Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Continental Modeller

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, these words are being composed on the Eurostar from Brussels to London as we return from an enjoyable visit to the major Modelspoor/Train Miniature exhibition held in Leuven/Louvain, just east of Brussels, at the end of September – right at the last minute before the deadline! Once again it was a very successful exhibition – our congratulations to Guy van Meroye and his team, and our thanks for their hospitality and co-operation. While predominantly Belgian, as you might expect, there were layouts of many other prototypes, and from all over Europe. The exhibition has now returned to its customary two year cycle after an extra edition at Wieze last year to make up for the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has…

Working on very small scenes has always been a great pleasure for me, concentrating on the essence, condensing effects, with advanced detailing, but without becoming too complicated. I had this project in mind for a long time, working on an extremely small area but in a large scale. Staying with the themes that I particularly like, what better way to reconcile these two parameters than to create an abandoned grocery shop entrance using simple and proven techniques. It was during a photographic trip in the centre of France some years ago that this idea came to me for the first time, when I noticed many abandoned entrances. Why not model them by focusing the work solely on the door? Over the course of various discoveries, the ideas germinated, but as…

Imagine ... “It is late October 1968 and we are travelling with the crew on the Belmont local across the agricultural Palouse region of south eastern Washington in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. The train originated at Yardley, the Northern Pacific’s major yard in Spokane, early this morning and, after several stops to switch towns along the route, we are approaching Belmont. Today our train consists of Northern Pacific S4 locomotive #713 and three cars destined for customers in Belmont, plus a caboose. Despite being late October, the weather is already moving towards winter – there was an unexpected early snowfall last night. The crew are also wondering what the future might hold with the rumours of the upcoming Burlington Northern merger likely to go ahead after aborted attempts…

European Railways Association The European Railways Association is planning an exhibition on Saturday 28th February 2026 at the Austin Social Club, Tessall Lane, Longbridge, Birmingham, B31 2SF. There will be at least fifteen European layouts in various scales and gauges, and the organisers are still looking for possible exhibitors. Layouts so far expected include: St.Frazal d’Ardèche – French Nm – Piers Milne (CM August 2023). Allegra – Rhätische Bahn N – new from Mike Carter (below). St.Pankraz in Steiermark – Austrian HO – Mike Upton (CM February 2021). Further details will be published when participant information is established. Additional information can be obtained from: Colin Capell, Exhibition Manager0121 475 425607748 410164colinca@cec21.plus.com train of the month November Papagei (‘Parrot’) RegioExpress For the expansion of services in 1997, SBB modernized a large…

Please send details for possible inclusion to: Peco Publications, Beer, near Seaton, Devon, EX12 3NA. E-mail: clubs@railwaymodeller.co.uk Saturday 18 October CHELMSFORD, Essex Organiser: Chelmsford & District MRC. Venue: St.John Payne School, Patching Hall Lane, Chelmsford, CM1 4BS.Open: 1000-1600Admission: adults £7.00, juniors (12-17) £2.00.Amenities: free car park. Bus C1 and 170 from Chelmsford bus station to Patching Hall Lane. Disabled access. Refreshments.Features: 21 layouts including HO and On30. Club stand, trade.Website: www.cdmrc.co.uk Saturday 18 October FOREST HILL, South East London Organiser: Beckenham & West Wickham MRC.Venue: Forest Hill Boys School, Dacres Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 2XN.Open: 1000-1630Admission: adults £10.00, accompanied U16s free. Facilities for card payments. Save £2.00 when purchasing tickets in advance via the link on the club website.Amenities: free on-street parking. 15 minutes walk from Forest Hill and…

Ever since visiting Switzerland as a boy in the 1950s, Swiss railways have always held a fascination for me. On our family holiday to Spiez we would have a Berner Oberland regional pass and we were soon very familiar with the many forms of mountain railways in the area. It was in my late teens that I built a layout in an old air raid shelter in the back garden of our family home in Weymouth. I well recall the day that I visited a small shop near Harrow-on-the-Hill station that sold many secondhand railway items. On display was a Fleischmann HO model of a Swiss Ae6/6 – it was secondhand, without the correct box, but it was my first Swiss model. It was the start of my Swiss journey,…

BELUX is a club from the middle of The Netherlands founded in 1999. It was formed to build and exhibit layouts by a number of enthusiasts who knew each other from Spoorgroep Luxemburg. There are currently five permanent members. They are all enthusiasts for Belgian and Luxembourg railways. The main aim is to show Belgian and Luxembourg trains in context. Over time various fictitious Belgian and Luxembourg stations have been built inspired by different landscapes. A number of modules have also been built that can connect the stations together. To be able to show a range of varied train compositions at exhibitions, two variants of a storage yard have been built. The modules have been built according to our own standards. These are largely based on the well-known FREMO standards.…

There are not many articles in model railway magazines about non-railway buildings in O. This is probably due to the fact that in Europe there not so many dioramas or small layouts in O. On the internet you can find a profusion of American buildings, most often made of wood, but few or almost no European ones. A layout is more than just trains – it is also structures, details, figures, and vehicles. These objects are essential on a layout as part of everyday life. They reinforce the image of an era, a region, or an activity. The road vehicles should really be from a specific period but, at the risk of displeasing purists, I mix eras as long as there is not too much of a gap between the…

N SNCF RGP2 autorail new from Arnold The RGP2 (Rames à Grand Parcours bi-moteur) were twin-engined railcars (hence the 2) made up of two permanently coupled vehicles, one powered car (X2700) and one driving trailer (XR7700). The twenty units, ordered in 1950, were put into service between May 1954 and March 1955. While they provided complete satisfaction during the first few years, covering routes of several hundred kilometres and offering passengers previously unheard-of comfort, they were quickly supplanted by the RGP1, which was more powerful, faster, and even more comfortable. The RGP2 sets were then gradually assigned to lesser services, and the last of them ceased commercial service in 1986. The power cars were built by De Dietrich and the trailers by Brissonneau et Lotz. The power cars were equipped…