Garden Rail September 2023

ON MY WORKBECH Just occasionally, I get to indulge in a little modelling for myself, and recently, there ave been a couple oflarge-scale projects you might find interesting. The first, aGauge 1Slater’s kit for a Midland Railway lOT box van. Bought part-built, always aslightly risky venture, at the York model railway show, it was a bargain, as long as all the bits were in the box. Luckily, they were, and the build was an interesting exercise as I've assembled this model in both 4 and 7mm scales in the past. The biggest difference was with the etched brake gear, which includes prototypical double arms. On the 00 model, these are moulded in plastic as a single arm, but in 1:32, you get greater realism. Aside from a few issues trying…

Bottom Hill Light Railway lives in Norway. Locally, it is known as Kul-lebunden Hagejernbane, but I think you might find that tricky to pronounce, so we will stick with its English name. I bought my very first locomotive, a Silver Lady from Roundhouse and a coach from Brandbright, in 2011. These turned out to be very good choices. Since I didn't have my own line at the time, my first run was in a garden railway at one ofmy good friends. In 2013, I started to build my own garden railway. I had to do a lot ofheavy work, digging narrow ditches, 25cm deep and 25cm wide, then filled in up to 5cm with small stones. This proved to be a good and stable set of foundations, which would repay…

We are very fortunate to be living in this day and age, where there are so many new tools and techniques to enhance our hobby. Back in the day, there were very few loco kits, and those that were around were often very rudimentary. Nowadays, wood laser cutting and 3D printing techniques easily allow you to produce components that have accurate dimensions, time after time. And this 'new tech' does not cost the earth either. I now have a print farm of four 3D printers, with the last two costing only £175 each! So, now what we are seeing are more manufacturers adopting these production processes. I mention this as this 32mm or 45mm gauge 2-4-0 loco (you select which gauge at point ofpurchase), 'Nancy', from Boot Lane Works, is…

Having built two IP Engineering Freelance Coaches, I thought of building a simple coach. This would follow the same construction methods as the IP ones. I was pleased with how the IP coaches had built up, as being laser-cut, this ensured squareness. I was given some off-cuts of3mm birch-faced plywood. A simple drawing was made and construction started. Using the IP coaches as a guide, a floor, sides, and ends were cut out using a Stanley knife. I only use simple hand tools, as my workbench is what was a breakfast bar in the kitchen extension, and my wife dearly wants it back. The sides were made in six pieces (see drawing) and glued together, making sure all was square. One side was assembled to the floor and ends, and…

My decision to purchase a Regner 102 Tram ('Paul') kit early in 2021, was based both on its aesthetic appearance, it’s modelled on the Henschel & Sohn Tram Nr 102 from 1891, now stored in the Technoseum in Manheim, and because the photos on Regner’s website seemed to show they were using tried and tested parts from their Easyline range. However, when the kit arrived, I realised that, although the twin oscillating cyl-inders and the metal chassis frames were pretty standard, considerable changes had been made to the horizontal boiler. It was positioned nearer the rear of the loco, the smokebox was shorter by some 8mm, the air hole in the smokebox saddle had been omitted, and the steam pipe routed through the burner tube was a superheater. The smokebox…

Date: 25-28 August, 2023  Event: Aylsham Minor Running Weekend Venue: Bure Valley Railway, Aylsham Station, Norwich Road, Aylsham, Norfolk, NRl 1 6BW Times: 10am to 4:30pm Web: www.bvrw.co.uk Date: 5 August, 2023 Event: The Big Model and Hobby Show Venue: Formby High School, Freshfield Road, Formby, L37 3HW Times: 10am to 4:30pm Web: www.modelandhobbyshow.com Date: 30 September, 2023 Event: Yorkshire Garden Railway Show  Venue: Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre, Campbell Drive, Barrow Hill, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S43 2PR Times: 10am to 4pm  Web: www.yorkshire.16mm.org.uk/Yorkshire16mmShowhomepage.html Date: 28 October, 2023  Event: Exeter Garden Railway Show Venue: The Matford Centre, Matford Park Road, Marsh Barton Ind Estate, Exeter, EX2 8FD Times: 10:30am to 4:30pm  Web: www.exetergardenrailwayshow.com Date: 12-15 October, 2023 Event: Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition Venue: Warwickshire Event Centre, A425, Southam Road, Leamington Spa,…