Innehållsförteckning för February 2026 från Garden Rail

I read some scary statistics recently. Eight million men feel lonely at least once a week. One in four has contact with friends less than once a month. Worst of all, one in ten can’t remember when they last interacted with a friend. According to the University of York, loneliness is known as a ‘silent killer’, because it increases the risks of many different life-threatening conditions such as stroke and dementia. Talking to members of my model railway club, we all felt that being part of a group was good for us. For a start, there is somewhere to go at least once a week. OK, we mainly chat and build model railways, but the conversations wander, and simply being in the same room as other people helps. That cup…

Given our aspiration that our garden railway should be as much a rockery covered in alpine plants, as it was somewhere to run trains, we set about planning the project with an eye towards the greenery. We had quite a decent selection of alpines and ferns from the old house, and also from Ben’s parents’ place in Wales, but you can never have too many plants. Well, that’s what we thought, though, as we type this in the middle of a hosepipe ban, perhaps we were wrong. Still, the constant trips to and from the tap with the watering can help get the old step count up. Anyway, back to the Spring, and the building of the new layout. We’d got the trays and pots of plants ready to install,…

After nearly 12 years of being the only diesel locomotive in my fleet, my trusty dark blue Roundhouse Little John has been joined by another. I wanted something a bit bigger, that would look at home hauling my passenger stock, which is usually steam hauled, and found a lovely Roundhouse Criccieth Castle being sold by Anything Narrow Gauge, just perfect for what I wanted. Roundhouse made these 0-6-0 locos from 2007 to 2015, and was its first diesel, although luckily not the last, as there are currently four different types in the range. Not only is it powerful, it has working directional lights and sound, which adds greatly to the experience of running it. I think my new diesel looks a bit posh in its maroon coloured paint, and at…

In-depth articles and stunning photography of global narrow gauge railways   Detailed historical features written by leading railway enthusiasts  The latest news about preservation projects and events in the narrow gauge railway community  Reading about the lesser-known narrow gauge lines Get 9 issues for £39.99 - that’s only £4.44 an issue!* SAVE £1.05 an issue! SUBSCRIBE TODAY www.world-of-railways.co.uk/NGWSUB *Offer is for an annual UK Direct Debit or recurring credit card payment subscription. Other prices are available for overseas residents.…

Last month, I completed a running chassis for the Planet diesel. Time now to finish the job by building the body. Like the chassis, it’s not a difficult task, and very few tools are required. For some, the scariest job will be soldering the wires to the motor, soldering being a bit of a ‘black art’ to people. Don’t panic, this is as simple as it gets, just thread the wires through the terminals on the motor, apply a hot iron, and poke some solder into the joint. Access is good, no proding around trying not to burn anything and this model is made from steel, so you aren’t likely to melt it! A relaxed day of construction saw the kit taken from component parts to a finished model. You…

Write in and share your ideas with other enthusiasts Letters are welcomed on any aspect of large scale railway modelling. Please e-mail the Editor: phil.parker@warnersgroup.co.uk or post to The Editor, Garden Rail Magazine, Warners Group Publications, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9PH. Safety for locomotives My plea for advice in the letters section of Garden Rail may not have resulted in a bulging post-bag, but it has prompted a response from a fellow enthusiast who invited me to see two ways in which he has tackled the challenge on his layout. The first was to use wooden boards, albeit astride a wide base, the second was to cut down some weld-mesh, using two squares or so width as the safety fence, while using a broader width to secure the fence…

Lying in the long grass, one afternoon of heat, gazing up into the cloudless, hazy blue, a Skylark singing, unseen, high overhead, bees quietly humming around Oxeye Daisies, a creak of rails expanding with the warmth, the scent of creosote from hot sleepers; the peaceful scene surrounding a seemingly little used narrow gauge byway hidden in the chalk downland of southwest Wiltshire. Still, the rails have a hint of shine, suggesting something must have passed this way recently. Presently, that unmistakable Simplex burble drifts on the breeze, getting louder, as around the bend comes a 20/28 with half a dozen empty skips, squealing and rattling as they pass. The peace descends once more as they gradually recede. Walking after them in the ‘two foot’, the track can be seen to…

Send us your garden railway pics Would you like to see your line in Garden Rail? We are always on the lookout for both feature layouts and Postcards From pieces. Don’t be modest, show us what you have! Please email the Editor: phil.parker@warnersgroup.co.uk…

It was on the cusp of, and between 2021 and 2022, when I reviewed the impressively-large 16mm Cornish pump house from this company. One could not fail to be impressed by the chimney, which stood at over a metre high, and the incredibly thick wall sections. I recall collecting a rather large box from one of the trade shows back then, and was glad they loaded it into my car for me. At the time, all the kits in this range were made from cast resin. Resin casting is a messy and smelly process at the best of times. However, for Kippo’s proprietor, Eddy Williams, this manufacturing process became a source of irritation, literally. Eddy developed an allergy to resin, and so had to radically rethink how he could continue…

1| The steel body simply slots together, but as the instructions suggest, it’s wise to test fit everything to get a feel for the job ahead. 2| The slots all need opening out slightly, as while I’m sure they are fine in raw metal, once powder-coated, the holes are slightly closed up. A small Swiss file is ideal for this, but don’t rush it, as you don’t want to slip and scratch the paintwork. 3| The tabs also need to have their coating removed. I found it paid to reduce the length of some of them by half a millimetre, to ensure they located freely in the slots. 4| Bending the tabs over isn’t as simple as giving them a shove with your fingers; the metal is strong! Under the…

For many years, I have been a member of the Cardiff Model Engineering Society, whose grounds are in Heath Park, Cardiff. This society has had a garden railway since 1990; at this time, as there was no land available, this first railway was in fact a waterproof portable layout. It wasn’t until the late 1990s and the relocation of one of the society’s larger gauge tracks did any land become available for a garden railway. On the right, you can see the portable layout in use, and behind it the ring of fencing around some trees, which is where a proper garden railway will be situated. This track remained in operation, with a few alterations to the trackwork, until 2017, when it was lengthened and construction of a raised track…

It’s all Rapido Trains UK’s fault. They suggested that a game where people tried to drop marbles into a moving train would make a fun centrepiece for the NEC show. All the Warners’ team had to do was build it. Like all good games, the premise is simple enough. Drop a marble into a pipe that spirals down and ends over a piece of track. If the marble lands in a wagon, you score a point, and points mean prizes! Rapido’s stock in trade is 4mm scale trains. Lovely models, but bombing them with glass balls would be pretty much impossible. Even if you landed your marble in a wagon, it would probably destroy it. No, forget the electric mice, what we needed was some proper-sized rolling stock. Time for…

1| Kippo uses PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol) filament instead of the more common PLA (Polylactic Acid) filament. PETG has a much higher melting point than PLA, greater UV stability, and is far less susceptible to warping, making it far more suitable for buildings that will be left outside. There are very few joins in this kit, and those where the sides of the shed abut each other will be hidden by downpipes later on in the build. A couple of woodworking clamps are useful to hold these sections together while the glue dries. 2| The roof sections are printed in one piece. The minimum length of the model will be 470mm if you opt for the two-section kit with doors at each end. But you can add further 235mm middle…

ROUNDHOUSE ENGINEERING Lynton & Barnstaple Railway ‘Yeo’ 16mm scale Announced at the start of the year, Roundhouse presents ‘Yeo’. A 2-6-2 live steam locomotive modelled on the first locomotive delivered to the ‘Lynton & Barnstaple Railway’ in 1897 by Manning Wardle of Leeds. This charismatic loco ran on the line for the duration of its operation from opening in 1897 to its closure in 1935. ‘YEO’ was sadly scrapped, but a rich history of this loco and the line remains, thanks to preservation efforts from 1979 to today. Older readers will remember that this isn’t the first time the firm has modelled the L&B, 1990-95 saw it produce ‘Taw’, an internally-fired tank locomotive with slip eccentric valve gear. The modern model features simplified Joy valve gear, water top-up system, full…