Model Rail

Model Rail magazine is the UK's biggest-selling magazine dedicated to railway modelling. Every issue is packed with the country’s finest home and club layouts, stunning photography, unbiased and in-depth product reviews, expert tips, layout plans and step-by-step articles that really show you how. In our unique ‘Workbench’ section, we tackle a wide range of modeling skills and projects. Our expert writers and model-makers will help you to get the most from your hobby and build the layout of your dreams. Model Rail is published 13 times a year, every four weeks.

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Model Rail essential information

The Big Picture • Over the years, we’ve heard numerous tales in the pages of Model Rail of modellers who operate their layout with their grandchildren, or who started one with an older family member and are now finishing the job. The sentimental value of a model railway can be enormous, and ‘Midhurst’ is one such layout. Look out for the full story of this generational layout in a future issue of Model Rail.

MAUNSELL ‘DI’ NEXT FROM RAILS OF SHEFFIELD

BUILDING SITE ESSENTIALS

Modeller’s Bookshelf • A selection of titles that have kept the Model Rail team occupied recently.

ON THE WORKBENCH • George Dent looks at the new products to land on his workbench this month

LIGHT AND VISION

EXHIBITION DIARY – MARCH 2022–APRIL 2022

…and finally • Unusual scenes captured by the lens of Chris Nevard...

Staff Show & Tell Getting on track • George Dent has been busy laying track, wiring and building platforms on his new layout. He’s also found time to finish off another diorama too!

Show & Tell • The place to share your projects with the Model Rail community.

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

Family connection • Ancestral links to the Derby area led Kevin Smith to model a Great Northern branch station, and doing it in ‘N’ gave him the freedom to model a three-quarter mile stretch.

MAID of all works • Worsdell’s ‘J27s’ were remarkable survivors, lasting until the end of steam in the North East. Chris Gilson looks back at a functional and much-loved design.

27 STEPS TO A BETTER ‘J27 • George Dent lavishes a few hours’ worth of attention onto Oxford Rail’s LNER ‘J27’, adding extra details and giving it a more appropriate work-worn finish.

Workbench • 14 pages of projects, advice and top tips that show you how

HOW TO BUILD BADGER’S DEAN COLLIERY • Having revealed how he created the amazing structures for his new layout last month, Chris Nevard describes how the baseboards and scenic foundations were assembled, taking a request for a further extension in his stride.

HOW TO MAKE A GWR WATER TANK • Like many of his projects in the past, Chris Leigh’s ‘N’ gauge Staines West layout languished incomplete, stalled by a minor issue which he needed to resolve…

HOW TO WEATHER NARROW GAUGE WAGONS • Sculptor Steve Bearpark decided to dip his toes into railway modelling. Here, he reveals how he created some ultra-realistic weathering effects on timber-bodied rolling stock.

HOW TO BUILD AN ARMOURED TRAIN • Inspired by the young Winston Churchill’s exploits in South Africa, Alan Rowlands adapted some Hornby and Lima models to recreate an armoured train for the Boer War period.

Know your stuff • This is where our team of experienced modellers answer YOUR questions. Email your queries about railways - real or model - to modelrail@bauermedia.co.uk

KNOW YOUR… LIVERIES • Paul Chancellor looks back at the early days of non-steam-powered traction on British Railways.

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