Model Railway Features
The Collett ‘14XX’
No model of the quintessential Great Western branch line would be complete without one of that company’s little 0-4-2Ts and matching autocoach. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES traces the origins of this attractive tank engine back to the mid-19th century.
RE-ENGINEERED
Trains withdrawn from the national network are usually destined for a one-way trip to the scrapyard, but for a lucky few a further life awaits as a result of reengineering. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains all in the concluding part of our Railway Realism trilogy on stock changes on today’s railway.
REALITY CHECK: The BR Standard ‘9F’
One of the most successful BR standard steam locomotives was the massive 2-10-0, more commonly known as the ‘9F’. These handsome machines proved to be capable all-rounders, despite being intended for heavy freight, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES remembers.
FLYING SCOTSMAN DIGITAL SOUND WITH ZIMO
The National Collection’s famous Gresley ‘A3’ became a must-have addition to the roster for our modern era layout, West Coast Cement. MIKE WILD explains how he installed a Zimo sound decoder, stay alive, speaker and firebox flicker into the popular Hornby ‘Pacific’.
The LBSCR's sprightly 'Terriers'
The ‘A1’ class of the London Brighton & South Coast Railway has a rich and varied history. To mark the arrival of Hornby’s new model EVAN GREEN-HUGHES looks back at its story.
Staff Projects: The great outdoors
A house move and a bare garden were all the inspiration MIKE WILD needed to begin building one of his lifetime ambitions – a garden railway in ‘O’ gauge. In this whistle-stop introduction, he takes us behind closed doors to reveal the early stages of the project over its first 12 months.
Making Class 37s’GROWL’
The English Electric Type 3 is one of the most popular diesel locomotives and it has been the subject of many models over the years. MIKE WILD tackles the Bachmann and ViTrains ‘OO’ models in this double sound installation.
Staff Projects: Lighting control
A little extra detail can go a long way, especially in 7mm scale. MIKE WILD has been using the evenings to add a few finishing touches to his ‘O’ gauge ‘Western’.
The Churchward ‘Moguls’
Although many steam locomotives were designed for both passenger and freight traffic, few had the success of the Great Western’s ‘43XX’ class, a design that was to be the company’s maid of all work for more than half a century. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains all.
GWR '61XX' 2-6-2Ts
Although the Great Western Railway set out to produce a range of standard steam engines in the Churchward era, inevitably as time went on variants were produced for specific tasks. One of those were the ‘61XX’ 2-6-2Ts which were specifically provided for commuter services in London, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
Upscaling to ‘O’ gauge
Changing from ‘OO’ to ‘O’ gauge is much simpler than it used to be with an increasing range of motive power and greater consideration to digital control and sound. MIKE WILD opens up the Heljan Class 05 for ‘O’ gauge and shows how it can be enhanced with sound quickly and simply.
Southern push-pull
You can recreate the famous Southern Region push-pull trains for the Bournemouth-Weymouth section of the LSWR main line from London with a simple sound project using a new LokSound sound file pairing from Legomanbiffo and DC Kits. MIKE WILD installs the decoders into a Heljan Class 33/1 and a Kernow 4-TC unit.
Trailer Control
Bi-mode trains are all the rage now - but they are just the latest solution to a problem that has arisen before and which gave rise 50 years ago to a unique, but unpowered, multiple unit train known as the 4-TC, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES discovers.
The End of Southern Steam
Despite extensive electrification, British Railway’s Southern Region remained a Mecca for steam enthusiasts right into the late 1960s, with some crack express workings surviving until the very end in July 1967, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
Bulleid’s mixed traffic ‘Merchant Navy’
Born in wartime and constructed under false pretences, the ‘Merchant Navy’ 4-6-2s were one of the Southern Railway’s most groundbreaking designs. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES looks into the story of these remarkable locomotives.
Bulleid’s radical designs
Although best known for his controversial Southern Railway ‘Pacifics’ Oliver Bulleid was an innovator whose work, if carried to a logical conclusion, might have resulted in steam lasting longer than it did. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES looks at the life of this remarkable man.
Bulleid’s ‘Merchant Navy’
The Southern Railway’s ‘Merchant Navy’ locomotives were some of the best looking steam engines ever built and amongst the most technologically advanced too - but they had some features which proved troublesome in service, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES relates.
British Railways 4-VEP EMU
Electrification of Southern England's railway system extended progressively throughout the 20th Century and as it did so new electric trains were built to run on it. One of the most successful designs was the 4-VEP, introduced in 1967 as the network was extended to take in Bournemouth, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES found out.