Hambridge, Taunton, Somerset, TA10 0BP Tel: 01823 429309 East Somerset Railway, Cranmore Railway Station, Cranmore, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4QP Tel: 01749 880417 G W Hurley, 27-29 High Street,, Burnham on Sea, Somerset, TA8 1PA Tel: 01278 789281 SOUTH YORKSHIRE MG Sharp Models, 712 Attercliffe Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S9 3RP Tel: 0114 244 0851 Marcway Models & Hobbies, 598-600 Attercliffe Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S9 3QS Tel: 0114 244 9170 Rails of Sheffield, 27-29 Chesterfield Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S8 0RL Tel: 0114 2551436 Sheffield Transport Models (Puffer Willies), 206 London Road, Highfields, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S2 4LW Tel: 0114 234 7792 Tag’s Model Shop Ltd, 4 East Laith Gate, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN1 1HZ Tel: 01302 320732 Atkinsons, Conways, 78-82 The Moor, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 3LT Tel: 0114 2781960 Baccus 6mm Ltd – K&M TREES, Unit C Graham House, Bardwell Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8AS Tel: 0114 272 4491 Barnsley Models and Games, 37 The Arcade, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2QP Tel: 01226 206005 Barnsley Model Railway Club, 53 Cypress Road, Kendray, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 3LY Tel: 07774 806487 Elsecar Heritage Railway, Preservation Group, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Wath Road, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S74 8HJ Tel: 01226 746746 Olivia’s Trains & Models, 25a Mansfield Road, Intake, Sheffield, South Yotkshire, S12 2AE Tel: 0114 2647 449 STAFFORDSHIRE The Model Shop, First Floor The Octagon Centre, New Street, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire,

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February 2017

DE14 3TN Tel: 07939 544527 Chasewater Railway Museum, Chasewater Country Park, Brownhills West Station, Pool Lane, Burntwood, Staffordshire, WS8 7NL Tel: 01543 452623 The Hobby Goblin, 54 Hamil Road, Burslem, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST6 1AU Tel: 01782 818 433 The Tutbury Jinny, Unit 9 Tutbury Mill Mews, Lower High Street, Tutbury, Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire, DE13 9LU Tel: 01283 814777 Topp Trains, 28 Marston Road, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST16 3BS Tel: 01785 247883 Amerton Railway, Stowe-by-Chartley, Nr Weston, Staffordshire, ST18 0LA Tel: 01785 850965 Foxfield Railway, Caverswall Road, Blythe Bridge, Staffordshire, ST11 9BG Tel: 01782 396210 Hobby Goblin, 13 Queen Street, Burslem, Stoke On Trent, Staffordshire, ST6 3EL Tel: 01782 823818 Alsager Railway Association, 10 Cornhill Close, Waterhayes, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs, ST5 7TA SUFFOLK Diss & District Model Railway Society, c/o The Maples, Old Barningham Road, Stanton, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP31 2BA Tel: 01359 250739 Perfect Miniatures, 86-88 Friars Street, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2AJ Tel: 01787 375884 Model Junction, 10 Whiting Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 1NX Tel: 01284 753456 Coastal DCC Ltd, Unit 2, 48-52 Tomline Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 8DB Tel: 01473 710946 SURREY Dorking Models, 12/13 West Street, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1BL Tel: 01306 881747 Models of Distinction, 23 The Woolmead, East Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7TT Tel: 01252 716981 Addlestone Model Centre, 130 Station Road, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2BE Tel: 01932 845440 Masters of Epsom, 29-31 Tattenham Crescent, Tattenham Corner, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5QJ Tel: 01737 356373 / 356867 Roxley Models, 4 Beckley Parade, Great Bookham, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT23 4RQ Tel: 01372 452976 Allders Ltd, 2 Northend, Croydon, Surrey, CR9 1SB Tel: 0208 6037400 Hampton Court Model Railway Society, 38 Arnold Drive, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2GD Tel: 020 8949 3431 Roxey Mouldings, 58 Dudley Road, Walton on Thames, Surrey, KT12 2JU Tel: 01932 245439 TYNE & WEAR Pooley’s Puffers, 382A Jedburgh Court, Team Valley Trading Est, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, NE11 0BQ Tel: 0191 4910202 Stephenson Railway Museum, Middle Engine Lane, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 8DX Tel: 0191 2007146 A19 Model Railway Club, c/o Room 13, Groundwork South Tyneside & Newcastle, The Eco Centre, Windmaill Way, Hebburn, Tyne & Wear, NE31 1SR Tel: 0191 455526 Fenwick (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Northumberland Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, NE99 1AR Tel: 0191 2325100 Gladston (North Sheilds Model Centre), 99 Bedford Street, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, Tyne & Wear, NE29 6QJ Tel: 0191 252 9591 WALES Conwy Valley Railway Museum, The Old Goods Yard, Betws-Y-Coed, Wales, LL24 0AL Tel: 01690 710568 Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, Harbour Station, Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales, LL49 9NF Tel: 01766 516000 Gwili Railway Co, Bronwydd Arms Station, Carmarthen, Wales, SA33 6HT Tel: 01267 238213 Llangollen Railway Station, The Station, Abbey Road, Llangollen, Clwyd, Wales, LL20 8SN Tel: 01978 860979 North Wales Models, Southwold, Old Mill Road, Penmaenmawr, Wales, LL34 6TG Tel: 01492 622298 Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway Co, The Railway Shop, 33 Broad Street, Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales, NP4 9ND Tel: 01495 792263 Dapol Ltd, Gledrid Industrial Park, Chirk, Wrexham, Wales, LL14 5DG Tel: 01691 774455 Talylynn Railway Shop, Wharfe Station, Tywyn, Wales, LL36 9EY Tel: 01654 710012 The Conwy Valley Railway Museum, The Old Goods Yard, Betws y Coed, Conwy, Wales, LL24 0AL Tel: 01690 710568 The Railway Shop, 33 Broad Street, Blaenavon, Wales, NP4 9NF Tel: 01495 792263 Trainstop, 10 High Street, Knighton, Wales, LD7 1EY Tel: 01547 520673 Voyle’s, Unit 33 Llanelli Workshops, Trostre Business Park, Llanelli, Wales, SA14 9UU Tel: 01554 770041 / 749200 Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog), (Bookshop), Tremadog Road, Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales, LL49 9DY Tel: 01766 513402 Western Valley Models, 1 Crescent Road, Risca, Newport, Wales, NP11 6GJ Tel: 01633 615445 Abergavenny Model Shop, 1 Brecon Road, Abergavenny, Monmouth, Wales, NP7 5UH Tel: 01873 852566 Hippo Toys & Models, 5 Diamond Units, Blackmarsh Road, Mochdre, Colwyn Bay, Wales, LL28 5HA Tel: 01492 534169 Holt Model Railways, 100 Bishopston Road,

Bishopston, Swansea, Wales, SA3 3EW, 01792 232264 Lendons of Cardiff, 192-194 Fidlas Road, Llanishen, Cardiff, Wales, CF14 5LZ Tel: 029 2075 2563 Lord & Butler Model Railways, The Old Warehouse, Next to Pumping Station, Penarth Road, Cardiff, Wales, CF11 8TT Tel: 02920 667 225 MIB Models, 1 Lewis Buildings, Newton Nottage Road, Newton, Porthcawl, Wales, CF36 5PE Tel: 01656 771121 Model Railways Rhyl, 44 Wellington Road, Rhyll, Wales, LL18 1BN Tel: 01745 798460 Old Barn Hobbies, Unit 18 Aberaeron Craft Centre, Closs Pencarreg, Aberaeron, Wales, SY46 0DX Tel: 01545 571634 Photoworld Model Railways, 26 Queens Road, CraigY-Don, Llandudno, Wales, LL30 1AZ Tel: 01492 871818 R & R Hobbies, 3 Shoppers Walk, Swansea, Wales, SA1 3AY Tel: 01792 468749 Railways Unlimited, Unit 3, Y Barics, Nantle, Caernarfon, Wales, LL54 6BD Tel: 01286-882332 Rhuddlan Models, Bryn Awel, High Street, Rhuddlan, Wales, LL18 2TU Tel: 01745 590048 Brite Ideas Toymaster, Unit 1 Gwersyllt Shopping Centre, Gwerstllt, Wrexham, Wales, LL11 4NT Tel: 01978 758451 Albatross, 29 Pier Street, Aberystwyth, Wales, SY23 2LN Tel: 01970 617836 Antics (Cardiff), 14 St Davids House, Wood Street, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 1ER Tel: 02920 229065 Austins Models, 65 High Street, Bangor, Wales (North), Wales, LL57 1NR Tel: 01248 209662 Awen Teifi, 23 High Street, Cardigan, Wales, SA43 1JG, 01239 621370 Bala Lake Railway, The Station, Llanuwychllyn, Gwynedd, Wales, LL23 7DD Tel: 01678 540666 Borders Model Railway Club, c/o 5 Gwelfryn, Llanymynech, Powys, Wales, SY22 6LJ Tel: 01691 830930 Clwyd Hobbies and Models, 447 Abergele Road, Old Colwyn, Conwy, Wales, LL29 9PR Tel: 01492 518709 Colwyn Model Railway Club, co. Unit 1 & 2, ChapelStreet, Abergele, Wales, LL22 7AW Tel: 01690 750004 Fairbourne Railway, Beach Road, Fairbourne, Gwynedd, Wales, LL38 2EX Tel: 01341 250362 George Lewis (Toys) Ltd, Market Hall, Llanelli, Wales (South), Wales, SA15 1YF Tel: 01554 757358 WARWICKSHIRE Classic Train & Motor Bus, 21b George Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV31 1HA Tel: 01926 887499 Our Place, 3 Swan Street, Alcester, Warwickshire, B49 5DP Tel: 01789 766755 FTD Models, 189B Cheveral Avenue, Radford, Coventry, Warwickshire, CV6 3EN Tel: 02476 599988 Barby Model Rail, Studio 3, The Locks, Hillmorton, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 4PP Tel: 01788 543442 Barney’s Toy Store, 1a Park Street, Leamington Spa,, Warwickshire, CV32 4QN Tel: 01926 889411 WEST MIDLANDS Hobbyrail, Unit 38 Market Village, South Parade, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B72 1QU Tel: 07981 757023 Ian Allan Bookshop, 12 Ethel Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B2 4BG Tel: 0121 6432496 Springhill Models, 4 Springhill Lane, Penn, Wolverhampton, W Midlands, WV4 4SH Tel: 01902 341302 Wonderful World of Trains & Planes, 3 Mary Ann Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B3 1BG Tel: 0121 227 4000 A Oakes Ltd, Oakend House, 174/180 Vicarage Road, Oldbury, West Midlands, B68 8JB Tel: 0121 552 1684 Tennents Trains, Shop 1, 130 Hagley Road, Haleygreen, Halesowen, West Midlands, B63 1DY Tel: 0121 550 1266 Antics (Coventry), 1a City Arcade, Coventry, West Midlands, CV1 3HX Tel: 02476 551155 Arcade Toy Shop, 30-34 Fountain Arcade, Dudley,, West Midlands, DY1 1PG Tel: 01384 252 608 Graingers Models & Crafts, 5 Appledore Terrace, Walsall, West Midlands, WS5 3DU Tel: 01922 623382 Handbourn Cabinets Ltd, 17 Willow Court, Sandwell Business Park, Warley, West Midlands, B66 1RD Tel: 0121 544 4946 West Midlands Collectors Centre, 4 Salop Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV3 0RX Tel: 01902 772570 WEST SUSSEX Martells Department Store, Martells, Queens Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 1BB Tel: 01342 321303 Gaugemaster, Gaugemaster House, Ford Road, Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 0BN Tel: 01903 884321 Morris Models, 80 Manor Road, North Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 0HD Tel: 01903 754850 East Grinstead Model Railway Club, c/o Basement – East Court Mansion, College Lane, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3LT Tel: 01342 314228 Chichester Toys, 53 South Street, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DS Tel: 01243 788 055 Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre, Amberley, Nr Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 9LT Tel: 01798 831370 Bognor Models, 52 Aldwick Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 2PN Tel: 01243 867079 Bognor Regis Model Railway Club, 12 Dukes Meadow, Pagham, Bognor Regis, West Sussex,

PO21 3PJ Tel: 01243 555065 WEST YORKSHIRE 2K Technologies, Ryder Court, Denholmegate Road,, Hipperholme, West Yorkshire, HX3 8JG T el: 01422 209666 Kirklees Light Railway, Park Mill Way, Clayton West, Nr Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD8 9XJ Tel: 01484 865727 Nick Tozer Railway Books, 159 Church Road, Paddock, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 4UJ Tel: 01484 518159 Pennine Models, 33-35 Mill Hey, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 8NE Tel: 01535 642367 Pennine Wagons, 34 Leith Court, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, WF12 8QP Tel: 01924 459104 Something Wicked Models, 1 Woodstreet, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 1BT Tel: 01484 537191 The Model Railway Shop, 30 Station Lane, Featherstone, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF7 5BE Tel: 01977 706730 Frizinghall Models and Railway, Unit 3c Hillam Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD2 1QN Tel: 01274 747447 Going Loco, 38 Potovens Lane, Lofthouse Gate, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF3 3JF Tel: 01924 824748 Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, The Railway Station, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 8NJ Tel: 01535 646838 Millennium Models, 67 Queen Street, Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS27 8EB Tel: 0113 2189286 Milnsbridge Models, 90 Market Street, Milnsbridge, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD3 4HT Tel: 01484 640007 Conways (Keighley), 53 Cavendish Street, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD21 3RB Tel: 01535 604045 Conways (Otley), 23A Westgate, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 3AT Tel: 01943 462065 Conways Toymaster (Halifax), 24 Commercial Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 1TA Tel: 01422 353986 Halifax Modeller’s World, 29 Union Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 1PR Tel: 01422 349157 55G – Something Wicked, 1 Wood Street, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 1BT Tel: 01484 537191 Blackgates Engineering, Unit 1 Victory Court, Flagship Square, Shawcross Business Park, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, WF12 7TH Tel: 01924 466000 Bradford Model Railway Club, Sedburgh Youth & Community Centre (1st Floor), 5-11 Huddersfield Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD6 1DJ Tel: 01274 698861 Demon Models, 81 Dewsbury Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF2 9BL Tel: 01924 365612 Halifax Model Railway Club, 5 Deal Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 1QX Tel: 01422 371489 WILTSHIRE Hobbybase, 19-24 White Hays North, West Wilts Trading Estate, Westbury, Wiltshire, BA13 4JT Tel: 01373 825825 Steam – Museum of the Great Western Railway, Kemble Drive, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 2TA Tel: 01793 466646 Gas Cupboard Models, 6 St Georges Walk, Silver Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8AA Tel: 01225 777888 Modelmaniacs, Unit 9 Harris Road, Porte Marsh Ind Est, Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 9PT Tel: 01249 817731 Salisbury Model Centre 2010 Ltd, 37 Fisherton Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP2 7SU Tel: 01722 334757 Spot-On Models & Games, 49 Fleet Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 1RE Tel: 01793 617302 Westons Railways, Unit 44a Studley Grange Craft Village, Hay Lane, Studley, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN4 9QT Tel: 01793 850554 Devizes Toys, 29-30 Maryport Street,, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1AG Tel: 01380 723841 Duncans Toy Chest, Unit 13, The Midland & Light Industrial Estate, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 6RU Tel: 01225 783280 Aster Hobbies, Beechcroft Farm House, Upton Lovell, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA14 8AA Tel: 01985 851221 Collectors' Corner, 37B The Arcade, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 1LL Tel: 01869 323252 Ducklings Toyshop, Unit 1A, Hilliers Yard, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1BE Tel: 01672 512170 WORCESTERSHIRE Severn Wheels, 46 Old Street, Upton Upon Severn, Worcestershire, WR8 0HW Tel: 01684 591080 DCC Supplies Ltd, Unit 17a Top Barn Business Centre, Worcester Road, Holt Heath, Worcestershire, WR6 6NH Tel: 0845 224 1601 Footplate, 101 Comberton Hill, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY10 1QG Tel: 01562 750076 CDS Models, Sugarbrook Mill, Buntsford Hill, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B60 3AR Tel: 01527 577175

If you would like to join this growing list and stock The Railway Magazine guide to Modelling, send your details to jsharratt@ mortons.co.uk or call 01507 529401

Blasts from the past

T Tony Stratford tells the story behind the best-known names b iin railway modelling. This month he looks at Hornby. m

R

ed boxes emblazoned with the Hornby logo are well known to generations of modellers. However, today’s models are far removed from those manufactured by Meccano and its founding partner Frank Hornby after the First World War. Born in 1863 in Liverpool, Frank Hornby left school at 16 to become a cashier in his father’s business. After his father’s death in 1899 he joined a meat importing company owned by Daviid Elliott, as a bookkeeper. By this time Frank was married with two sons, and a keen amateur inventor. He often made toys for his sons in the garden shed and these included models such as bridges and cranes from metal strips. The breakthrough came when he made three lengths of identical parts an inch-and-a-half wide with holes drilled at half-inch intervals, which could be held together with screws and bolts.

A small spanner and a screwdriver being all that was needed to construct items from them.

Not surprisingly interest was soon shown in the system and in 1901 he borrowed £5 from his employer to apply for a patent under the name Improvements for Toy or Educational Devices for Children and Young People. Manufacturing of the parts were subcontracted but suffered from inconsistent quality ty. y Elliott went on to provided the financial backi king i and some adjacent

empty premises i iin 1902 to allow ll H Hornby b to begin marketing the product as Mechanics Made Easy, with Elliott acting as a sleeping partner. The sets were sold initially around Liverpool by the part-time business; by 1906 the company was making a profit for the first time.

With demand outstripping supply, Hornby and Elliott took a lease on premises in Duke Street and purchased equipment to enable them to produce everything themselves, thus ensuring consistent quality.

In 1907 it was necessary to set up a new company, Meccano, and to move again to new premises in West Derby Road. Elliott decided to leave the company at this point, leaving Hornby as the sole owner.

By 1914, a new factory had been built in Binns Road, Liverpool and the construction sets were being exported to many countries; a factory had been set up in Paris and a working relationship established with Marklin, which produced Meccano under licence in Germany.

Frank Hornby went on to introduce Meccano Magazine in 1916, O gauge Hornby Series trains in 1920 and die-cast road vehicles as the Dinky Toys range in 1934, with Hornby going on to become an international company. Trains were produced for the company’s agents in Argentina, Canada, Denmark, France, Holland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and New Zealand. Meccano also had a factory in the USA from 1920 until 1928

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Blasts from the past

ÂŤ when it was sold to A C Gilbert.

By the 1930s Frank Hornby was a millionaire and he entered politics as the Conservative member of Parliament for the Everton constituency in Liverpool.

He resigned, however, just before the 1935 general election and died in September 1936.

He was succeeded as chairman of Meccano Ltd by his son Roland.

First World War Frank Hornby signalled his intention to produce O gauge trains as early as 1915 but the First World War ensured that production was focused on other things.

Following the end of the war in November 1918, there was an unsurprising reluctance by the British public to purchase toys that originated from Germany. Hornby seized the moment and by 1920 was producing the first O gauge trains, which were assembled using the Meccano nut-and-bolt principle.

These were initially freelance in design and were based on the prewar types available from the German manufacturers. Printed tinplate was used and from 1924 items were assembled using the tab-and-slot system favoured by the prewar German companies.

Initially all trains were clockwork and Binns Road struggled to keep up with demand.

Another key development in the 1920s 50

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February 2017

was the introduction of the first electrically powered trains. The Metropolitan Railway Electric locomotives were the first to have electric motors although the power supply connected to a domestic electric light socket would not find favour today.

The 4-4-2 locomotives were released in 1925 but bore little resemblance to the names of the famous locomotives they carried.

Names such as those from 4-6-2 Pacific Flying Scotsman, and 4-6-0s from the GWR Caerphilly Castle. LMS Royal Scot and SR Lord Nelson carried the correct livery and name but that is all they had in common with the models.

The first realistic locomotives were the 4-4-0s (known as the No. 2 Specials) which represented the GWR 38xx County Class, LMS Midland Compound, SR L1 Class and LNER D49 Hunt/Shire Classes, first released in 1929.

By the 1930s a whole system including buildings, signals, figures and other accessories could be built from the output of Binns Road, and with the introduction of Dinky Toys in 1934, road vehicles could also be added.

The peak of O gauge production came just before the outbreak of the Second World War with the release of what are regarded as the best locomotives; the Schools Class 4-4-0 and the Princess Royal Class 4-6-2

Princess Elizabeth. This locomotive had run a nonstop 401-mile run from London to Glasgow on November 16, 1936, with driver Tom Clark at the regulator and fireman Charles Fleet on the shovel, doing it again the following day in the opposite direction. The model came in a wooden carrying case and was the most expensive locomotive in the range. It was produced for just three years before war work forced the end of toy and model production.

Tom Clark, who later received the OBE for his exploits, featured in Hornby's advertising to promote the model.

Hornby Dublo With Bassett-Lowke venturing into the market for smaller trains with the release of the first Trix Twin products in 1935 in Germany and a year later in Britain, Hornby and Meccano found themselves with some serious opposition.

In 1938, Meccano hit back with the introduction of its OO-scale system Hornby Dublo, the second part of the name being a play on the words double O. Two sets were introduced comprising a passenger set with one of Gresley’s A4 Class 4-6-2s and a pair of articulated Gresley coaches and a goods set using what Hornby never called a LNER N2 Class 0-6-2T but to everyone else

Further info The Hornby Railway Collectors Association was formed in 1969 and publishes its own magazine 10 times a year. The website also contains a great deal of information on both the O gauge and OO gauge ranges. For further information please see www.hrca.net The Hornby Visitor Centre in Margate is open every day, from 10am-4pm (October-March) and from 10am- 5pm (April-September).

that is what it was. These were used for the goods sets and were available in LMS, SR and GWR versions, which, of course, none of the prototypes resembled. No manufacturer today would get away with such compromises but in the 1930s modellers were grateful for anything they could get! Items were also available individually along with track and wooden buildings. Prewar both clockwork and electric (three-rail) systems were available and the couplings were not automatic; replaced by the Peco type only when postwar manufacturing recommenced.

The end of O While O gauge held sway before the Second World War, OO dominated it afterwards. The O gauge trains boxes changed from carrying the name Hornby Series to Hornby Trains.

Only the 0-4-0 engines returned with the tank version in 1947 or the tender version in 1948. Apart from a new range of wagons (the 50 series), which appeared mostly in BR liveries in 1957, and the adoption of BR liveries on the remaining locomotives in 1954, the end of the famous tinplate O gauge trains was nearing its end. Production ceased around 1962 and the final Hornby O gauge product was produced in plastic as the Percy Play Train, featuring Rev Wilbert Awdry’s distinctive 0-4-0 saddle tank.

The rise of Dublo While O gauge was in terminal decline, the OO postwar market was dominated by Hornby Dublo after its reintroduction in 1947. By now the well-known Peco type coupling had been adopted and the LMS Princess Coronation Class 4-6-2. This had been announced prewar but did not materialise until 1948 owing to shortages of materials postwar and the need to export models initially. To go with the locomotive, two new Stanier coaches in the form of a Stanier Composite and a Brake Third were released at the same time. The prewar wooden buildings were replaced by die-cast aluminium ones.

By 1950, Meccano no longer had the inferior Trix models to contend with. In 1949 Graham Farish introduced the first commercially produced two rail OO trains, while in Richmond, Rovex was producing a cheap ready-to-run two-rail train set for Marks & Spencer to retail, which was released in time for Christmas 1950. Tri-ang utilised plastic for its locomotive and rolling stock bodies, while Hornby Dublo stayed with its traditional die-cast metal loco bodies and tinplate.

Meccano was not always quick to react.

It relied on its name and the quality of its products to ensure its continued position as

A feature from the Meccano Magazine dating from June 1942.

market leader. Despite the railways in the UK being nationalised in January 1948, it was five years before British Railways’ livery appeared on the first Hornby Dublo items.

By the mid-1950s the Rovex system had been purchased by the large Tri-ang group and production moved to new purpose-built facility at Margate in Kent. Tri-ang’s two-rail system was now seriously affecting sales of Hornby Dublo products.

The British Railways 1955 Modernisation Plan proposed a major shake-up of BR with the move away from steam traction towards diesel and electric power. The first Dublo Dinky Toys produced for the OO-scale model railway market appeared in 1957. The Western Region Castle Class 4-6-0 locomotive in 1958 brought universal acclaim and was considered at the time to be the finest ready-to-run OO-scale locomotive to reach the market. By now Hornby was looking at plastic, which resulted in the February 2017

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Blasts from the past

« moulding of fine detail. Planks could be

represented on wagons while in tinplate they were merely drawn on and there was no relief on the smoothly printed tin body, and so the first plastic-bodied wagons, known as Super Detail appeared in 1958. The Class 20 Bo-Bo diesel locomotive appeared in the same year and was the first locomotive to have a plastic injection-moulded body.

1959 was perhaps the last throw of the dice for the struggling company. Two-rail models were introduced alongside three-rail ones and a fine range of plastic buildings appeared including a through/terminus station and a large engine shed. By now a new threat had emerged in the form of Playcraft, which was sold in F W Woolworth as well as the more traditional model shops. Made in France, Playcraft models could be purchased for a fraction of the price of a Hornby Dublo product. Meccano hit back in 1963 with a set of cheap train sets but by now the writing was on the wall.

Binns Road In 1964 Meccano invited its main rival Tri-ang to take it over. While it was officially publicised at the time as an amalgamation, it was anything but. It brought about an immediate end to both the O gauge and the three-rail Hornby Dublo products and after evaluation the new owners Lines Brothers, whose trademark was Tri-ang, decided to retain Binns Road for the production of 52

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Meccano and Dinky Toys. It was during the transition period that the last true Meccanoproduced Hornby Dublo model in the shape of the AL1 electric locomotive (later Class 81) was released.

Model railway production was now under the control of Margate and the first task was to rid itself of remaining stock, which took most of the 1960s to shift. The future of the British model railway market lay not in Liverpool but in Kent under the trade name of Tri-ang Hornby (now purely Hornby).

Hornby’s main rival had swallowed up the most famous name in British model railways.

Frank Hornby would have been horrified at his own company’s decline but no doubt pleased that the name, if not the products, is still very much in use.

The tooling for the old Hornby Dublo range passed to another Tri-ang company (G & R Wrenn) and continued to be available in two-rail form only up until 1992 from the company’s works in Basildon, Essex. This part of the story will be told in due course.

Meccano and Dinky Toys continued to be produced at Binns Road under Lines Brothers ownership until 1971 when Lines Brothers (Tri-ang) also suffered financial difficulties. Binns Road was sold to Airfix in 1976, which continued production of both Meccano and Dinky Toys until November 1979, when closure of Binns Road took place. Ironically Airfix had entered the

OO gauge model train market in 1977 but production was undertaken in Hong Kong

by Sandakan, rather than in Liverpool. After Airfix itself went into financial meltdown in the early 1980s, the Dinky Toys and Meccano names had passed through several owners. Dinky Toys has appeared in recent years on models produced by Atlas Editions under licence from its current owners, Mattel.

The French company relocated from one part of Paris at Belleville to Bobigny in 1951 until 1970. Another factory opened in Calais in 1959. French outline O gauge trains were made until 1963, although a range of HO scale trains were introduced in 1960 and continued up until 1973. The factory in Calais has since then had several changes of owner but today Meccano products are still widely available. The company was owned

by Japanese toy giant Nikko from 2000 to until 2013. Today it is owned by Canadian toy company Spin Master.

Binns Road succumbed to the bulldozers and today houses a retail park and cinema complex. While the site no longer manufactures trains, it remains a mecca for Hornby enthusiasts and the products remain popular among model train collectors more than 50 years later. ■ NEXT TIME: We'll be looking at Rovex and how it evolved from its humble beginnings to become today’s custodian of the famous

February 2017

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Event report

The ‘Jacobite’ runs towards Glenfinnan station with No. 61243 in charge on Bill Wood’s beautiful OO gauge ‘Glenfinnan’ layout.

Falkirk Model Railway Exhibition

H

eld on the same weekend as the Warley show is an important event for modellers in Scotland and the last major show of the year for the Scottish exhibition circuit.

The Falkirk Model Railway Exhibition is held at the Forth Valley College in Falkirk every year and enjoys support from Falkirk Council, says Nigel Burkin.

The 2016 exhibition consisted of 21 layouts distributed through two halls, together with a wide selection of trade support.

Layouts included Bill Wood’s scenic ‘Glenfinnan’, a lovely example of prototype modelling in OO gauge and although based in the 1980s and 1990s period, it features the steam-hauled ‘Jacobite’ service as part of its operating plan.

Scottish Region steam was represented by the lovely 4mm scale ‘Rumbling Bridge’ by Nick Skelton, which is excellent

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prototype modelling based on the line between Kinross and Alloa.

The atmosphere of the Waverley route was captured in N gauge by ‘Lammermuir’, presented by the Greenock & District MRC. O gauge was well represented with ‘Thorne Hill Colliery’ constructed by Jeff Wetherell of the RAF Kinloss Model Railway Club, which featured a fascinating collection of coal wagons and small shunting locomotives.

Worthy of note was a tiny N gauge micro-layout constructed by members of Hawick Model Railway Club, which was based on a china clay works with a very restricted yard. The resulting shunting puzzle engaged visitors for hours over the entire weekend.

Other layouts included a selection operated with diesel traction including ‘Cement Quay’ originally constructed by Chris Nevard and now owned by

A pause in shunting operations on Jeff Wetherell’s O gauge ‘Thorne Hill Colliery’.

Scottish Diesel & Electric Group and a revitalised OO gauge layout

by Stirling and Clackmannan MRC called ‘Forthside’ which ran a pretty hectic schedule of trains over the weekend. The Falkirk club contributed ‘Graemeston Quay’ to add a little summer colour from the West Country in the form of a Great Western Railway seaside terminus in OO gauge.

As the last Scottish show of the year, attendance is always

good and the atmosphere laid back among exhibitors and visitors – a last chance for the Scottish modelling community to meet for a blether in the long interval before the big Model Rail Scotland event at the SECC at the end of February.

The 2017 Falkirk Model Railway Exhibition is already in planning and the date for your diary is November 25-26, 2017.

Visit www.falkirkmrc.co.uk for more information. 

WIN

Marklin My World giveaway

This month we’ve got a Marklin My World Eurostar set, retailed through Gaugemaster for £59.95, to giveaway to one lucky RMM reader.

Marklin My World is the ideal way to get your kids started out in the world of model railways – and I can vouch for that as we reviewed a set in the first issue of RMM – Ed. This set comes complete with locomotive, coaches, track and remote control. The locomotive is very robust and has magnets on the rear to connect to the other coaches or additional rolling stock available in the My World range.

The locomotive also features a separate on-off switch on the roof to enable the locomotive to be stopped ready for taking off the track. The controller switches the sound, lights and direction of the locomotive and also includes a big red stop button for emergencies. This set includes a figure of eight track layout, which can be extended using the My World extension pack or any of the Marklin C track.

Deadline for entries is Monday, February 13, 2017.

The winner of last month’s Railway Children giveaway is: Tim Lancaster of Eastbourne.

MARKLIN MY WORLD EUROSTAR SET Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms (Please circle) First name ........................................................................................................................

Surname ............................................................................................................................

Address.............................................................................................................................. ............................................................... Postcode ...........................................................

Email...................................................................................................................................

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: On occasion Mortons Media Group Ltd may decide to contact you by post/phone/email regarding information relating to current offers of products or services (including discounted subscription offers) which we believe may be of interest to our readers. If you do not wish to receive such offers please tick this box £ On occasion Mortons Media Group Ltd may permit third parties, that we deem to be reputable, to contact you by post/phone/fax/email regarding information relating to current offers of products or services which we believe may be of interest to our readers. If you wish to receive such offers please tick this box £ Offer expires on January 11, 2017. Terms and conditions apply. Please see Mortons' website for full terms and conditions. There are no cash alternatives available. The winners will be the first entries drawn at random.

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To feature on the map please call Colin on 01507 529454 or email csmith@mortons.co.uk

Where’s my nearest expert?

Britain is blessed with a network of great model shops and outlets, with experts keen to help and advise. Here are some you can turn to... simply look for the number nearest you on the map, and find their details below: 1.

REDCAR MODELS & HOBBIES 01642 494912

12. MONK BAR MODEL SHOP 01904 659423

BARRETT STEAM MODELS LTD 01922 685889

13. GRIMY TIMES 01925 632209

130 HIGH STREET REDCAR CLEVELAND TS10 3DH www.redcarmodels.co.uk

2.

THE OLD EXCHANGE 47A CORONATION ROAD PELSALL WALSALL WS4 1BG

3.

ROXLEY MODELS 01372 452976

F & M & S RICE-OXLEY & S BLEWETT T/ AS 4 BECKLEY PARADE GREAT BOOKHAM SURREY KT23 4RQ www.roxleymodels.co.uk

4.

27. MILLENNIUM MODELS 0113 2189286

CHURCH STREET MODELS 01256 358060

HARBURN HOBBIES 0131 5563233

RAILS OF SHEFFIELD 01142 551436

DIGITRAINS LTD 01522 527731

15 CLIFTON STREET LINCOLN LINCOLNSHIRE LN5 8LQ www.digitrains.co.uk

10. GAUGEMASTER 01903 884488

GAUGEMASTER HOUSE FORD ROAD ARUNDEL WEST SUSSEX BN18 0BN www. gaugemaster.com

11. NEW MODELLERS SHOP LTD 01733 704502 25 EASTERN AVENUE DOGSTHORPE PETERBOROUGH PE1 4PH www. newmodellersshop.co.uk

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Ashtree Enterprises 33 Nettleton Road Caistor Lincolnshire LN7 6NJ

16. THE HOBBY GOBLIN 01782 818433

27/29 CHESTERFIELD ROAD SHEFFIELD SOUTH YORKSHIRE S8 ORL www. railsofsheffield.com

9.

25. CAISTOR LOCO 01472 859990

MERCIAN MODELS 01562 884800

67 ELM ROW LEITH WALK EDINBURGH SCOTLAND EH7 4AQ www.harburnhobbies. co.uk

8.

HILL FARM BECK HOLE GOATHLAND NORTH YORKSHIRE Y022 5LF www.themodelcentre.co.uk

3 PIER STREET SANDOWN ISLE OF WIGHT PO36 8JR wwww.udiow.com

26. COLLECTORS CELLAR 01434 601392

DTL ENTERPRISES LTD 10A CHURCH STREET BASINGSTOKE HAMPSHIRE RG21 7QE www. churchstreetmodels.co.uk

7.

14. THE MODEL CENTRE 01947 896040

24. UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS 01983 406616

15. A C MODELS 02380 610100

1A MARKET WAY HAGLEY STOURBRIDGE WEST MIDLANDS DY9 9LT www. modelrailways.tv

6.

187 ORFORD LANE WARRINGTON WA2 7BA www.grimytimes.co.uk

SIST TREES 4 DAVID HUME VIEW, CHURNSIDE DUNS TD11 3SX www.themodeltreeshop.co.uk

HATTONS MODEL RAILWAYS LTD 0151 7333655 UNIT 17 MONTAGUE ROAD WIDNES WA8 8FZ www.hattons.co.uk

5.

2 GOODRAMGATE YORK YO1 7LQ www.collectable-models.co.uk

23. THE MODEL TREE SHOP 01890 819021

February 2017

7 HIGH STREET EASTLEIGH HANTS SO50 5LB www.acmodelseastleigh.co.uk

54 HAMIL ROAD BURSLEM STOKE-ONTRENT STAFFORDSHIRE ST6 1AU www. thehobbygoblin.co.uk

17. GOING LOCO 01924 824748

38 POTOVENS LANE LOFT HOUSE GATE WAKEFIELD WF3 3JF www.modelrailways.co

18. RON LINES 02380 772681

342 SHIRLEY ROAD SHIRLEY SOUTHAMPTON SO15 3HJ www.ronlines.com

19. POOLEYS PUFFERS 01914 910202

382A JEDBURGH COURT TEAM VALLEY TRADING ESTATE GATESHEAD TYNE & WEAR NE11 0BQ www.pooleyspuffers.com

20. GAS CUPBOARD MODELS 01225 777888

6 ST GEORGES WORKS SILVER STREET TROWBRIDGE WILTSHIRE BA14 8AA www. gascupboard.co.uk

21. BOLTON MODEL MART 01204 382282

58 GREAT MOOR STREET BOLTON, LANCASHIRE BL1 1SN www.boltonmodelmart.co.uk

22. FLAIR RAIL 01621 786198

FLAIR RAIL UNIT 7 SPRINGFIELD NURSERY ESTATE BURNHAM ON CROUCH ESSEX CM0 8TA www.flair-rail.co.uk

11 Hencotes Hexham Northumberland NE46 2EQ www.collectorscellar.co.uk

67 Queen Street Morley Leeds LS27 8EB

28. BUFFERS MODEL RAILWAYS 01297 35557

Colston Cross, Axminster Devon EX13 7NF

29. WELLINGBOROUGH TRAINS & MODELS 01933274069 Mob 07482828898 26 Market Street Wellingborough Northamptonshire NN8 1AT

30. MAC’S MODEL RAILROADING 01575 572397

4-8 Reform Street Kirremuir Angus DD84BS www.macsmodels.co.uk

31. SAWYER MODELS 01925 227835

27 Bridge Street, Earlestown, Newton-lewillows WA12 9BE www.sawyermodels.co.uk

32. AGR Model Railway Store LTD 01525 854788 8 High St mews 28 High Street Leighton Buzzard Bedfordshire LU7 1EA www.agrmodelrailwaystore.co.uk

33. THE HOBBY SHOP 01795 531666

122 West Street, Faversham Kent ME13 7JB www.hobb-e-mail.com

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Xxxxxxxx

Layouts FEBRUARY 2017

We want to dedicate these pages to your inspirational, unusual, well-loved layouts and models. So please do get in touch with us by emailing rmmodellingeditor@mortons.co.uk or visit our Facebook page to like and share your photographs.

Find us at:

railway magazine guide to modelling

London Road Model Railway Layout by James Petts. This is so beautifully shot, it’s the guy with his arms folded and tapping his foot that does it for me; plus the chap in the brown overcoat who looks as though he might be a spy!

CREATIVE COMMONS

This was taken at Falkirk Model Railway Exhibition by Nigel Burkin of ‘Lammermuir’ which consists of a double-track mainline theme with the station modelled on the one at Melrose station.

By Matt Wickham. His model of Horsted Keynes on the Bluebell Railway was made with plenty of kits, card kits, plastic, recycling Hornby bits. “It was basically built on the cheap as I had no money, or very little!” says Matt.

“I based my model on the Bluebell Railway as it was always one of my favourite lines to visit.”

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JR West Shinkansen Line Up, from left, 700 series, 500 series, 300 series, and 100 series. Sleek and beautiful engines on a layout based on The Shinkansen also known as the bullet train, which is a network of highspeed railway lines in Japan. CREDIT: FOOLISHADLER/FLICKR/

CREATIVECOMMONS

Penrhos model railway. Penrhos is a fictitious rural community in Wales served by a BR (WR) branch line during the late 1950s/early 1960s.The layout was built by Dave Spencer and was voted ‘Best Steam Era Layout’ in 2011 by Hornby magazine. IANPERRIN/CREATIVE

« This model by Edward

Peckham shows a scene of horse-drawn wagons loaded with stone at a quarry and was created in a Ferrero Rocher box as a result of a competition run last year by Mevagissey World Of Model Railways in Cornwall.

Read more about them in Places to Visit at the back of the magazine. Visit their website for more details of this year’s modelling competition at www.model-railway.co.uk/ ferrero-rocher-competition/ index.shtml

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Ask a daft question

What are NEM-362 coupling pockets?

O

ne of the features of OO gauge locomotives and rolling stock (also applied to European HO gauge models) that newcomers to railway modelling will discover is the universal NEM coupling pocket, says Nigel Burkin.

It is one of many standards now universally applied to contemporary standard models alongside the consistent specification of wheel flanges, DCC interface sockets and decoder wiring. It is a simple box, which accepts a wide range of different couplings made with a particular design of securing clip called a swallowtail.

The NEM-362 standard coupling pocket was devised by a European railway modelling organisation called MOROP and is a generic standard that can be adopted by any manufacturer. Bachmann, Hornby, Dapol and several smaller UK manufacturers have adapted it to work with OO gauge

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models even though it was primarily intended for HO scale.

Having a standard coupling mount or box for all OO gauge equipment (there is a standard coupling mount for N gauge too) is a great idea, making it easy to take advantage of a wide range of different couplings to suit certain types of layout and operations, without having to make any modifications to any model. It means that the standard tension lock couplings supplied with British outline models can be swapped for different types of couplings as long as they have the compatible swallowtail clip.

The terms ‘NEM’ and ‘NEM-362’ for coupling pocket boxes refers to model railway standards devised, tested and published by MOROP (European Union of Model Railroad and Railroad Fans). MOROP standards enable the specific and direct compatibility of model railway equipment between European

Shunting takes place on one of the author’s OO gauge dioramas with wagons that are all equipped with NEM-362 coupling pockets. This means the standard tension lock coupling can be easily exchanged for any NEM-362 compatible coupling to suit the layout’s operations.

manufacturers for a given scale and gauge.

It incorporates some of the standards and recommended practices of the NMRA (National Model Railway Association) of the USA too, to ensure further compatibility of product between Europe and North America.

As you can imagine, had we not agreed standards in the hobby, the result could be a little confusing with models from different manufacturers potentially unable to work together, as different views on standards could be applied in isolation. Features that must be standardised include the actual modelling scale, wheels, track gauge, electrical supply and couplings – anything that has to be made to a standard to ensure compatibility. When such standards are followed, it enables mixing and matching of same-scale models on all layouts regardless of the manufacturer, increasing enjoyment of the hobby.

The typical coupling arrangement as fitted to Bachmann four-wheel wagons. The underframe is equipped with a special mounting block with NEM-363 fishtail fitting (A) which accepts a separate NEM-362 coupling pocket or box (B).

The coupling clips (C) neatly into the coupling box and is secured by the swallowtail clip.

What is an NEM coupling pocket?

The NEM-362 coupling pocket is quite a simple concept but with a huge range of possibilities. It is an elongated box usually moulded in plastic with an inside measurement of 3.2mm by 1.7mm and a length of 7.1mm and fitted to rolling stock in a position 8.5mm from rail height when measured from the top inside surface of the coupling pocket. Couplings are simply pulled out or pushed into place until the swallowtail clip engages at the rear of the pocket. No glue or screws are required to

How do you use NEM-362 coupling pockets?

Take a look at your models and see if a coupling box is fitted. Some current models remain to be retooled with NEM coupling pockets at this time, while older models, which can be bought secondhand, may predate the application of the standard. Nonetheless, if you are choosing up-to-date equipment, NEM coupling pockets should be fitted as standard. The box might be moulded directly as part of the leading bogie frames or as a separate box, which is plugged into a special fishtail slot in the chassis of the model called a NEM-363 mounting. It allows the coupling box to be removed in situations where couplings are not required, such as at the front of a steam locomotive where the box spoils the front-end appearance of the model.

Don’t let the technical features put you off making the best of this simple feature.

Removing a NEM-362 compatible coupling is as simple as pulling it out of the box with your fingers while holding onto the model with the other hand.

hold the coupling in place and the fitting is strong enough to enable quite long trains to be operated without risk of separation.

Development of the NEM-362 coupling pocket in British outline models includes their use on coach close coupling cams; underframe fitted pockets which have a special fitting (NEM-363) and in some instances, moulded as part of locomotive bogie frames when space behind the bufferbeam is tight (the leading bogie of steam locomotives for example). There is

To remove the existing tension lock coupling from any NEM-362 compatible model is as simple as holding the model firmly in one hand, while noting where the delicate detail happens to be. With the thumb and forefinger of the other hand, grasp the coupling and pull away from the model. The swallowtail clip should disengage without too much difficulty. If it refuses to budge, and that is a possibility, support the model on a soft surface and use fine nose pliers to pinch the end of the swallowtail clip together until the coupling slides out of the coupling box.

Replacement couplings simply clip back into the box – push until you hear the swallowtail clip click positively into place. A quick pull soon establishes that the new coupling is correctly seated before returning the train back to the layout.

Check that the replacement coupling clears any track features, which may otherwise catch it and cause a derailment.

Then please email rmmodellingeditor@mortons.co.uk or send letters to: The Railway Magazine Guide to Modelling, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR. Please include your name, address and email in all correspondence.

a variety of different couplings compatible with NEM-362 pockets including the Roco pocket coupling; the standard NEM-360 European HO loop coupling; the British tension lock coupling as supplied as standard with British outline models; bar couplings for fixed rakes of stock; those incorporating electrical connections and, of course, the famous Kadee coupler. Mixing and matching coupling types for particular layout operations is now possible to meet the needs of the modeller.

Bachmann uses the standard British tension lock coupling with a swallowtail clip in common with other major manufacturers. Sometimes, if the fit is particularly tight, the removal of a coupling can be eased by pinching the back of the swallowtail with tweezers as the coupling is pulled out.

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Ask a daft question

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 AN NEM-362 coupling pocket box (B) as fitted to the front of a steam locomotive model. When removed, the NEM-363 fishtail fitting is usually hidden between the frames (A) where it does not spoil the appearance of the model if it is to be used for display.

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Six common types of NEM-362 coupling used in the UK: 1. Tension lock couplings: Tension lock couplings are the standard OO gauge hook and loop design fitted to all ready-to-run models offered by the major manufacturers. Many modellers are content to use them, despite the ability to make simple changes to different coupling types.

2. Bar couplings: Some models are supplied with bar couplings in addition to tension lock couplings that may be used to make up fixed rakes of stock. This approach is favoured for certain types of passenger train or block freight traffic where shunting is limited to the locomotive running round a train and shunting the entire rake into a siding or platform. The outer couplings of the train must remain compatible with those fitted to the locomotive. Bar couplings may be simple in design or detailed to appear like full-size screw couplings or a set of brake and steam heating pipes.

3. Roco and Hornby pocket couplings: Close coupling cams are a feature growing in popularity and many manufacturers fit them to ready-to-run models. A coupling devised for use with cams fitted with NEM-362 pockets is the Hornby or Roco close pocket coupling, which can be used to ensure the gap between coaches is closed up when on straight track and there’s

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minimal slack between couplings that might spoil the close coupling effect. The use of close coupling cams and suitable couplings to get the best of them is a subject for a future article.

4. Bachmann E-Z mate couplings: The Bachmann E-Z Mate NEM coupling is fully compatible with NEM-362 coupling boxes by having the swallowtail attachment moulded on the end of the coupling shank.

It is a knuckle coupling fitted with a trip pin, which can be activated by a magnet for automatic uncoupling. When stock fitted with the couplings are being coupled, the couplings engage automatically when rolling stock is pushed together. They remain coupled until positioned over an uncoupling magnet where they are capable of delayed action uncoupling thanks to a sprung coupling knuckle assembly.

5. Kadee NEM ‘Magnematic’ couplings: Kadee couplings are also a variety of knuckle coupling fitted with an uncoupling trip pin, which is activated by magnets for automatic uncoupling. Kadee offers four NEM-362 series couplings, which are compatible with all of the couplings in the Kadee HO gauge range including the original No. 5 and the very useful No. 140-series couplings. The Kadee Nem362 couplings are suitable for use with OO gauge models and have the swallowtail attachment, which complies with the NEM-362 standard.

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 1: The arrow points to the fishtail socket known as an NEM-363 fitting. This can either accept a suitable coupling (assuming it is long enough) or the coupling box as intended by the model’s designer.

2: The coupling arrangement found under most up-to-date coaching stock models showing the close coupling cam arm, the slot in the bogie frame to allow the cam to move with curves in the track and the NEM-362 coupling box (arrow).

3: Coupling boxes may be moulded as an integral part of the bogie frame of some locomotives and multiple units too.

4: Adapting a coupling box (A) with electrical connectors (B) allows power to travel throughout the length of a multiple unit from the powered car. The coupling bars supplied with such models are fitted with the required wiring matching the connectors in the coupling pocket (B).

The one thing all of these couplings have in common is the NEM-362 compatible swallowtail fitting, which engages positively in the coupling box pockets. Here’s a small selection of the vast range of couplings available in the UK and Europe that conform to the standard.

A: Standard NEM-362 fittings including box and mounting block with NEM-363 fishtail slot.

B: Bar couplings with electrical feed wires for use with multiple units in the Bachmann range.

C: Bachmann E-Z couplings.

D: Plain bar couplings.

E: Kadee NEM couplings.

F: UK-outline tension lock couplings of various types.

G: European style close couplings (Roco and Hornby).

H: Hornby HC8040 Scharfenberg couplings with both NEM-362 and 363 fittings.

I: Lima fixed coupling.

J: Continental outline NEM-360 standard coupling with the swallowtail fitting to suit NEM-362 coupling pockets.

K: Coupling pockets can accept detailing items too such as locomotive snow ploughs – as long as the correct fitting is present!

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Asking daft questions about 3D printing Can you paint a 3D print? If so, what paint should be used?

T

he answer: yes of course you can, says Matt Wickham, as the 3D print market gets bigger filling in some missing models in the model rail world (see last month’s RMM for Matt’s in-depth article about 3D printing).

Each print will require a good clean before any work to paint it can begin, these vary from material to material, but for this we will go with a material from Shapeways, which is commonly used and known as Frosted Ultra Detail.

Its support material is wax, so it requires a clean in warm soapy water with a toothbrush. Just be aware of small details if your model has any. After drying off, you can apply primer to the model, I use Halfords primer which is plastic-based.

After this the finishing and painting is pretty much the same as any other plastic kit as enamel and acrylic paints can be used to paint the model. On a rough surface, or one with quite a few layer lines you may want to use a filler primer –

which you can also get from Halfords – as well as sanding it back carefully to build up and remove any rough textures on the surface. Once you’re happy, you can apply

the standard primer to the model and then continue to paint, line, and varnish, it’s actually not that different to finishing a plastic kit.

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Ask a daft question There are four NEM Kadee couplings.

They are all the same except the length of the shank, which varies from 7.11mm for the No. 17, to 11.68mm for the No. 20. Modellers must follow the Kadee installation guidelines together with the use of a height gauge to ensure that the couplings are fitted to the correct height from the rail for reliable operation. Kadee couplings and their wider use is a large topic and again one for a future article.

6. Couplings with electrical connections: The same as bar couplings, but fitted with electrical poles that match contact pads fitted to the NEM pocket. This is a specialist application usually adopted for the inner end couplings of multiple units to allow current for interior lighting to be transmitted throughout the train.

In summary: The NEM coupling pocket adopted for HO scale and the Double O Gauge Association is the NEM-362, which allows the simple interchange of couplings with the swallowtail clip. The standard for NEM-362 is titled: Boîtier pour tête d’attelage interchangeable. In effect, a standard for interchangeable couplings. If you would like to find out more about the NEM362 standard and a related one, the NEM-363 standard, they may be viewed on the MOROP web site at www.morop.eu

The No. 17 is the shortest of the four NEM-362 Kadee couplings. Features of the NEM-series couplings include a centring pivot (A); knuckle pin (B); working coupling knuckle (C); swallowtail fitting (D); the number moulded in the shank (E); centring spring (F) and trip pin (G).

Useful websites: www.morop.eu www.morop.eu/fr/normes/nem362_f.pdf www.morop.eu/fr/normes/nem363_f.pdf Dear RMM Just a note to say what a great magazine you are now the editor of.

It ticks all the boxes and I love the paper used to print it! Today’s model railway magazines have become glossy, technophile issues much of which just passes me by! It’s good to see basic stuff being introduced and the “Ask a Daft Question” page.

I’ve never understood the difference between DCC and DC! Gordon Robertson, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire

Then please email rmmodellingeditor@ mortons.co.uk or send letters to: The Railway Magazine Guide to Modelling, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR. Please include your name, address and email in all correspondence.

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Kadee recommends that all new installations are checked against a height gauge.

Bachmann offers an NEM-362 coupling with a knuckle similar to Kadee couplings called the E-Z Mate coupling.

This picture shows a special bar coupling used between two coaches fitted with close coupling cams and NEM-362 pockets. It is shaped and detailed to look like vacuum brake and steam heating pipes.

The detailed bar coupling is supplied with many Bachmann coaches and is fitted with swallowtails at both ends to suit NEM-362 coupling pockets.

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Datesfor your diary RM MODELLING LISTINGS JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2017

Compiled by Jon Longman. Send details of your events to RMModellingeditor@mortons.co.uk MUSEUMS OPEN TUESDAY TO SUNDAY Brighton Toy and Model Museum. 52-55 Trafalgar Street, Brighton, West Sussex BN1 4EB. www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk 10am-5pm (Saturday 11am-5pm). See website for admission prices.

CLUBS DAILY Orpington & District Model Railway Society. Village Hall, Norsted Lane, Rushmoor Hill, Pratts Bottom, Orpington, Kent BR6 7PQ. For further information, please email: odmrsinfo@btinternet.com or telephone 07733 461477. www.orpingtonmodelrail.org.uk MONDAY Gainsborough Model Railway Society.

Florence Terrace, Gainsborough, Lincs DN21 IBE. Club nights at 7.30pm. Visits only by prior arrangement. www.gainsboroughmodelrailway.co.uk MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY Heywood Model Railway Group. Unit 3, Park Works, River Street, Heywood, Oldham OL10 4AB. www.hmrg.co.uk. Monday 6.30-10pm, Wednesday 10am-3pm. New members are welcome to drop in.

TUESDAY Ipswich Railway Modellers' Association.

40A Norfolk Road Ipswich, Suffolk IP4 4HB. www.irma.org.uk. 2pm-10pm Sat. Enquiries to ipswichrma@gmail.com or ring 01473 251017.

TUESDAY Keighley Model Railway Club Night. KMRC Club Rooms, Knowle Mill, South Street, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD21 1SY. www.keighley-mrc.org.uk Adult club membership £60 per year. Junior membership (16 and under) just 50p per week (£26 per year). First three visits to the club will be free from any commitment on your part. Try before you buy.

WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY West Camel Model Railway Society.

Davis Hall, West Camel, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7QX. Society contact for membership details: i.goose261@btinternet.com.

Saturdays 9am, Wednesdays 1pm.

THURSDAY Wimborne Railway Society. United Reformed Church, Chapel Lane, Wimborne BH21 1PP. www.wimrail.org.uk Adult membership £20 per annum, plus a £1 attendance fee. Juniors (under 18) just pay a 50p attendance fee.

FRIDAY Risborough & District Model Railway Club. Open Day. Carrington Room, Community Centre, Princes Risborough HP27 9AX). www.rdmrc.org.uk For membership details, please contact Richard Neil, email secretary@rdmrc.org.uk. Meets weekly Marlow, Maidenhead & District Model Railway Club Exhibition. Cox Green Community Centre, Highfield Lane, Maidenhead SL6 3AX. Membership details via website at www.mmdmrc.org.uk

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Longfield Academy, Main Road, Longfield, Kent DA3 7PH. www.erithmrs. ukmodelshops.co.uk. 10am-5pm Sat, 10-4pm Sun. Adult £7, concession £6, child £3, family £18. Layouts and demonstrations.

JANUARY 28-29 Normanton & Pontefract Railway Modellers’ Society Pontefract Model Railway Exhibition. New College, Park Lane, Pontefract, West Yorkshire WF8 4QR. www.nprms.org. 10am-5pm Sat, 10-4.30pm Sun. Adult £5, child (under-16) free. 20 layouts and demonstrations.

JANUARY 28-29 Southampton Model Railway Society Exhibition. Barton Peveril College, Chestnut Avenue, Eastleigh, Hants SO50 5BX. www. southamptonmodelrailwaysociety. wordpress.com. Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10-4.30pm. Adult £7, child £3, family £17. 23 layouts and demonstrations.

JANUARY 29 G Scale Society Kent Group’s Winter Meet. Teynham Village Hall, Belle Friday Close, Teynham, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 9TU. www.gscalekent.co.uk. Sunday 11am-4pm. Adult £2.50, child £1. Large-scale layouts and live steam.

JANUARY 28-29 Erith Model Railway Society Exhibition.

Longfield Academy, Main Road, Longfield, Kent DA3 7PH. www.erithmrs. ukmodelshops.co.uk. Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm. Adult £7, concessions £6, child £3, family £18. 35 layouts.

FEBRUARY 4-5 60th Stafford Model Railway Exhibition.

County Showground, Weston Road, Stafford ST18 0BD (on A518). www. staffordrailwaycircle.org.uk/exhibition/ Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4.30pm.

Adult £9, child £1. 40 layouts.

FEBRUARY 4 Sodbury Vale Model Railway Club Exhibition. St Mary’s Church Hall, Church Road, Yate BS37 5BG. www.sodburyvalemrc. co.uk. Saturday 10am-4.30pm. Adult £5, child free. 14 layouts.

FEBRUARY 4-5 Febex 2017 – Alton Model Railway Exhibition. Eggars School, London Road, Alton GU34 4EQ. www.altonmrg.co.uk.

Saturday 10.30am-5pm, Sunday 10.30am4pm. Layouts.

FEBRUARY 11 Newbury Model Railway Club Exhibition.

St Bartholomew’s School, Andover Road, Newbury RG14 6JP. www.newburymrc. co.uk Saturday 10am-4.30pm. Adult £5, concession £4.50, child £2.50, family £10.

Large-scale layouts and live steam.

EXHIBITIONS

FEBRUARY 11 Blackpool and North Fylde Model Railway Club. Cleveleys Community Centre, Cleveleys FY5 1ER. www. blackpoolandnorthfyldemrc.co.uk. Sunday 11am-4pm. Adult £2.50, concessions and children £2, family 2+2 £7.50. Club and members’ layouts. Club meets every Monday evening 19.00-22.00. If interested contact chairman Alan Hawkins at chairman@ blackpoolandnorthfyldemrc.co.uk.

JANUARY 28-29 Erith Model Railway Society Exhibition.

FEBRUARY 11 G Scale Society West Midlands Group’s

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February 2017

Model Railway Exhibition. St Mary’s Church Hall, Hobs Meadow, Solihull, Birmingham B92 8PN. 10am-4pm. Adult £3, child £1. Selection of layouts.

FEBRUARY 11 Heywood Model Railway Group Open Day. Unit 3, Park Works, River Street, Heywood OL10 4AB. www.hmrg.co.uk. 10am-4pm.

Admission by donation. Club layouts.

FEBRUARY 11-12 Bournemouth Model Railway Exhibition.

The Hamworthy Club, Magna Road, Canford Magna BH21 3AP. www.bmre.org.uk.

Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm.

Adults £5, children free. N, 009, 3mm, 4mm, 7mm, HO, OO, P4, G1 gauge layouts.

FEBRUARY 11-12 Gartell Light Railway Model Railway Exhibition. Common Lane, Yenston, Templecombe, Somerset BA8 0NB. Sunday 11am-4pm. Adult £4, concessions £3, child £1.Ten layouts. Please note that the GLR will not be running during the exhibition. www.glr-online.co.uk.

FEBRUARY 12 Monmouth Rotary Model Railway Exhibition. Monmouth Leisure Centre, Old Dixton Road, Monmouth NP25 3DP. Sunday 10am-4pm. Adult £4, concessions £4, child £4, family £12. 30 layouts.

FEBRUARY 18 36th Tonbridge Model Railway Exhibition. The Angel Centre, Tonbridge TN9 1SF (Five minutes' walk from Tonbridge station). www.tonbridgemrc.com. 10am5pm. Adults £6, child (10-16) £1, child under 10 free. Enquiries: Roy Prentice 01892 527199. Extensive trade support and demonstrators as well as loco ‘doctors’.

Wheelchair accessible. 30 layouts in N, OO, HO, 3mm, 009 and O gauges.

FEBRUARY 18 Hillingdon Railway Modellers’ Test Track Open Day. Yiewsley Baptist Church Hall, 74 Colham Avenue, Yiewsley, Hillingdon, Middlesex UB7 8HF. Saturday 10am-4pm.

Admission £4. O, OO and N test tracks www.hillingdonrailwaymodellers.co.uk.

FEBRUARY 18 Kenavon Railway Society Exhibition.

The Warehouse, Cumberland Road, Reading RG1 3LB. Saturday 10am-5pm. Adult £4, concession £2.50, child £2, family £9.50.

15 layouts.

FEBRUARY 18 King’s Lynn Model Railway Club Open Day. Village Hall, Cliff-en-Howe Road, Pott Row, King’s Lynn PE32 1BY. Saturday 10am4pm. Free. Club layouts.

FEBRUARY 25 Dereham Model Railway Exhibition – a fundraising event for the Mid-Norfolk Railway. Memorial Hall, Norwich Street, Dereham, Norfolk NR19 1AD. Email: derehamexhibition@gmail.com. Saturday 10am-4pm. Adult £2.50, child £1. Large-scale layouts and live steam.

FEBRUARY 25-26 Lincoln & District Model Railway Exhibition. Lady Eastwood Pavilion, Newark Showground NG24 2NY. Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4.30pm, disabled admission from 9.30am. Free bus service from both Newark stations. Adult £6, child £3, family £15. 20 layouts.

Ebor Group of Railway Modellers’ model railway exhibition. Holy Trinity Church Hall, Heworth, York, YO31-ORP, Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am until 4pm.

Adults £3, Children £1, under 5s Free MARCH 4 March & District Model Railway Club Exhibition. Westwood Community Junior School, Maple Grove, March, Cambs PE15 8JT. www.mdmrc.co.uk. Saturday 10am-4.30pm.

Adult £4, child £2, family £11.Layouts in many gauges and scales.

MARCH 4 Exmoor Toy and Train Show. Richard Huish College, South Road, Taunton, Somerset TA1 3DZ (Five minutes' drive from Junction 25 on M5). 10am-3.30pm. Admission: £2.

100 tables expected.

MARCH 11-12 Basingstoke Model Rail 2017. Aldworth Science College, Western Way, Basingstoke RG22 6HA. www.basingstokemrs.org.

Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm.

Free heritage bus from station. 50 layouts including Bath Green Park, Porters Lock and Calderwood.

MARCH 11-12 East Anglian Model Railway Exhibition.

The Britten Arena, Wood Green Animal Charity Centre, Huntingdon PE29 2NH. www.stneotsmrc.com. Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm. Adult £7, child £4, family £20. Free bus service from station. Layouts and live steam.

MARCH 11-12 East Grinstead Model Railway Club Exhibition. Sackville School, Lewes Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 3TY. www.egmrc.org.uk. 10am-5pm Sat, 10am4pm Sun. Adults £4.50, concessions £3.50, Child (5-16) £3.50, Family £15. 17 layouts and trade support.

MARCH 11-12 Keighley Model Railway Club Exhibition.

University Academy Keighley, Green Head Road, Utley, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD20 6EB. www.keighley-mrc.org.uk. 10am-4pm.

Adult £3.50, child £2.50. Selection of layouts in many scales.

MARCH 18 Bawdeswell Model Railway Exhibition.

Village Hall, Reepham Road, Bawdeswell, Norfolk NR20 4RU. www.32amrc.co.uk.

Saturday 10am-4pm. Adult £4, concession £3, child £2. Selection of layouts in O, OO and N gauge.

MARCH 18 Abrail 2017. White Horse Leisure & Tennis Centre, Audlett Drive, Abingdon OX14 3PJ. www.admrc.org.uk. Saturday 10am-5pm.

Adult £8, child free. 20 layouts.

MARCH 18-19 Large Scale Model Rail and Midlands Garden Rail Show. Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, Fosse Way, Leamington Spa CV31 1XN (junction of A425 and B4455). www.largescalemodelrail.co.uk.

10am-4pm. Tickets: By post before March 10 or online – Adult £7.50, concession £6.50, child £2 or adult £8.50, concession £7.50, child £3 on the day. Large-scale model rail.

February 2017

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Places

to visit

World of Model Railways, Mevagissey

I

n 1971 the Mevagissey Model Railway was established in the Cornish fishing village of that name near the China clay area of St Austell.

Situated in a former sardine works, the space available has been filled not just with a 50ft long main OO layout, but also a 20ft children’s railway featuring favourite characters, a garden railway (built indoors!) where visitors can operate the trains themselves, and a small N scale American layout inspired by US railway photographer O Winston Link’s visits to Abingdon

in Virginia.

Static displays show models of various scales and gauges from Britain and around the world, including the Hornby Princess Elizabeth that won a Guinness World Record for endurance in 1973 – it ran for eight days, 2½ hours and 273.84 miles. Founder Arthur Howeson is commemorated with a locomotive named after him. The current owner is Paul Catchpole who maintains the Mevagissey tradition with quality modelling and an ongoing programme of scenic conservation work. 

Shunting on one of the six lines in the Alpine scene.

What period is the OO scale layout?

Different parts of the layout evoke different eras but generally it is not specific.

What length of track and wiring do you have?

Track, about 250m, wiring...

Unimaginable!

How long did it take to build?

Basic construction was in three stages of a few weeks each, over five years.

How many models feature?

A harbourside encounter on the Junior Junction children’s railway.

Trains of various types and eras run on the various routes.

A Mevagissey-made open-cab tank engine with a guard’s van ‘special’ passes diesels from later BR times.

Twenty-seven trains and one boat run over 18 routes and there are about 1600 figures and 550 vehicles.

and wondering how the boat works.

When did work begin?

Spring 1971 with a second stage in 1973 and the Alps were formed in 1976.

Have you had any famous visitors?

Many, especially when films are being shot in Cornwall or bands are recording at The Sawmills – but I often don’t recognise the stars!

What problems do you have?

Maintenance and access, which are an ongoing trauma.

How did it start?

What’s your favourite thing?

The detailed cameos set in scenes within bigger scenes.

So many people came to see what Arthur Howeson was doing in his garden shed that his wife suggested building a layout somewhere that the public could visit.

What do visitors comment on?

Describe the layout in three words:

The Alpine winter scene, the smooth running,

Inspirational, entertaining, educational.

The World of Model Railways can be found in Meadow Street, Mevagissey, Cornwall, PL26 6UL. Telephone 01726 842457 or visit www.model-railway.co.uk

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