Welcome

Happy New Year! I wonder how many of

The Big Picture

The latest happenings from the world of model railways

HORNBY TO LAUNCH 2025 RANGE

J anuary 14 was the date on which

LATEST HORNBY ARRIVALS CLASS 08s AT THE DOUBLE

00 GAUGE There has been a flurry

STEAM ERA ‘08’ FOR ‘TT:120’

Another Class 08 to reach Hornby stockists recently

GWR PARCELS RAILCAR

00 GAUGE After several years out of the

CLASS 153 GETS THE ‘LOCAL LINES’ TREATMENT

00 GAUGE Announced as an extra treat mid-way

MODEL OF THE YEAR 2024 – THERE’S STILL TIME TO VOTE

Voting continues in our annual Model of the

REVIEW SAMPLES ARRIVE

Just before we closed for press, a pair

EXCLUSIVE ‘26’ ALMOST HERE

00 GAUGE Another recent parcel to arrive at

NIR HUNSLET DECO SAMPLES REVEALED

A nnounced late last year, the ‘OO’ gauge

SHOW PREVIEW: MODEL RAIL SCOTLAND

It’s almost time to make the annual pilgrimage

DAPOL SET TO MARK VE DAY CELEBRATIONS

N GAUGE 00 GAUGE OGAUGE Having raised nearly

EXCLUSIVE ‘JONES GOODS’ ARRIVES

00 GAUGE In tandem with the arrival of

MORE ‘TT:120’ OPENS FROM PECO

‘TT:120’ Peco released its first batch of seven-plank

THINKING OF GOING NARROW GAUGE IN ‘O’?

O-16.5 GAUGE The 7mm Narrow Gauge Association has

LNER BULK GRAIN VAN KIT REPRISED

00 GAUGE Having been part of the Parkside

VICTORIAN HOUSE KITS FOR ‘N’

N GAUGE Following the success of Peco’s ‘OO’

Show & Tell

The place to share your projects with the Model Rail community.

WEIGHING UP YOUR OPTIONS

OO GAUGE A common feature at many industrial

Modeller’s Bookshelf

George Dent presents a quartet of new titles to inspire and inform your modelling.

ON THE WORKBENCH

What new products have landed on George’s workbench this month?

BUSY BEES

OO GAUGE This Action Set from Busch provides

GARAGE SALE

Among the latest releases from Scale Model Scenery

WORKING PEOPLE

ANY GAUGE Modelu’s latest packs of 3D-printed figures

SMELLS LIKE TRAIN SPIRIT

We have working lights and sound on our

EASY BASEBOARDS

ANY GAUGE WW Scenics offers all sorts of

News Real

Our full-size railways are constantly evolving, providing fresh inspiration for modelling projects. BEN JONES looks at a few of the latest developments that could soon be appearing on our layouts.

Staff Show & Tell POWER UPGRADE

Dave Lowery has been busy building a number of ‘O’ gauge HST power cars, using a recently upgraded metal kit.

A concrete decision

PETER MARRIOTT’S recent visit to a model railway

Searching for inspiration

After hours of sifting through images of Class

Inside track with Ben Ando

Ben Ando is the founder of Revolution Trains and a regular contributor to Model Rail .

EXHIBITION DIARY – JANUARY-MARCH 2025

January 18 & 19 BIRSTALL, LEICESTER. Syston

Unusual scenes captured by the lens of Chris Nevard

Engineman Willy and his cat Bob love to

Backscene

Nothing is really new. CHRIS LEIGH remembers where he first saw diesel railcars with bike artwork, and gets the inevitable layout inspiration

Lost without Lostwithiel

It has fascinated Rob Elliott so much that this is his third and finest rendition of Lostwithiel to date.

Workbench

Inspirational projects, advice and top tips that show you how

Cheeky little number

Dave Finney decided to use as many of the leftover bits and bobs he had amassed to create a fun and portable layout, and at minimal extra cost.

HOW TO BUILDING WHITEHALL HALT

Chris Nevard takes us on the first leg of a journey towards recreating an impression of a rural Devonshire halt.

HOW TO BUILD A GWR PAGODA SHED

Chris Leigh tackles an ‘O’ gauge kit which creates a first-rate model of a GWR icon.

HOW TO BUILD PECO’S NEW 7MM SCALE WAGON KITS

George Dent dips his toes into 7mm scale narrow gauge modelling by assembling an exciting new range of wagon kits.

HOW TO MODEL PALLETISED GOODS

General goods are invariably transported on pallets these days, so Peter Marriott set out to see what was available to help detail the interior of his rail-served warehouse.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR RAILS CLEAN

Clean contact surfaces are vital to ensuring reliable layout operation. George Dent offers some simple tips to help keep your trains moving, and trials a new rail cleaning fluid.

HOW TO RECREATE A SNIPPET OF THE WEST HIGHLAND LINE

Peter Marriott shares one of his new projects, which aims to capture a tiny slice of this famous route.

Lionheart Trains BR ‘3MT’ 2-6-2T

◆ GAUGE ‘O’ ◆ MODEL Lionheart

Rapido Trains Highland Railway ‘Jones Goods’ 4-6-0

◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Rapido

EFE Rail Class 41 ‘Warship’

GAUGE ‘N’ MODEL EFE Rail E84524 Class 41 ‘Warship’ D602 Bulldog, BR blue PRICE £174.95 AVAILABILITY Bachmann stockists Web www.bachmann.co.uk

Hornby LNER ‘Coronation’ observation car

GAUGE ‘OO’ MODEL Hornby R40227 LNER ‘Coronation’ observation car No. 1719 PRICE £81.99 r AVAILABILITY Hornby stockists Web www.hornby.com

Bachmann BR Mk 1 FO, BSO, RB

GAUGE ‘OO’ MODEL Bachmann Branchline BR Mk 1s • 39-825 First open crimson and cream • 39-801A Brake standard open maroon • 39-851 RB restaurant buffet BR chocolate and cream PRICE £67.95 each AVAILABILITYWeb Bachmann stockists www.bachmann.co.uk

Bachmann BR 12t ‘Palvan’

GAUGE ‘OO’ MODEL Bachmann Branchline 38-954A BR ‘Palvan’, Johnnie Walker green PRICE £34.95 AVAILABILITY Bachmann stockists Web www.bachmann.co.uk

Bachmann FR Brake Third

GAUGE ‘OO9’ MODEL Bachmann Narrow Gauge 394-085 Ffestiniog Railway Passenger Brake Third, crimson and cream r PRICE £59.95 AVAILABILITY Bachmann stockists Web www.bachmann.co.uk

Hornby S&DR Locomotion No. 1

GAUGE ‘OO’ MODEL Hornby R30346 Locomotion No. 1 (as preserved) • PRICE £184.99 AVAILABILITY Hornby stockists Web www.hornby.com