Garden Rail December 2025

December. That can only mean two things. Easter Eggs are in the shops, and we allow a hint of Christmas on our pages. As it happens, while visiting the excellent Buckingham Railway Centre earlier this year, I found out that they built a suitably festive layout for visitors, and persuaded Steve Cook to write it up for us to enjoy. Christmas and large-scale modelling are excellent companions. LGB has always produced special festive models, including its classic Stainz with a tree attached to the bufferbeam, and Bachmann has made Thomas the Tank trains with a seasonal flavour. Mind you, as this involves Thomas with a red pointed hat covering his chimney, it’s not for the serious enthusiast… I’m very pleased to have pinned our two layouts down for features this…

The Butterley Garden Railway Association (BGRA) is more than just a garden railway club; we often describe ourselves as a ‘garden with a railway running through it’ and the word garden and association are important and at the heart of everything we have done in our association, right from our humble beginnings. Our railway started back in 1986 with Mamod locomotives on a portable track on the platform at Butterley station, Moving to our current home in 1990 with a simple loop, we have extended the line several times. We are both proud and mindful of those people who created the railway in all that we do. They were keen to have a permanent site, but also a garden that would change with the seasons and mature in a way…

Over the last two years, we have provided a Winter Wonderland G-scale layout at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre for its Santa Special’ Christmas weekends. These start at the end of November and run up to Christmas. The layout is situated indoors on the platform at Rewley Road Station, meaning we have a constant stream of spectators, as everyone has to walk past the layout to watch the pantomime before heading out for their steam train ride to meet Santa. Building the layout starts with 11 sheets of plywood, with battens around each section on the underside. The battens were drilled with four holes: two for a location dowel and the other two for bolting the sections together. Each board is sat on its own adjustable metal trestle, which all collapse when…

I never quite understand folk who have a large, but more often than not, unseen collection. I like to sit my models on bases, as I think the base elevates the model, and the scale rail provides a visual context too. Scenic bases are not difficult to make and, during this article, I’ll take a peek at what is out there in the market to help us. I think I must have knocked out around half a dozen bases and turntables when putting this article together. They are not difficult to do, and much of the material you may choose to use, you probably have lying around anyway. The Lazy Susans themselves are not expensive either, and if you have a short piece of track looking for a home, then…

Regular readers will know that I’m never happier than when assembling a kit of some sort. A few years ago, I had the chance to build Accucraft’s Peckett, which was serialised on these pages. Several readers have told me they enjoyed following the build, not least watching me make mistakes, so no one else has to. Well, we have another blue locomotive, generously provided by Accucraft, now owned by Maxitrak, to put together. Hopefully, this will be less of a learning experience, as it’s a battery-powered, diesel-outline loco. The sort of model you pop on the track for quick power while steaming up, or just because it looks good at the head of a train and can be left to its own devices while you enjoy some refreshment. The model…

The National Festival of Railway Modelling Date: November 22nd-23rd, 2025 Venue: Hall 5, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, B40 1NT Times: Sat: 10am to 5.00pm, Sun: 10am to 4:30pm Web: www.nfrm.co.uk Steam in Beds Date: Saturday, November 22nd, 2025 Venue: Eaton Bray Village Hall, Church Lane, Eaton Bray, LU6 2DJ Times: 10am to 4.00pm Web: www.bag16mm.org.uk Steam At Rowington Date: Saturday, December 13th, 2025 Venue: Rowington Village Hall, Rowington Green, Warwick, CV35 7DB Times: 10am to 4.00pm Web: www.johnsuttonmodels.co.uk Midlands Garden Rail Show Date: February 28th-March 1st, 2026 Venue: Warwickshire Event Centre, Nr Leamington Spa, CV31 1XN Times: 10am to 4.00pm Web: www.midlandsgardenrailshow.co.uk National Garden Railway Show Date: Saturday April 25th, 2026 Venue: NAEC Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, CV8 2LH Times: 9.30am to 5.00pm Web: www.nationalgardenrailwayshow.org.uk All events are published in good…