Western Region
STEAM 2022 Calendar
As attention turns to a new year, this colourful 2022 calendar from STEAM - the Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon should keep you on track with a Great Western Railway theme.
The first gas turbine
Designers have been down many blind alleys in the pursuit of greater power, speed and efficiency. The Great Western Railway’s efforts to apply the gas turbine to rail were amongst them. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES describes the ups and downs of 18000, the first locomotive that resulted from this experiment.
St Paddy - Cornwall in the 1990s in 'OO'
The Cornish china clay industry and holidays in the area were the inspiration for BRIAN TAMPLIN to build this multi-level ‘OO’ gauge layout. Photography, Trevor Jones.
Wales and Western Region Railways
The recent volume from Amberley Books takes us on a photo journey to selected spots on BR’s Western Region operating area in the 1950s and 1960s – beginning in London, with a sprint along the main line to Oxford, Gloucestershire and Devon. Further jaunts follow the route through High Wycombe to Birmingham, Shrewsbury and beyond, with coverage of routes in mid and south west Wales too.
Swindon: The Complete Works
This new hefty volume is an enlarged reworking of the author’s two previous books on Swindon Works and now covers the impact of the transition from steam to diesel, the carriage and wagon works, as well as the operation of the stores department. A few myths have also been addressed.
Reading to Paddington
The Great Western Main Line from Reading to Twyford and beyond is the setting for this astounding ‘OO’ gauge model railway built by John Southern. ANDREW KEAST reveals its story and how this layout came to be. Photography, Mike Wild.
Sonic debuts Collett ‘56XX’
Newcomer to the ready-to-run market Sonic Models has released its first powered model – the GWR ‘56XX’ 0-6-2T for ‘N’ gauge. MIKE WILD takes a closer look at this new addition which fills an important gap in the ready-to-run roster.
Railways of South Wales
In just over 200 years, the South Wales Valleys have gone from being the birthplace of railways, through housing one of the most intense freight systems in the world to becoming the home of a suburban commuter railway system. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES takes a look at this fascinating area, which is bristling with modelling possibilities.
Rails reveals second gas turbine for 'OO'
Rails of Sheffield has commissioned Heljan to produce a 'OO' gauge model of unique gas turbine prototype 18100 as a follow up to its newly arrived model of Brown Boveri gas turbine 18000.
Saint Mellion, 'OO'
The real St Mellion is a small village situated in East Cornwall, a little to the west of the River Tamar, but it was never in reality served by a railway.