Garden Rail February 2023

TECHNOMODEL Andrew Young’s article on building an England locomotive out of cardboard took me right back to my early garden railway building. Over three decades ago, I too built an England using cardboard. My model wasn’t a great success if I’m honest. The body was OK, even using an old drinks can to provide material for the curved tank. The problem was underneath. Unable to afford proper wheels, I decided to make a master and cast them using Isopon car body filler, a material familiar to me thanks to a Talbot Alpine as the family car. Many tubs of the stuff were used trying to keep ahead of the rust… Sadly, these weren’t particularly round, although they were more successful than the tender wheels made from slices of plastic pipe…

My – or rather, our, 16 mm scale journey, because it has always been shared with my father Gordon, started back in the 1970s. We had an O-gauge, two-rail powered system in the long, hot summer of 1976, and it failed dismally due to dust on the rails. However, the previous winter, an article in the model press alerted us to the existence of 16mm scale, and we came up with the idea of making a working steam vehicle using a Meccano steam engine. That story is recounted elsewhere (16mm Today, May 2022), but we progressed to an Archangel Sergeant Murphy, and, eventually, a Merlin Midas, before life took over and we gave up in the mid-80s. Many years later, a house with a suitable garden and access to more…

I have always enjoyed the challenge of making ‘things’. Over many years, I have made lots of items, including various working model steam boats. The idea for a garden railway surfaced about nine years ago. It was initially apparent that I knew very little about railway locos, however, several small models have been made, and now chug happily round the garden pulling a few wagons. I watch each go past and think ‘I made that’. Powered by a single cylinder oscillator engine, geared down by about 11 to 1, to the main drive wheels, ensures the locomotive cannot accelerate rapidly and then fall off at the first bend on my windy track. As with most of my projects, this one has lots of nuts, bolts and screws, so it all…

I have built other kits from this company and they are a joy. Parts are very finely laser-cut in MDF and there are a minimum of tabs holding each in the fret. Those are very fine and few in number. Larger parts can often be pressed out using thumbs, but where necessary to cut them, a thin sharp blade easily deals with the very fine tabs, usually no more than two or three per item. Little or no cleaning up is required. Fit is so good that the complete wagon can be put together for a trial run without the use of any glue. I used PVA, applied sparingly with a screwdriver blade, and immediately removed any excess squeezed out when pressed together with a stick and kitchen tissue. I…

Towards the end of February, 2020, I went along to a narrow gauge model railway exhibition in my hometown of Morecambe, by a small group from the Lancashire area. Even though there were no 16mm scale exhibits, with only the smaller narrow gauge scales running, I enjoyed my time there. Watching the little trains trundling back and forth reminded me of an article I had read years ago on a small-sized railway layout called the Inglenook Siding shunting puzzle. Invented by Alan Wright way back in the late 70s for a Manchester Model Railway Show, using only a couple of points and some odd pieces of track, he designed a 5/3/3 formula, which turned out to be a roaring success. This formula refers to the design of the layout, which…

Date: 29th January, 2023 Event: G Scale Society Kent Group - Winter Meet Venue: Teynham Village Hall, Belle Friday Close, Teynham, Sitting-bourne, Kent, ME9 9TU Times: 11am to 4pm Web: www.gscalekent.co.uk Date: 11 March, 2023 Event: Narrow Gauge North Venue: Pudsey Civic Hall, Dawsons Corner, Pudsey, Leeds, LS28 5TA Times: 10:30am to 4:30pm Web: www.narrowgaugenorth.org.uk Date: 11/12 March, 2023 Event: Midlands Garden Rail Show Venue: Warwickshire Event Centre, The Fosse, Radford Semele, Leamington Spa, CV31 1FE Times: 10am to 4pm Web: www.warwickshireeventcentre.co.uk Date: 18/19 March, 2023 Event: The London Festival of Railway Modelling Venue: Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, London, N22 7AY Times: Sat 10am to 5pm, Sun 10am to 4:30pm Web: www.world-of-railways.co.uk Date: 15 April, 2023 Event: National Garden Railway Show Venue: East of England Arena, Peterborough, PE2 6HE…