Model Rail magazine is the UK's biggest-selling magazine dedicated to railway modelling. Every issue is packed with the country’s finest home and club layouts, stunning photography, unbiased and in-depth product reviews, expert tips, layout plans and step-by-step articles that really show you how. In our unique ‘Workbench’ section, we tackle a wide range of modeling skills and projects. Our expert writers and model-makers will help you to get the most from your hobby and build the layout of your dreams. Model Rail is published 13 times a year, every four weeks.
Welcome
MODEL RAIL
Life’s better with Model Rail
Model Rail essential information
The Big Picture
REVOLUTION TRAINS ANNOUNCES TRI-MODE
In Brief
Show & Tell • The place to share your projects with the Model Rail community.
Modelling Lives • Tales from the model-making community.
According to Chris… • ...sometimes you have to look back before you can look forward.
Cornish idyll • Phil Waterfield fell in love with Cornwall’s china clay railways as a teenager, and successfully recreated the scene in later years. Chris Trevedra finds out more.
SWEET sixteen • Chris Leigh previews the Model Ra/I/Rapido ‘16XX’ 0-6-0T and researches the individual prototypes
WEATHER A ‘16XX’ • George Dent couldn’t resist the urge to portray one of the NCB-liveried ‘16XXs’ in a typically work-stained condition. Here, he shows you how it was done.
Workbench • 27 pages of projects, advice and top tips that show you how
BUILD A SMALL RURAL COLLIERY • After finding an interesting model gathering dust in one of Chris Leigh’s sheds, Chris Nevard offered to rejuvenate it – and ended up building an entire layout for it!
ADD REALISM WITH AUTHENTIC MATERIALS • Plastic has been a modeller’s best friend for decades, but it does have its limitations. George Dent found that, by adding real wood and metal to a wagon kit, a far more realistic model was created.
MAKE BETTER WATER EFFECTS • Peter Marriott passes on tips from his years of experience in making water features.
CREATE AN IDEAL SCENIC BREAK • Chris Leigh builds an ‘N’ gauge scenic break that ticks all the boxes.
HOW TO GIVE TIRED TREES NEW LIFE • As Peter Marriott demonstrates, it can take less than an hour to give a dead-looking specimen tree a second life.
BUILD AN ‘O GAUGE SIGNAL • Chris Gadsby discovers that just a handful of tools, a clear weekend and some basic problem-solving skills are all you need to construct this latest Routemex signal kit
All mod cons • For a small layout, ‘Ruffles Road’ manages to include many of the latest control systems and ideas. Its creators Simon Veasey and Alain Turner talk to Chris Trevedra about what lies inside
6ft x 4ft SAME SPACE, MORE ROUTE • With an eye on creating a twin-level arrangement, Paul A. Lunn offers two interesting plans for a ‘train set’ footprint, based on a pair of famous overhead urban transport systems.
Reviews • In-depth and unbiased reviews of the latest products
Heljan GWR railcar
Factfile: GWR diesel railcar
Iwata Revolution HP-CR3 airbrush
EBMA storage system
JSP Force 8 face mask
A good Omen
Static grass applicator tools • Peter Marriott reviews a selection of electrostatic grass planting tools in the £50+ range.
Hornby Skaledale GWR buildings
Come down to Kinmel • When Alistair Clarke filled his garage with ‘Kinmel Junction’ he had one thing in mind — operational interest.
Present your case • If there’s a locomotive that you think needs to be offered ready-to-run, here’s the place to voice your opinion…
Model Rail
Behind the Backscene • Model Rail fires the...