October in EiM and Garden Rail

Lots of good stuff in your local newsagent at the moment (or on your doormat if you've been smart enough to take out a subscription) in the larger scales.

Starting with Garden Rail, Tag Gorton is back, tangling with a Ragleth steam loco and adding details and features he likes.

We then take a trip to New Zealand for a very detailed sawmill model. Outside the UK, there seems to be more emphasis on realism in the garden and this is certainly a lovely looking model, all made from Kwila wood - something I don't think you can find in the UK although alternatives are available.

Loving odd-ball locos, "Wort, a shunting tractor obviously appealed to me as did the modifications to a vertical boiler Mamod "Brunell". Building fans will like the Welsh chapel, far more than a straight kit build, and the 3D printed kiosks protecting lineside electronics.

It's good to see a layout in print and this month we have The Shreen Valley Railway which appeal because there's a lot of detail bringing the scenes to life.

Finally, I'm getting to like 7/8th scale models and the Model Earth Tumbril's built and painted by Steph' Hicking really look my sort of model.

Garden Rail magazine

Moving over to EiM, much of the focus is on the Midland Model Engineering Exhibition which we preview. The first feature - a mine dump truck - is one of the entries in the show and a superb model I had the chance to photograph at Hereford SME.

We return to the Panter tank serial with the turret, Even if you don't want to build this model, the details of the insides are very instructive.

I'm keen to introduce a few simpler projects for less well equipped (both in skills and machinery) readers. We start with Putt-putt boats, the little candle power models that you can buy for a few quid or better still, make for even less. Great fun for old and young.

There are visits to Hereford, Burton and Statfold Barn for rallies too, so plenty of eye candy if you like small scale steam engines.

Engineering in Miniature magazine

Warehouse Wenesday: Little concete buildings

Another photo from Quorn on the Great Central Railway, this time a concrete hut and coal bunker beside the signal box. Since they are all for storage, then they are warehouses of a sort, just small ones...

Railway companies loved pre-cast concrete, especially the SR. Made in factories and churned out in large numbers, they were cheap, rugged and standard, something that always pleases those in charge. 

The coal bunker at the front isn't necessarily railway though. I'm sure I remember one of our relatives having one behind the house so maybe it's a domestic product, or maybe the railway company didn't bother to make their own and just bought in from outside. 

The Wishlist Poll Takes A Holiday

The annual Wishlist Poll – which normally runs in October with the reuslts widely published on RMweb and in the press – is ‘taking a holiday’ this year but plans to be back in 2018.

The Poll Team feels that this short break will be helpful as the results have been consistent over the past few years and some manufacturers are in a ‘catch-up’ situation with their programmes.

Since publication of the results of The Wishlist Poll 2016 last November and up to mid-September 2017, 15 all new items have been announced in 00:
12 from the High Polling Segment – five of which are in The Top 50
3 from the Middle Polling Segment
0 from the Low Polling Segment

Full results from the 2016 poll can be found here. 


If you have any queries or would like further 

The Poll Team can be contacted at: thepollteam@gmail.com

Don't interfere

From the club news section of Railway Modeller, December 1965.

The address appears to be a private house on a post-war estate. I'm not sure how they came to chose 11am as according to the Radio Times, this would interfere with religious broadcast Seeing and Believing followed by Better Photography on BBC 1. BBC 2 didn't start broadcasting until 7pm in those days.

How lucky we are to be living in a time when our tellies are full of stuff 24 hours a day and we can run toy trains (RTR ones anyway...) without causing interference.