Railway Modeller September 2018

[tractionman]

From https://www.facebook.com/RailwayModeller/posts/1846312042070474

 

The September 2018 edition of Railway Modeller is now on sale! FREE with every printed copy is our latest 'Shows You How' booklet titled 'An Introduction to OO9 Modelling'. To whet your appetite for what there is to look forward to in this issue, here's a full listing of the contents:

 

James Street
'Railway of the Month'
This hugely popular N gauge layout packs a lot of operational interest into its 20' x 11' size, as co-builders Steve Wright and Dave Cooper reveal.

 

The Great Model Railway Challenge
Go behind the scenes of this forthcoming series, which will air on Channel 5 in due course, in the company of editor Steve Flint, one of the Challenge judges.

 

Layout automation on Wolfe Lowe
Stephen Moore and Shaun Horrocks introduce this 7mm scale layout, set in a North Staffordshire Railway backwater, which includes automated control systems.

 

MSWJR 2-4-0
'Scale Drawings'
Three Dübs-built 2-4-0s served the Midland & South Western Junction Railway and its successors for many years; drawn by Brian Meredith, described by Tim Rayner.

 

Newhurst
This O gauge layout is set on a Southern Region secondary main line in the New Forest during late steam days, as John Smith & Rob Cotterell explain.

Conley West branch terminus

 

Plan of the Month
David Tennant chronicles the final development of his Evenlode & Lyndene room-filling OO layout; it now boasts three stations on two levels with much traffic potential.

 

Quarry Hunslets for Lechi o Lwyd

 

'Project of the Month'
Pecorama Exhibition Manager Andrew Beard demonstrates how home-made OO9 freewheeling locos were created for the ‘loft extension’ 4mm scale display.

 

Dunsmore Heath
Jon Hewlett relates the tale of how this GWR mixed gauge layout to ScaleSeven (and BG7) standards was rescued and refurbished for continued exhibition use.

 

Lineside snow fences
Ian Nuttall and Steve Flint provide a postscript to the former’s cameos feature (July) on his Settle & Carlisle OO layout. Snow fences abound at this hilly location.

 

A layout dust cover
In this progress report on his OO project, which is hoisted into the garage ceiling when not in use, 
Ken Watts shows how the dust cover was constructed.

 

Talking Points
Topical issues from the world of railway modelling. This month, Terry Bendall exhorts those who value modelling skills to make a visit to Scaleforum in September.

 

Hobbiton End
A minimum-space layout in OO9 with a difference: it’s a fantasy scene, created by Simon Addelsee and inspired by the tales of Middle Earth of J R R Tolkien.

 

Spirit of Swindon – 3
Will Heath concludes his trilogy on his N gauge retirement project by looking at the finishing touches, such as weathering, lighting, and sound.

Branch line to Wenlock

 

Ollie Reading set out to build an N gauge layout entirely from proprietary products and with 12V dc control, to demonstrate that it’s not beyond most modellers’ ability.

 

Urban Edwardia
Within his railway room at his Normandy home (a converted cowshed!), Howard Love constructed a 3mm scale layout 21' square, replete with period structures.

 

Mileposts – Shipley MRS at 40

 

Derek Shore, long-standing secretary of this Yorkshire band of modellers, looks back over the four decades since the society was formed in 1978.

 

Guszunder Park

Stuart Riley chose this title for his U-shaped OO gauge layout as main line trains run beneath the townscape at either end. A planned extension is under way.

 

Somewhere in Devon
An N gauge grandfather and grandson project, inspired by the Great Western Exe Valley line, created by Michael & Callum Flynn.

 

Ready-to-run PO wagons
Duncan Redford shows how to add variety to an OO gauge fleet by adapting them to represent wagons built to different specifications.

 

Weathering coaches – the easy way!
Although time can be taken with loco weathering, for coaches it’s a different story. Craig Tiley demonstrates a simple and effective way to weather stock in bulk, using Hornby non-gangwayed coaches as an example.

 

Comment
Opinions and observations across the field of railway modelling. This month, TV personality Paul Atterbury muses on the changing railway scene – and the landscape through which the trains run.

 

Readers’ Letters

 

Latest Reviews

 

Book & DVD Reviews

 

News

 

Societies & Clubs
The biggest and best guide to the exhibition scene up and down the land.

Edited August 9, 2018 by tractionman

[micklner]

In a bag = no sale

[John M Upton]

Oh, here we go...

[Nearholmer]

Your loss MickLNER; its a very good edition.

 

Sometimes its worth buying on the basis of experience, faith, reputation etc, just as one does with cornflakes, tinned beans, etc.

[grahame]

In a bag = no sale

Not for me. At least I know it's not been thumbed by grubby unhygienic hands.

 

Your loss MickLNER; its a very good edition.

Sometimes its worth buying on the basis of experience, faith, reputation etc, just as one does with cornflakes, tinned beans, etc.

Yep, agree. It's a good issue. And you don't taste the beans or handle and maul the cornflakes to check out their look before buying and putting them back if you decide not to.

 

But the bag issue is a tiresome and much repeated moan.

 

G

[tractionman]

But the bag issue is a tiresome and much repeated moan.

 

 

 

The detailed contents listing that Railway Modeller put on their Fb page (as posted above) is a useful indicator at least of what's inside, a taste at least.

 

I buy RM every month regardless, bag or no bag.

 

cheers,

 

Keith

[APOLLO]

Hmmm - magazines (all of em !!) - I've far, far to many and not only have I vowed not to buy more (unless it's VERY special) I need to do a cull of my mags (from 2000 on)  probably cutting out interesting articles and using these to file in a few ring binders.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/3L-Filing-Polyester-Self-adhesive-8804-100/dp/B000J6F5NC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8

 

Anyway - I usually find Railway Modellers a superb mag - so I am thinking of a digital subscription.

 

Any comments re digital - I would view on my computer screen (4 x 3 format) and can you file them / put on a USB hard drive - other devices etc ?

 

Brit15

[alastairq]

 

 And you don't taste the beans or handle and maul the cornflakes to check out their look before buying and putting them back if you decide not to.

 

 

  Blimey!!    ......since when has that been unacceptable???   

[D9020 Nimbus]

 

Anyway - I usually find Railway Modellers a superb mag - so I am thinking of a digital subscription.

 

Any comments re digital - I would view on my computer screen (4 x 3 format) and can you file them / put on a USB hard drive - other devices etc ?

 

Brit15

You can read it in a web browser; there are also apps for iOS and Android. You can download on those platforms, however you need to know that you lose access as soon as you stop subscribing. OTOH, you gain access to back issues from 2011 or so onwards.

[APOLLO]

So I can't file and keep my own copy on hard drives - its look at only online and when subscription ends I can't view my previously suscribed for issues ?

 

If so I'll forget that.  

 

Thanks for reply D9020

 

Brit15

[Cornholio]

It's swings and roundabouts.

 

With BRM etc, your annual subscription buys you 13 magazines which you can access online in perpetuity.

 

The Railway Modeller annual subscription buys you about 100 magazines which you can access online, WHILST you remain a subscriber.

[Nearholmer]

The other issue is ‘readability’. I don’t know about RM, but a lot of online mags are simply the paper version, on line, and are really unpleasant to read, because the page layout is all-wrong unless you are using a huge, A3 size, screen. My wife bought me a subscription to a US may and don’t really enjoy it because the page layout works so poorly on screen.

 

I think mags end up this way because laying out two versions, optimised for paper and screen would be too costly.

[Edwardian]

From https://www.facebook.com/RailwayModeller/posts/1846312042070474

 

The September 2018 edition of Railway Modeller is now on sale! FREE with every printed copy is our latest 'Shows You How' booklet titled 'An Introduction to OO9 Modelling'. To whet your appetite for what there is to look forward to in this issue, here's a full listing of the contents:

 

James Street

'Railway of the Month'

This hugely popular N gauge layout packs a lot of operational interest into its 20' x 11' size, as co-builders Steve Wright and Dave Cooper reveal.

 

The Great Model Railway Challenge

Go behind the scenes of this forthcoming series, which will air on Channel 5 in due course, in the company of editor Steve Flint, one of the Challenge judges.

 

Layout automation on Wolfe Lowe

Stephen Moore and Shaun Horrocks introduce this 7mm scale layout, set in a North Staffordshire Railway backwater, which includes automated control systems.

 

MSWJR 2-4-0

'Scale Drawings'

Three Dübs-built 2-4-0s served the Midland & South Western Junction Railway and its successors for many years; drawn by Brian Meredith, described by Tim Rayner.

 

Newhurst

This O gauge layout is set on a Southern Region secondary main line in the New Forest during late steam days, as John Smith & Rob Cotterell explain.

Conley West branch terminus

 

Plan of the Month

David Tennant chronicles the final development of his Evenlode & Lyndene room-filling OO layout; it now boasts three stations on two levels with much traffic potential.

 

Quarry Hunslets for Lechi o Lwyd

 

'Project of the Month'

Pecorama Exhibition Manager Andrew Beard demonstrates how home-made OO9 freewheeling locos were created for the ‘loft extension’ 4mm scale display.

 

Dunsmore Heath

Jon Hewlett relates the tale of how this GWR mixed gauge layout to ScaleSeven (and BG7) standards was rescued and refurbished for continued exhibition use.

 

Lineside snow fences

Ian Nuttall and Steve Flint provide a postscript to the former’s cameos feature (July) on his Settle & Carlisle OO layout. Snow fences abound at this hilly location.

 

A layout dust cover

In this progress report on his OO project, which is hoisted into the garage ceiling when not in use, 

Ken Watts shows how the dust cover was constructed.

 

Talking Points

Topical issues from the world of railway modelling. This month, Terry Bendall exhorts those who value modelling skills to make a visit to Scaleforum in September.

 

Hobbiton End

A minimum-space layout in OO9 with a difference: it’s a fantasy scene, created by Simon Addelsee and inspired by the tales of Middle Earth of J R R Tolkien.

 

Spirit of Swindon – 3

Will Heath concludes his trilogy on his N gauge retirement project by looking at the finishing touches, such as weathering, lighting, and sound.

Branch line to Wenlock

 

Ollie Reading set out to build an N gauge layout entirely from proprietary products and with 12V dc control, to demonstrate that it’s not beyond most modellers’ ability.

 

Urban Edwardia

Within his railway room at his Normandy home (a converted cowshed!), Howard Love constructed a 3mm scale layout 21' square, replete with period structures.

 

Mileposts – Shipley MRS at 40

 

Derek Shore, long-standing secretary of this Yorkshire band of modellers, looks back over the four decades since the society was formed in 1978.

 

Guszunder Park

Stuart Riley chose this title for his U-shaped OO gauge layout as main line trains run beneath the townscape at either end. A planned extension is under way.

 

Somewhere in Devon

An N gauge grandfather and grandson project, inspired by the Great Western Exe Valley line, created by Michael & Callum Flynn.

 

Ready-to-run PO wagons

Duncan Redford shows how to add variety to an OO gauge fleet by adapting them to represent wagons built to different specifications.

 

Weathering coaches – the easy way!

Although time can be taken with loco weathering, for coaches it’s a different story. Craig Tiley demonstrates a simple and effective way to weather stock in bulk, using Hornby non-gangwayed coaches as an example.

 

Comment

Opinions and observations across the field of railway modelling. This month, TV personality Paul Atterbury muses on the changing railway scene – and the landscape through which the trains run.

 

Readers’ Letters

 

Latest Reviews

 

Book & DVD Reviews

 

News

 

Societies & Clubs

The biggest and best guide to the exhibition scene up and down the land.

 

Much to look forward to (just finished July's and yet to start August's.  Have a MR to get through first!).

 

So much for holiday reading!

Edited August 12, 2018 by Edwardian

[davefromacrossthepond]

I have to say that the digital version took a bit getting use to, but savings in cost is worth it to me. It also helps reduce the clutter in the house and allows me to take a bunch of issues with me when I travel.

[James Harrison]

This is a great issue.  Highlights for me are 'Conley West', the quarry hunslets, "Dunsmore Heath", "Hobbiton End" and "Long Acre Road".  A really nice mix of articles and almost something for everyone- a GWR branch line, narrow gauge loco building, a fantasy/sci-fi layout and some very nice examples of pre-grouping modelling.  

[Ruffnut Thorston]

 

Quite a bit of pre-group interest in this issue....

 

Layout automation on Wolfe Lowe
Stephen Moore and Shaun Horrocks introduce this 7mm scale layout, set in a North Staffordshire Railway backwater, which includes automated control systems.

 

Dunsmore Heath (GWR Broad and 'Narrow' Gauges...)
Jon Hewlett relates the tale of how this GWR mixed gauge layout to ScaleSeven (and BG7) standards was rescued and refurbished for continued exhibition use.

 

Urban Edwardia
Within his railway room at his Normandy home (a converted cowshed!), Howard Love constructed a 3mm scale layout 21' square, replete with period structures.

 

Ready-to-run PO wagons  (Back-dating RCH wagons to earlier specifications...)
Duncan Redford shows how to add variety to an OO gauge fleet by adapting them to represent wagons built to different specifications.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Sarahagain

[Barry Ten]

Good issue, indeed. James St was very good at the Bristol show. Am I alone in not finding Laughter Lines at all funny, though? I suppose it only takes up a bit.

[rue_d_etropal]

Another good issue, with a varied range of subjects.

With respect to the bag , it does concern me. As I get my copy as a traders copy, I don't see it till it pops through the door, but for most magazines I do like to see before I buy. I think it might be possible to look at small images of each page online.

My other concern with the bag is that being plastic it is not eco friendly, and unlike the plastic carrier bag it is difficult to find alternative use. I am not even certain if it can be recycled properly.

Now the problem is the inserts sometimes included with magazines. When the magazine was stapled, these inserts could be held in place using the staples, so maybe we have to go back to that method. Some magazines are still published with a staple not a glued front edge. Most magazines are displayed in shops with cover showing so see no advantage to the glued front edge.

[Tony Davis]

You can read it in a web browser; there are also apps for iOS and Android. You can download on those platforms, however you need to know that you lose access as soon as you stop subscribing. OTOH, you gain access to back issues from 2011 or so onwards.

Well, I have an ipad and, when I was a subscriber I used to "synch" every issue that I received , back to 2011, and I can still read all of them, even though I no longer subscribe.

[rue_d_etropal]

There are still a lot of people who prefer to read paper copies rather than digital. When e-books arrived everyone predicted the end of printed books, but real paper book sales have actually increased. Magazines need to look at other ways to publish, such as print on demand.Cut down on transport, distribuion and the wholeseller. That saves money.

Imagine your newsagent just being a desk with a screen(or a real person) and a decent fast printer. You order your magazine(could even be done online before), it gets printed and then a simple spiral binding. It might even be possible to print on bigger paper ,fold and staple. I would then suggest standardizing on page size, A4, A3 and possibly even A5.

[south_tyne]

There are still a lot of people who prefer to read paper copies rather than digital. When e-books arrived everyone predicted the end of printed books, but real paper book sales have actually increased. Magazines need to look at other ways to publish, such as print on demand.Cut down on transport, distribuion and the wholeseller. That saves money.

Imagine your newsagent just being a desk with a screen(or a real person) and a decent fast printer. You order your magazine(could even be done online before), it gets printed and then a simple spiral binding. It might even be possible to print on bigger paper ,fold and staple. I would then suggest standardizing on page size, A4, A3 and possibly even A5.

It's funny, I am no technophobe but I can't get away with e-books or e-magazines and still much prefer them in hard copy. I spend almost all my my working day on the computer, using different technical software at times, but still prefer to read a physical copy of a document or report. I am sure it will increasingly become the norm to take digital copies however, especially for subscribers - the cost saving to both publisher and consumer should be huge.

[kevinlms]

It's funny, I am no technophobe but I can't get away with e-books or e-magazines and still much prefer them in hard copy. I spend almost all my my working day on the computer, using different technical software at times, but still prefer to read a physical copy of a document or report. I am sure it will increasingly become the norm to take digital copies however, especially for subscribers - the cost saving to both publisher and consumer should be huge.

Until they get rid of ALL their paper copy buyers, how exactly does it save them anything? Instead they have to pay to keep multiple formats going. If a retailer (such as a hobby shop) used to sell 50 paper copies, but now only 20, the costs of distributing those 20, wouldn't be much cheaper.

 

Personally, I wouldn't mind a digital only version of Railway Modeller. IF it covered all issues since the first edition, professionally scanned (allowing for the quality of the paper/print for the first 50 odd years), with good database search methods. Title/author/scale/page number is not enough. Obviously, it would have to be a pay for service, somehow. The copyright holder would have to approve, preferably manage it themselves.

 

Can't see it happening though, not least, how would people without computer/internet access get on - there are still many of those around. Too bad, doesn't seem like a good marketing option.

[south_tyne]

Until they get rid of ALL their paper copy buyers, how exactly does it save them anything? Instead they have to pay to keep multiple formats going. If a retailer (such as a hobby shop) used to sell 50 paper copies, but now only 20, the costs of distributing those 20, wouldn't be much cheaper.

 

Personally, I wouldn't mind a digital only version of Railway Modeller. IF it covered all issues since the first edition, professionally scanned (allowing for the quality of the paper/print for the first 50 odd years), with good database search methods. Title/author/scale/page number is not enough. Obviously, it would have to be a pay for service, somehow. The copyright holder would have to approve, preferably manage it themselves.

 

Can't see it happening though, not least, how would people without computer/internet access get on - there are still many of those around. Too bad, doesn't seem like a good marketing option.

Point taken with regard to cost savings, I hadn't really appreciated that. Paper versions are here to stay for the time being.

 

On the digital archive, that would be wonderful but ultimately it would be an absolutely epic task to complete. I would imagine that scanning, cleaning up, categorising and indexing decades of articles would take years...? Whilst I would love to see it happen I would say it is not going to be considered a priority from RM/Peco's point of view.

[kevinlms]

Point taken with regard to cost savings, I hadn't really appreciated that. Paper versions are here to stay for the time being.

 

On the digital archive, that would be wonderful but ultimately it would be an absolutely epic task to complete. I would imagine that scanning, cleaning up, categorising and indexing decades of articles would take years...? Whilst I would love to see it happen I would say it is not going to be considered a priority from RM/Peco's point of view.

"I would say it is not going to be considered a priority from RM/Peco's point of view."

 

But under copyright laws, no one else is going to either, unless the unlikely case that Peco, allows someone else to do so.

[ianmaccormac]

Well I have almost managed to go paper free. I scanned or photographed with a 10+Mpixel digital camera all the magazines I had - back to 1969 and 'print' to pdf all the ones I now subscribe to. I then routinely scan those that cannot be bought digitally - MRJ and NG&IRMR to keep current. Model Railways is the pain though as no means of printing so screen capture from Ipad to my icloud and then sign in on laptop and copy across to make a pdf of them.  More involved than RM or BRM which are just straight print to pdf.

I was fortunate in that I was on sick leave from work for a year while I did them!

I then combined all the jpegs into a pdf file for each magazine.

I then bought an HP Cloud server for the home and can look at any of them from anywhere I can get a phone signal for the phone or wifi for the laptop or Ipad. I also got a 2K monitor that makes reading them a lot easier (ASUS VX24A 2560 x 1440).

I also burnt a few copies on DVD so I shall never lose them in case of problems.

I then filled the empty shelves with other things - half built kits, books etc

Cheers

Ian