Garden Rail March 2024

ARE WE DOOMED? In the run-up to writing these words, I’ve spent a lot of time reporting for our World of Railways website, on both the closure of Liverpool retailer, Hattons, and the decision of the Warley club to knock its NEC exhibition on the head after 30 years. Obviously, this means our hobby is doomed. Yes, it’s all over for railway modelling. Except, it’s not. The reasons for Hattons closure is complicated, but the management is at least able to run the business down, not just shut the doors and leave people out of pocket. In fact, the website has never been busier, with people keen to grab one more bargain. Once they finally do close down, there are plenty of other companies who will be happy to perform…

Where to start? Possibly at the beginning. I was always into railways as a child and a young adult, but then came girls and the distractions that they bring. Two children later and a diagnosis of CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary motor sensory neuropathy) by the consultant, led to a lot more time to do stuff. Get a hobby, he said. What does this mean dear reader? I have a failing nervous system, which means nerves are dying off at the ends. It leads to muscle wasting, so I can’t feel my feet or my fingertips. My hands sometimes don’t work, or I drop things, and I tend to fall over a lot, which explains a lot, but not the sarcasm. I spotted an LGB starter set in the local…

Perusing the 16mm Association Facebook site one weekend, I saw the latest model from Sixteen Mills – a bogie fish van kit for SM32 scale. I am a firm fan of these MDF-based creations, having built several kits, so this was a must-have. David Mills puts great thought into the method of construction so that everything slots together ‘just so’, with some wonderful detail to boot. I contacted David and two kits arrived very promptly. These wagons are so new, that David hasn’t had a chance to provide specific instructions for them yet. However, as they are based on a Ffestiniog bogie ballast wagon, which he supplied as a guide, and are like the four-wheel fish van I’d built previously, I figured I’d be in safe territory when building. Instructions…

I am always on the lookout for models that can be adapted to run on my British-themed railway. The choices in the marketplace for British locos are really few and far between, apart from narrow gauge, or the hugely more expensive Gauge 1 models. Way beyond my budget, as nice as they are! The History In the mid 1950s, British Railways was trying to modernise its ageing fleet of locos and rolling stock, leading to the eventual scrapping of steam traction. Many new locos were ordered and put into service, most without testing or trial running. There was also a move to import existing foreign reliable railway stock into the country to speed up the transition. In 1958, five railcars were purchased from Germany, a controversial move as it was…

Date: 2-3 March, 2024 Event: Midlands Garden Rail Show Venue: Warwickshire Event Centre, A425, Southam Road, Leamington Spa, CV31 1FE Times: 10am to 4pm Web: www.meridienneexhibitions.co.uk/events/midlands-garden-rail-show Date: 27 April, 2024 Event: National Garden Railway Show Venue: Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, CV8 2LG Times: 10am to 5pm Web: www.nationalgardenrailwayshow.org.uk Date: 11 May, 2024 Event: Llangollen Garden Railway Show Venue: Llangollen Pavilion, Abbey Road, Llangollen, LL20 8SW Times: 10am to 4.30pm Web: www.lgrf.co.uk Date: 28 September, 2024 Event: The Yorkshire Garden Railway Show on Tour Venue: Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre, Campbell Drive, Barrow Hill, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S43 2PR Times: 10am to 4:00pm Web: www.yorkshire.16mm.org.uk/Yorkshire16mmShowhomepage.html All events are published in good faith. Please check with the organisers before travelling a significant distance as Garden Rail can’t be responsible for changes or cancellations. Please…

It is getting a bit chilly out there at the end of November 2023 as I write this, and although I plan on running light services throughout the winter, I thought it was time to take stock of my locos that I have in …er… stock, and to get them all working properly once again. Like many, I am guilty of having too many locos and too little time to run them all! But I was strict with myself this year, and while there are a handful of locos on my wish list, I wanted to get everything I currently have ‘on shed’ tidied up and working before I start to add more. What I thought was be an easy task, actually took several months, and involved sourcing several new…