Model Railways

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Featuring Hornby Magazine 

Read the full Hornby Magazine issue in PDF format or dip into our reformatted online features for KeyModelWorld at your leisure. 

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Latest news and features from model railway on Key Model World

Sonic Models announce LBSCR ‘K’ class ‘Mogul’

Sonic Models has announced an all new model of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) ‘K’ class 2-6-0 for ‘OO’ gauge with engineering prototypes already in hand.

Kernow Model Rail Centre exclusive Royal Train coach pack

Kernow Model Rail Centre has announced an exclusive trio of Graham Farish ‘N’ gauge coach packs modelling the Royal Train.

Accurascale and DB Cargo Team join forces to raise £10,000 with charity Class 66

Accurascale and DB Cargo have revealed that they are working together to produce a special edition model of DB Class 66 66190 Martin House to raise £10,000 for Martin House Children's Hospice in Yorkshire.

Making Tracks 4 opens at Chester Cathedral

Pete Waterman's Making Tracks 4: Up to the Junction opened to the public on August 1 2024 in Chester Cathedral. Read the latest event news here.

WIN! Hornby Gresley ‘A3’ 4-6-2 60103 Flying Scotsman, worth £293.

Hornby Magazine is offering the chance to win one of Hornby’s latest ‘OO’ gauge Gresley ‘A3’ 4-6-2s with factory-fitted smoke generator, finished as 60103 Flying Scotsman in BR lined green with late crests, worth £293. The closing date for entries is 5pm GMT on September 25 2024.

Watford Tunnel portal kit available now for ‘OO’ gauge

The latest kit to join the Key Model World Shop collection is taken straight from Making Tracks 4 and models the Grade II listed Watford Tunnel portal in ‘OO’ gauge.

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Train-Tech Point Motor Switch

This new point motor switch from Train-Tech seeks to make wiring turnouts as simple and straightforward as possible.

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ModelU GWR Water Crane

This ‘OO’ gauge Great Western Railway water crane is one of the latest releases from Modelu3D and offers a fine 3D printed model of this useful depot or station end detail.

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Latest model railway videos

VIDEO: Making Tracks: The Final Frontier - Project Update

Pete Waterman and the Railnuts are working through construction of new extensions to the Making Tracks layout to create Making Tracks: The Final Frontier for Model World LIVE on April 27/28 2024 at the NEC in Birmingham. The new extensions will take the layout to 208ft x 14ft and feature over 240ft of scenery. Watch the latest update video here.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Cavalex Models Class 56 production samples

With Cavalex Models' debut powered model - the BR Class 56 - due to arrive with retailers at the end of January, we meet with the manufacturer to reveal the final tweaks on its production samples. Watch our video here as we discuss the new model with Cavalex Models Alex Perkins.

Ellis Clark Trains about the future of model railway

With the recent press for model railway surrounding the closure of Hattons Model Railways and the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition, we talk to Ellis Clark Trains founder Ellis Clark to get his perspective on the hobby and its future.

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Allerby - recreating the 1980s in 'O' gauge

The latest exhibition layout from STEVE THOMPSON and family models a freight scene in ‘O’ gauge, demonstrating the tremendous presence this scale offers and you can see it at Model World LIVE on April 27/28 2024.

SERIES 7, EP4: Making Tracks - The Grand Challenge

In the fourth and final part of our Making Tracks 3 video series, we delve into the story of the Grand Challenge at the Great Electric Train Show when Pete Waterman and the Railnuts created a record breaking 152ft long 'OO' gauge model railway.

Hornby Class 31 with Triplex Sound for OO gauge. Feature Premium

TXS 8-pin Installation Hornby Class 31 Upgrades

The Hornby Class 31 is a simple locomotive to add Triplex Sound into and in this guide we move on to upgrade the speaker. MIKE WILD explains how.

SERIES 7, EP3: Making Tracks 3 - On Show

Part 3 of our Making Tracks 3 video series is here. Join us as we follow the installation process at Chester Cathedral and it operation across the summer. Watch the trailer for FREE and sign up for a Premium subscriber account to gain full access to the 50 minutes feature video.

Hornby HST with Bluetooth Triplex Sound Feature Premium

VIDEO: TXS 21-pin Installation Hornby HST Power Cars

The latest generation Hornby Class 43 High Speed Train power cars set out to make sound installation simple. MIKE WILD adds a pair of TXS 21-pin chips to EMT liveried 43049 and 43060 and demonstrates the finished models on video.

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Latest model railway reviews

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DCC/DC Locomotive Servicing Controller

This useful DCC/DC servicing device developed by Mark’s Trains of Peterborough is designed to make decoder fitting and servicing as simple and straightforward as possible.

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Dapol ‘N’ gauge Class 59

The first of a pair of ‘59s’ is reviewed by MARK CHIVERS – but how does it compare to its new rival?

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Flying Scotsman: the amazing story of the world’s most famous locomotive

Eight years on from its last publication in print, Andrew Roden has re-released and remastered his bestselling volume Flying Scotsman in e-book form on Kindle and Apple iBooks, incorporating new information and insights and the locomotive’s career following its triumphant return to service in 2016.

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‘N15’ completes ‘Big Four’ Centenary collection

The final component of Hornby’s ‘Big Four’ collection, celebrating 100 years since the 1923 Grouping, arrived in early April with the release of its ‘OO’ gauge Southern Railway (SR) ‘N15’ 4-6-0 741 Joyous Gard (Cat No. R30273). 

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3D-Printed Cable Trunking

Expanding on its impressive roster of line-side detailing items comes a comprehensive suite of 4mm scale cable trunking from West Hill Wagon Works.

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MGR Coal Trains

Amberley Publishing’s roster of railway books is bolstered by the addition of MGR Coal Trains, a retrospective photographic reminder of these important coal trains.

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Rapido GWR ‘Mink A’ van

A year after the better known Great Western Railway (GWR) ‘Iron Mink’ vans arrived, Rapido Trains UK has developed its wooden-bodied ‘Mink A’ cousins in ‘OO’ gauge.

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Railways Remembered: North East England

First in a new series called ‘Railways Remembered’, this new publication from Crecy is a well-produced and high-quality look back at the railways in North East England from the 1950s to 1970s. The book covers steam, diesel and electric traction on main lines and the region’s many industrial railways.

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