RAILWAYMagazine The
GUIDE TO
Modelling APRIL 2017
REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, NOSTALGIA, ADVICE
IN THE SHOPS: WICKHAM TROLLEY SIMON KOHLER: GENDER POLITICS IN MODELLING BASIC LAYOUTS WITH NIGEL BURKIN GARDEN RAILWAY HOW-TO
Taking the inside out with
Garden d railways y
WIN A DAY OUT AT DEVON RAILWAY CENTRE || BASEBOARDS || RAILWAY HISTORY
CONTENTS
Contents
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ON THE COVER Garden railway by Phil Parker. See page 53 for full feature.
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WHAT’S IN THE SHOPS?
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STARTING OUT
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BASIC LAYOUTS
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PAST AND PRESENT
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Bachmann’s Wickham trolley, Robinson class J11, Thompson corridor composite coach. Get to grips with baseboards this month. Nigel Burkin gives eight variations on the oval track layout. Ian Lamb looks at the importance of themes.
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OPINION
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ASK A DAFT QUESTION
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GIVEAWAY
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INSIDE OUT
LAYOUTS WE LOVE
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48
Simon Kohler talks about the gender divide in the modelling hobby. Win one of two family tickets to the Devon Railway Centre. From the Lincoln and District Model Railway Club exhibition. BLASTS FROM THE PAST
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PLACES TO VISIT
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Tony Stratford brings the Hornby story up to date. Devon Railway Centre.
One RMM reader shares his technique for setting up a garden railway.
This month Phil Parker looks at taking your modelling hobby outside. STOCKISTS
Where to get your copy of RMM. DIARY DATES
What’s on this month where you are. INSPIRATION PAGES
Quirks and curiosities of the railway system. April 2017
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Staff
Editor Sarah Palmer RMModellingeditor@Mortons.co.uk Contributors Michael Watts, Bernard Gudgin, Tony Stratford, Simon Kohler, Nigel Burkin, Ian Lamb, Phil Parker Production editor Sarah Wilkinson Senior designer Kelvin Clements Designer Libby Fincham Picture desk Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield Advertising manager Sue Keily Publisher Tim Hartley Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole Subscription manager Paul Deacon Circulation manager Steve O'Hara Marketing manager Charlotte Park
To advertise, contact: Colin Smith 01507 529454 csmith@Mortons.co.uk Fiona Leak 01507 529573 fleak@Mortons.co.uk
Where to find us
Editorial, advertising and administration Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR Tel 01507 523456
www.railwaymagazinemodelling.co.uk
Copyright
James May attempted to lay a 10-mile model railway between Barnstaple and Bideford. One such problem with such an undertaking, aside from the practicalities, was vandalism.
© Copyright Mortons Media Group Ltd. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or part, without prior approval in writing is prohibited. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements, or for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations.
Printing
Mortons Print, Horncastle, Lincs. Tel 01507 523456
ROBIN JONES
From the editor
C Sarah Palmer Editor
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| April 2017
ould The Biggest Little Railway in the World be coming to our screens this year? Love Productions, the TV company behind The Great British Bake Off has decided to change track and move from spatulas and cake mixture to model railways, and no, this isn’t an April Fool’s Day piece of fake news. The company has been scouting around for modellers and engineers to lay 74 miles of track from Fort William to Inverness along the Great Glen. There is TV history in this area, as a few years ago James May attempted to lay the longest model railway over 10 miles from Barnstaple to Bideford in North
Devon, but it’s a big ask to cover 70+ miles. On the one hand this new TV show, if it goes ahead, could be great for modelling – just look what GBBO has done for baking, however, Love Productions also produced Benefits Street and so is not above creating a TV narrative around a stereotype. I’d be interested to know what RMM readers think. On a different note, we’ve got a bit of a garden theme to this month’s issue to tie in with the National Garden Railway Show in Peterborough. If this is something you fancy doing then Phil Parker has a few ideas. Tony Stratford finishes his last instalment of the Hornby story,
just as it has been announced that Locomotive Storage Limited, a property company affiliated with Locomotive Services Ltd, Statesman Rail, Icons of Steam and the Royal Scot Locomotive & General Trust, has bought the iconic Hornby plc factory building in Margate. I’ve been digging around for some ideas for RMM’s Inspiration Pages and found some notable examples of how landowners and aristocrats helped or hindered, whichever way you look at it, the shape of the railway network today. It was a fascinating subject to research, and I’m sure there are examples all over the country that would make an interesting subject for a layout.
What's in the shops
Locos
Bachmann OO Gauge Robinson Class J11 with Digital Sound Nigel Burkin describes the reissued digital sound equipped Bachmann J11 locomotive.
T
wo new versions of the popular ‘Robinson’ Class J11 0-6-0 tender goods locomotive are set to reach the shops in the next few weeks. LNER modellers will welcome No. 5954 finished in pristine unlined black (31-318A) while featured BR No. 64377 (31-321DS) will find favour with BR modellers. The J11 was constructed by the GCR over a protracted period by several builders and in batches of varying size between 1901 and 1910. Numerous detail differences occurred between individual locomotives as they were modified with super heating (another protracted project) and boilers were exchanged or replaced. After Grouping, the LNER modified
the locomotives to bring them into line with its ‘Composite Rolling Stock Gauge’ which changed their appearance. All of these changes make it a challenging locomotive to model and for Bachmann to create an affordable off-the-shelf model in OO gauge with the ability to apply locomotivespecific detail is commendable. To that end, it has succeeded and offers the model with several variations of boiler, chimney, dome, smokebox door and darts, buffers and other small details. With its neatly applied livery, weathering and beautifully detailed back-head and cab interior, the J11 model is a little beauty. It is a pleasure to run on a layout too and the digital sounds applied to the
To allow the modeller to fill the tender with their own coal load, the die-cast metal coal load provided with the model may be removed, revealing the tender interior.
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SPONSORED BY
Bachmann is to re-release its popular Robinson Class J11 locomotive imminently.
NEWS
in brief
Deadline passes for Poole Park miniature railway tender THE deadline to bid for the rights to operate Poole Park’s miniature railway has passed and the Borough of Poole is now looking through the submissions before any final decision is announced. The council put the attraction’s £45,000 contract out for tender earlier this year.
Miniature railway project shortlisted for funding
Model details: Robinson Class J11 0-6-0 steam locomotive
Manufacturer: Bachmann Europe Plc
Catalogue numbers: 31-318A Unlined LNER black 31-321DS Unlined BR black with early crest and digital sound (featured)
Scale: British OO gauge, 1:76 scale to run on 16.5mm gauge track
Era: 1923 to 1956 as represented by the new models
Web: www.bachmann.co.uk
Suggested retail price: 31-318A £149.95 31-321DS £239.95
The Riverside Miniature Railway Club is bidding for a payout from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative, money that comes from the 5p charge for carrier bags, as it wants help with its project to build a miniature railway track at the Riverside Park in St Neots. Voting is open in stores throughout March and April and customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the checkout when they shop. The club hopes to open the facility at Easter.
Metal thieves target model railway The Canterbury and District Model Engineering Society at Brett Aggregates in Sturry has had part of a 720ft railway track stolen from its model railway in Canterbury. The entire circuit was stripped of its aluminium running rails and sleepers and around 200ft of the total was stolen, with the rest of the track chopped into lengths between six and 50ft ready to be transported. It’s estimated that the scrap value of the haul would have amounted to less than £40 but will possibly cost the society thousands of pounds to rectify the damage.
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What's in the shops
SPONSORED BY
Numerous detail differences existed between the 174 locomotives of the class, some of which were applied at different times during their operating lives. Bachmann has tooled the model to allow date and locomotive specific details to be applied to the model to suit a specific livery and time.
weathered unlined BR black version (31-321DS) match the model’s pace and motion, including a coasting feature, which engages when the DCC throttle is notched back slightly. The locomotives were primarily allocated to sheds across the north of England and the East Midlands including Immingham, Lincoln, Sheffield, Mexborough, Gorton
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and Leicester. During the LNER period, some were allocated to sheds on the Great Eastern for a short time including Cambridge, Norwich and Lowestoft. The general area of use of the J11 changed little after Nationalisation, with locomotives being allocated to sheds in the north of England, either side of the Humber and
the East Midlands. While they were primarily built for freight traffic, the locomotives did turn up on passenger duties and as records show, not on an irregular basis. Sadly, none of the 174 J11 locomotives survived to see preservation after the last one was withdrawn in 1962. However, modellers can still enjoy the sights and sounds
of this small goods engine, albeit in 4mm scale, thanks to the neat and imaginatively designed model by Bachmann. Digital sound simply adds a further dimension to its already strong appeal. Wish to read more about the Robinson Class J11 history? Visit the ‘LNER Encyclopedia’ website J11 page at www.lner. info/locos/J/j11.php
Key features:
Although designed as a freight engine, the J11 did see action on passenger trains from time to time. However, its shed allocations very much reflected their use on freight trains.
■ Finished in weathered BR unlined black with early crest. ■ Subtle faded and weathered paint finish. ■ Wheels, chassis and coupling rods weathered to match the body and tender. ■ Neatly printed BR crest, loco number and worksplate detail. ■ Removable coal load fitted to the tender. ■ Powerful five-pole motor located in the smoke box. ■ 21-pin DCC socket located in the tender with provision for fitting a speaker in non-sound equipped models (31-318A). ■ Featured model is equipped with digital sound in the tender. ■ Digital sound includes several whistle sounds on F2 and F3 functions. ■ Locomotive-specific details including buffers, smokebox doors and chimney. ■ Current collection from both tender and driving wheels. ■ Adjustable drawbar between tender and locomotive. ■ NEM-362 coupling pockets fitted with standard tension lock couplings. ■ Fully detailed driving cab, cab end of the tender and back head detail. ■ In-line brake shoes and detailed brake hangers on both locomotive and tender. ■ Weighs 290g including tender. ■ 215mm in length over sprung buffers.
NEWS
in brief
Hornby Hobbies pulls plug on Ramsgate visitor centre Hornby Hobbies will not continue its plans to develop a new visitor centre at Ramsgate Harbour. The toy firm had hoped to build the centre next to the maritime museum, but Hornby Hobbies has revealed it will not continue with the build. A Hornby Hobbies spokesman, said: “We have now exchanged contracts for the sale of the site at Margate and as part of this deal we have agreed to lease back part of the site for the existing Hornby visitor centre and retail outlet.” In other Hornby news Locomotive Storage Limited, a property company affiliated with Loco Services, Statesman Rail, Icons of Steam and Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust, confirms that it has acquired the former Hornby plc facilities in Margate. Jeremy Hosking, a director of Locomotive Storage Limited said: “We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Hornby plc after extended but friendly negotiations. Our group has greatly expanded its asset base and activities in recent years and this site will greatly enhance our current facilities.”
Help overhaul Llangollen PT A £15,000 appeal to bring Llangollen Railway-based GWR pannier No. 7754 back into steam has been launched. Sponsors for individual components are being sought and anyone wishing to help is invited to send a cheque payable to Llangollen Railway Trust Ltd via Paul Bailey, Dolwen, Bryneglwys, Corwen, Denbighshire, LL21 9LY. For more details email paulbaileywincham@yahoo. co.uk
April 2017
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