Innehållsförteckning för December 2024 från Garden Rail

As garden railway owners will know, it’s not all about the trains and the track. The beauty is often the diorama – that fantasy world where your trains run through hills and valleys, forests and tunnels, calling at stations and steaming through picturesque villages. And at the end of the day, it’s a case of putting the locomotives, carriages and rolling stock away for the night in the workshop or shed – safe and dry. The same doesn’t go for the buildings dotted around your layout, however. They usually remain outside at the mercy of the elements and the creepy crawlies. After all, what self-respecting nest of woodlice wouldn’t love a cosy farmhouse or a tall-spired church to call home? Maintaining a garden railway’s buildings – whether that’s lots, or…

Continuing the story of interesting and iconic steam locos that have visited my Ambledown Valley Railway in the past 45 years, here is something completely different. We first saw David ‘Locomotion’ Hardy’s steam railcar at the 16mm Annual meeting at Stoneleigh in 1993, and my friend Peter Spindlow was immediately smitten, ordering one there and then. His line was called the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway, and as everything was in Great Western colours, it had to be chocolate and cream. It was delivered to him soon after, and Peter named it ‘Arlington Mill’. We were both so impressed with its performance that I reviewed it for Garden Rail in issue No. 4 Jan/Feb 1994. The railcar had a gas-fired vertical boiler and two large oscillating cylinders under the front cab…

ROUNDHOUSE ENGINEERING A new version of ‘Millie’ 16mm scale Millie was Roundhouse’s first low-cost, live steam locomotive, launched in 1999. That first version had an external burner, but she has now been redesigned with a reliable internal FG burner; bringing her in line with the rest of the firms’ gas-fired locos. She is offered ready to run in a choice of colours and in either 32mm or 45mm gauge. The basic model is as pictured above with open cab, but a full cab is available at additional cost. Personalise it further to your own requirements with the additional parts and accessories available. Details Specification • 0-4-0 inside framed chassis with double-acting slide valve cylinders operated by slip eccentric valve gear• Internal gas firing using the Roundhouse ‘FG’ gas system• Controls…

‘All Kits Great and Small’ is born out of Craig Shepherds’ love for kit building and helping others. He has been active in the hobby since 2001 and has built 100s of models over the years. Many have been sold via Facebook’s Garden Railway Trading Group, which generated requests to build other items. The idea is that Craig can offer the service to build rolling stock kits and figures. He is based in the North East of England and will work with postal services as and when required if the customer is unable to collect their model. To find out more, email: Craigshepherd19@yahoo.co.uk. Details Price: Varies on product Website: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566940388541…

Si Harris has just restocked the range of tools and is able to offer this set. These are whitemetal castings from a hand-crafted master, there is no scanning, 3D design or printing involved. Si tells us that they offer a number of advantages over 3D-printed alternatives, including cost and durability, plus the production medium lends itself to producing a very realistic finish easily. The track gauges are a freebie, the set will come with one pair. When ordering, please state whether you want 32mm or 45m. Please note that these are decorative and not really suitable for actual track laying, but make an excellent load for a small wagon. Details Price: £15 Website: www.modelearth.co.uk For the latest Products, News, Reviews, Events and more at: world-of-railways.co.uk…

Goods trains should have a van for the guard bringing up the rear. Their job will be to apply the van brakes to control the train, so it doesn’t start pushing the loco on the downhill sections. More to the point, I think a goods train looks wrong without a brake van on it. With this in mind, I was delighted to be offered a Small Gods Van kit by Timpdon Models for a review build. On the stand, it looked like it would be perfect to hang on the back of my skip wagon train that appeared on these pages a couple of months ago. I have a Welshpool and Llanfair brake from Accucraft in my fleet, but it’s just too large for the skips. As with all the…

The larger Postman Pat ‘Greendale Rocket’ toy locomotive is a favourite for conversion to run, in my case, on 32mm gauge track. It is a robust toy and comes in at least three versions: a push-along, a friction drive and battery-powered, complete with sound. I have carried out three conversions, including my version of a Double Fairlie, using the bodies of two Rocket locos. This time, I had the idea of a Railmotor version, built from a loco and a coach. Building commenced with a new chassis and adapting the coach. The helpful thing about these toys is that they are mainly held together with M2.5 self-tapping screws, so dis-assembly is easy. Kitbashing the coach I’ve discovered with previous coach adaptations, it is easier to make a completely new chassis…

I’ve watched 3D printing technology develop over many years, and relatively recently, a new feature of some machines is the ability to load with more than one colour of filament. To be honest, I couldn’t see the point when I saw it at a show, but it seems that the model railway community has found a problem for this solution. First impressions of Woodleigh Engineering’s Welshpool and Llanfair wagon kit is ‘Wow!’ The ironwork is the right colour.’ Basically, the printer is loaded with grey, black, and white filaments. It prints the grey ‘wooden’ sides and then switches to black for the ironwork, followed by white for the edges of the wagon plate. This is all perfectly neat, and probably harder to achieve than it is to write. What we…

This 1/19 scale model kit is based on the steel third-class coaches ordered in 1967 by Indian Railway’s Northern Frontier division for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The new coaches were designed in Gorakhpur (north eastern division) and built by Perambur Coach Factory in south India. The third-class carriages were numbered 69 through to 103, but were reclassified as second class in the late 1970s. These vehicles were the backbone of the carriage fleet for 20 years, their life being extended into the 1990s, when some were rebuilt with taller windows. The coach body is cut from 3mm thick MDF sheet, easy to paint as there is no wood grain to disguise. The body ends also feature rows of pilot holes for easy location of the brake lever and safety chain…

Michael of Plateway Models is trialing some 7/8th scale products, so he has produced a couple of wagons, which if popular, will be the start of a larger range. The first wagon is a simple outside frame box van. It comes with separate ironwork and a highly detailed chassis with outline brake gear. Hidden inside are miniature bearing races for smooth running using Binnie 29 mm wheels and couplings. Details Dimensions Length: 225mm Width: 120mm Height: 190 mm Price: £45 Website: www.platewaymodels.co.uk…

EXCLUSIVE! Rail Simulator: drive your favourite locomotive Action packed event includes: • 60+ of the UK’s best model railway layouts• The biggest retailers and manufacturers• Under 16’s go FREE• Clubs and society stands• FREE Ride on Railway• Impressive World of Railways Cinema Zone Special Pre-Book Package: just £20! • Adult ticket – you save £5 on the pay-on-the-door price• Car parking discount code – you pay just £10 (£18.95 on the day)• Early entry from 9.30am (non-booked visitors enter from 10am)• All visitors get a show souvenir edition of BRM worth £6.99 For more info, visit: NFRM.co.uk…

It is all too easy to get carried away in this hobby and focus on locos and rolling stock, the mainstay models of most garden railways. But over the years, I like to change things around from time to time and concentrate on the railway infrastructure. After all, trains need stations to stop at and other items to run past and through. Also, adding other static models to your layout gives the impression that your railway serves a purpose. Perhaps it carries milk churns ready to be loaded onto a road vehicle and other goods, too. I have been using road, static and portable engines to enhance my railway for several years. I often stage them in front of a building for a photo call when reviewing lineside buildings. A…

Write in and share your ideas with other enthusiasts Letters are welcomed on any aspect of large-scale railway modelling. Please email the Editor: phil.parker@warnersgroup.co.uk or post to The Editor, Garden Rail Magazine, Warners Group Publications, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9PH. Water for boilers I am puzzled by the item on page 45 of Novembers Garden Rail about using deionised water in our locomotives, stating that it can cause problems. A member of the 16mm Association, I seem to remember that this was recommended to use in a long severalpage article about types of water in SMT a few years ago, because some areas of the country have very hard water. I reside in Essex and the water here is very hard and causes problems with kettles, central heating boilers…

Based on the wagons used for transporting large slate slabs on the Corris Railway. The kit includes 2mm and 3mm MDF parts, brass eyelet bearings, steel axles, 3D printed ABS wheels and metal fixings. Full build instructions with photos throughout included with the kit. Details Price: £11.50 Croesor Tramway Wagon kit 16mm Scale Modelled on the horse-drawn open wagons that were used in the Parc and Croesor Quarries in Wales. In the late 1950s, these wagons were donated to the Ffestiniog Railway and used to carry ash. Unusually, they have no underframe, the axle boxes are fitted directly to the bottom of the wagons. This kit includes 2mm MDF parts, brass eyelet axle bearings, metal fixings and axles, and 3D-printed ABS plastic wheels. 32mm gauge only. Details Price: £9 Website:…