Model Rail

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.

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MODEL RAIL

Meet the team behind the UK’s best modelling magazine

Model Rail essential information

MODEL RAIL/HELJAN CLASS 11 – FIRST PAINTED SAMPLES ARRIVE

CLASS 89 TO COME FROM RAILS AND ACCURASCALE

Opening the box Extra

ON THE WORKBENCH • George Dent looks at the new products to land on his workbench this month

EXHIBITION DIARY – AUGUST 2022

…and finally • Unusual scenes captured by the lens of Chris Nevard…

Shed renovation • George Dent recently discovered that a favourite model had come to grief while in ‘safe’ storage, prompting a repair and an upgrade.

A rebel among the paper-azzi • Lukáš Vykydal is a leading modeller in the Czech Republic who specialises in creating superb scale models from paper.

Inside track with Ben Ando • Ben Ando is the founder of Revolution Trains and a regular contributor to Model Rail.

Visually arresting • This captivating Potteries layout built by Graham Taylor is the culmination of a 15-year stretch in a police cell. In the most innocent sense…

Meet the Model Rail Expert Modellers • 25 pages of projects, advice and top tips that show you how

HOW TO BUILD A GAS WORKS PART THREE • Richard Simpson’s mission to recreate a prototypical gas works continues with the purifying equipment.

10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR LIFELIKE FIELDS • Frustrated farmers Peter Marriott and George Dent set about tilling the land, sowing grass and planting hedges, with a little help from Chris Nevard.

HOW TO MAKE A STATION PLATFORM • Never keen on building station platforms in situ, Chris Leigh tries making Titfield’s station platform on the workbench.

HOW TO MODEL SHOWCASE: HOW 3D PRINTING HAS HELPED ME • Dave Lowery reveals how new technology – and teamwork – has allowed him to create a unique fleet of modern rolling stock, for himself and commercial customers.

HOW TO BUILD A REVOLVING WAITING SHELTER • Paul Braithwaite reveals how he and Tony Moss created an innovative means of making passengers disappear.

HOW TO BUILD A WHITEMETAL BULLDOZER KIT • A recently re-released ‘N’ gauge kit provided Grahame Hedges with a few hours of fun.

Minimalist masterstroke • Echoing the utilitarian nature of the scene it recreates, Ben Powell’s unfussy hillside layout proves that sometimes less is definitely more.

A RICH VEIN of form • Paul Lunn takes inspiration from a former Southern Railway branch line with a mining heritage, from Bere Alston to Callington.

Reviews • In-depth and unbiased reviews of the latest products

Hornby Mk 4 coaches

Revolution FWA ‘Ecofret’ intermodal wagons

Revolution IPA car-carrying wagons

Irish Railway Models CIÉ magnesite hoppers

Peco ‘TT:120’ gauge track, points and accessories

Peco Streamline Code 75 bullhead crossing & slips

Modeller’s bookshelf review special • We’ve received a bumper crop of new books, so here’s a special edition of Modeller’s Bookshelf, featuring a diverse range of titles aimed at modellers and general enthusiasts alike.

Squeezing into the suburbs • We visit Ed Purcell and his ‘N’ gauge layout ‘Gravelly Oak’ as he prepares for The...