The National Festival of Railway Modelling 2025

 

What a weekend! Admittedly, I didn't see much of it as all my time was absorbed by hosting the World of Railways theatre. Being ringmaster to panels and talks is new to me - but everything passed off as well as I could have hoped. The conversation and questions flowed, and we enjoyed good numbers, with no free seats for the YouTubers, and well over 100 in for the talks, even on the Sunday. 

The show itself felt a lot better than last year. 2024 was all about getting the doors open. 2025 is the year it started to feel like "our" show. Something different from a traditional club show, but offering everyone exhibits that they will enjoy. 

James Street took the layout prize, but it was a tough choice - there were many cracking models on show, and no space fillers. I shot a couple for future issues of BRM, and there is at least one more I'd like to point a camera at in the future. 

Trade was also good, and a few people took money off me, more of that tomorrow. 

We "enjoyed" the usual moans online - the "void" is the area we don't pay for, yet get to use for loading and unloading. It's always been there, but quite a lot of people forget that. It's also somewhere for famous YouTubers to sit and tell everyone not to go to this show, having reviewed it without mentioning the layouts. 

Chairs - the show has never put out enough chairs to keep everyone happy, and we are no different. But then the motor show a couple of weeks ago had no chairs at all, and IPMS only have seats in the catering area. There were a load, and of course, a theatre you could sit in, munch your grub, and be entertained. I know a couple of people who enjoyed apple pie and custard in the front row of Mr Hornby's talk!

Talking of cake, my weekend started with Empire Biscuits, and continued with Malteser cake, stolen (I passed these to the WoR team) and apple pie and custard. Well, it's difficult to get away long enough to grab a proper lunch, and I didn't want to collapse with hunger during the day...
 

So, the weekend was fun. Well, I enjoyed it anyway. Numbers were considerably (well over 10%) up on last year. Hopefully, this bodes well for the future, as I think the National show is an important fixture in the calendar. It's not like other shows, but then why should all model railway exhibitions be the same? Model railway enthusiasts certainly aren't. 

Saturday Film Club: YouTubers at the National Festival of Railway Modelling

Last weekend, I hosted the Theatre at the NEC. One of the panels hotly anticipated, and packed to the rafters, was the group of YouTubers. Both Saturday and Sunday sessions are now online, so sit back and enjoy. 

Saturday

Sunday

 

 

T55 JFJ motor

Another mystery item from the box of stuff in our clubrooms - a chunky skew-wound French motor. 

Dating, according to the writing on the box, from 1981, the configuration is a bit odd. A large permanent magnet sits over the armature. There are a couple of contacts on the back. Touch a 9v battery on these, and the motor kicks, but doesn't revolve. I wondered if it was designed for AC current, but the instructions, translated by Google Lens, don't mention this. 

This is a heavy-duty unit, but I can tell you no more than that hence the post here. Should I spirit away for a project? What would I use it for? 

The interweb isn't much help either. I found one other example - an expired auction on French eBay. 

Suggestions? 
 

 

Shedtastic January issue of BRM

Here's a quick turnaround - a kit bought on Sunday, built and in BRM January four days later!

OK, it's not the most complicated model in the world, but everyone has to start somewhere, and a four-step build of a laser-cut shed is as good a place as any. Let's face it, if you don't do a great job, then a wobbly shed isn't unrealistic. 

The camera has been out, first time for the stay-at-home O gauge layout "Amberside". 

Then we have the tiny layout "Torry's End". This micro is given more page space than the area it occupies - but the article is fascinating, and the modelling, especially for a first layout, exceptional. 

BRM is available from all good newsagents, or our online store. 

By diesel to Port Erin

 

Looking for some photos for a magazine article, I found these from 2014. I'm not sure what is rarer, Isle of Man Railways diesel No.21 actually working, or the load, a collection of Peel microcars!

The loco has disgraced itself, and spent the last few years on blocks in the bus station car park. The reasons behind this are complicated, but largely stem from politicians trying to do something on the cheap, and ending up with a machine from a dubious firm, apparently. 

Whatever, this was one interesting train. A collection of Peel cars - P50's (including the prototype) and Tridents. 

 

Ratio SR van finished

 

It's not special. Not a stand-out supermodel. This is exactly what I wanted - a very run-of-the-mill "layout wagon".

I used to turn these out all the time. Meldridge Dock was full of them. My thinking is that you see a mass of vehicles, rather than a load of individuals. As long as the weathering, and overall effect, is harmonious, the layout looks good.  

Well, that, and I'm hopeless at applying transfers when they are in the kit, and too stingy to buy them when they aren't. Mind you, on the kit box, the transfers show plenty of silvering, so I'm not the only one. 

My solution is blobby numbers. Just get something in the right place, and no one bothers to read them. Anyway, if you are wagon spotting on my layout, I'll think there is something wrong with you. For this model, some Humbrol 147 was applied with the smallest brush (note to self, buy some more) to hand. You can read "XP" and not the rest. 

 I had planned to use a mapping pen, but my white ink had the consistency of semolina pudding when I dug it out, so I need to buy more of that too. 

Chalk marks are pencil crayon. Again, my pale grey has hidden itself, so they are white. 

Weathering is a little dry-brushing and lots of weathering powders wiped with a wet cotton bud. 

So much of this is easier if you practise. As I say, this used to be bread-and-butter work, but I can't remember the last time I built a wagon kit. I enjoyed this one though, and there are more in the stash... 

 

More plastic kits for the stash

 

Scale Model World was always going to be a spendy show. It's part of the fun, and my bank account was prepared. In the event, the bill was about the same as a single Rapido Y7, which isn't so bad. I certainly came away with a few boxes!

First up, the planned purchases. SMW is great for bargain prices on current kits, so as I wasn't in a hurry for these, I waited for my visit. As an added bonus, it ensured I'd leave with a new toy, and not just something random. 

The MiniArt holidaymakers are in wonderful poses. I've certainly seen people doing just this!

Airfix's Alvis Stalwart is a prototype that fascinates me. Now, I don't do military stuff, but I had a plan. One that I wasn't the first to think of. 

No need for camo, when a civilian version is available, thanks to Matchbox. OK, it's probably not real, but I remember having one of these toys when I was a kid, and the paint job will certainly be easy!

Mind you, I rather like the look of this version too. 

Moving on to impulse buys, I'm a sucker for a VW Type 2, and this looks like a rather nice kit. 

There's a satisfying number of parts in here, and options to produce four different liveries. Sadly, on the bargain stand, there wasn't the airfield "Follow Me" version, but I suspect applying to the all-over transfers would be a nightmare anyway. 

In the stash is a three-wheel bakers van, and I decided to add some figures and a stall to the project pile. 

 

The "Piste Circuit"? Well, the name made me snigger, and it was only three quid. What I have is a slice of racing circuit to use as a diorama base. Not sure I have much to pose on it, but I'm sure that can change...

Finally, a tool purchase. 

While I own an airbrush cleaning pot, but the rest of the bits have been on the list to buy for a long while. A tenner for the lot? Bargain. 

I'm sure some of you are thinking about the wisdom of adding more kits to my stash. Truth is that there are some that have been "maturing" for many years. I don't think I've built anything from last years pile for a start. Each kit represents a little possibility. I love making stuff, and while my time for this sort of personal project is sorely limited at the moment, I dream that one day each one of these will make it on to the workbench, and we all need a dream, even if it is a silly one involving plastic, glue and paint. 

Anyway, how many of you lot don't have a stash of your own?  

Scale Model World 2025

Plenty of inspiration at the IPMS modellers annual extravaganza. As every, it's a big show, that takes all day to go around, and that's only because I pretty much ignore anything military, and didn't get the chance to visit the competition this year. 

To be honest, trying to describe everything, or pick a favourite, is a waste of time. Have a look at my gallery on Flickr, and tell me what catches your eye.  

Saturday Film Club: LWMRS supports a project to mark 200 years of the modern railway

I've always been a fan of the Kato Circus system, and now some of my fellow L&WMRS club members have taken it into schools to great effect.

The layout will be at the NEC this weekend - please drop by and have a look, it's really impressive.  

Off to the NEC

 

This weekend, it's the big show at the NEC. 60+ layouts, and more trade than you can shake a wad of cash at. Something for everyone. 

My role will be to look after the theatre. Last year we had a cinema, but this proved so popular, we are adding some live demos, and panels to the mix. So, it's my job to stop people overrunning, and keep things on track, as well as asking intelligent questions. 

More detail on the NFRM website. 

 

Mystery O gauge signals

Mystery from a box of (mostly) junk that has arrived in our model railway clubrooms. A couple of O gauge signals of some vintage. 

There are no makers marks, but they look commercial rather than home-brewed. The searchlight is 10cm tall, and the two-aspect 9cm. 

 

The searchlight base is fitted with four pins - I guess a pair for each bulb in the head. There are screw terminals on the other one. 

Put a 9v battery on the rear pair of terminals, and the signal lights up. The front two don't do anything. I suspect a blown bulb, but don't fancy disturbing the wrapping on the head, which looks like fabric sticking plaster for fingers!

So, a bit of a mystery - can anyone shed a light on these?  

Uh-oh

If you are reading this, something has prevented me from updating my blog for some time.

Obviously, I don't know what that something is. I might be on holiday and forget to postpone this blog post, in which case I'll be back in a couple of weeks.

I might have run off with a millionaire supermodel and be living a life of luxury no longer concerned with toy trains.

I might have been kidnapped by aliens or pirates, in which case would someone come and rescue me, please.

Anyway, if this is the last post, I hope you have enjoyed my blog to date. Thanks for dropping by and good luck in the future...

Phil

Warehouse Wednesday: Shunting bollard and wagon turntable

 

Spotted, on the way to Germany, in the Coal Drops Yard, behind Kings Cross - an ornamental shunting bollard and wagon turntable. 

Now, I'm assuming the track has been relaid as there isn't a flangeway alongside it, but these "ornaments" actually look pretty convincing. OK, the turntable is now glass, not wood, but it's in the right place, and pays homage to the history of the yard. 

The shunting capstan is on an access cover - possibly because it was a powered version, so you'd need access underneath? I'm not sure why it's there otherwise. 

I bet most people haven't a clue about either, but readers of this blog are so much better educated... 

Painted van

 

Now the cat has wandered off, I get a precious morsel of modelling time to whack some paint on the van. As this is a traditional build, I'm painting it by hand. All my other rolling stock is hand-painted, and with a bit of weathering, it looks fine. Saves sorting out the airbrush too. 

Colour should be bauxite, but the shade on the Ratiop box looks like a pale earth tone. I don't think it has faded either. I tried that, and decided I didn't like it, so whacked some Humbol brick colour over the top. It needed a second coat anyway. 

I probably should have bought a bottle containing an "approved" shade of paint, but bauxite is one of those colours that seems to change shade depending on the photo you look at. My feeling is that it wasn't as stable a shade in real life, so always using the "correct" version isn't any more accurate than my bodge. 

The result isn't bad in real life, it looks a bit streaky in the photo. Once I've added lettering, and dirt, this should look fine. And at least I'll have managed to wrangle some modelling time for myself!

Oh, and the roof is a mix of Humbrol 66 and 67, with loads of talcum powder dabbed into it. The resulting texture is very pleasing.  

My weird classic car show haul

Yes, I bought stuff at the classic car show. 

First, something you are supposed to buy at this sort of event - a sales brochure for a Crylser Alpine, like the one I sat in. The front cover looks an awful lot like our family car, although without the rust and mismatched paint on the bonnet. 

 

I work in magazines, so WH Smith is important to my job. This Corgi lorry was (according to this website) produced from 1975 to 1982. Which is why it has the old logo which is so nostalgic to us children of the 1970s. Mind you, according to the website, it's worth £8.42, and I only paid a quid, so I got a bargain!

A clockwork Hornby tinplate speedboat. One of these has been on my wants list for a long while, but all the ones I've seen have been stupid expensive. Now, this might be play-worn, but that's fine, as I want to sail it. 

 

The motor works (I checked this on the stand), although it looks like it's been oiled with something from the car's sump, which is deposited all around the inside of the model. Not to worry, I'm not looking inside very often. 

It didn't have a key, but half an hour or so of fiddling with bits of brass solved that. 

When the weather improves, we'll try some sea trials. 

Finally, and weirdest of the lot, a paddleboat. 

This is one of those things I buy because they are A) Cheap and B)Interesting. Obviously, what the experts call "shedwork", it has a real charm. Those paddle boxes are cut up tin cans, and the rest is made of wood. 

The metal paddles are really good, but what intrigues me is, how it is supposed to be driven? Turning the handles turns the paddles, but if you want to use it on the water, do you need to train a hamster to work it? At 8.5 inches long, not much else will fit. 

I'd be fascinated if anyone has a theory about this one, as it's got me stumped. 

NEC Classic Car show

Yes, it cost £35 to get in, plus my train fare, but for 6 halls and over 16,000 steps worth of exhibits, I think it was well worth it. 

The highlight for me was sitting in a Talbot Alpine, the first car I ever drove. OK, it was up a farm track, probably didn't exceed 10mph, and ended with me bumping into a fence post, but an important vehicle in my life. It's also the one I learned about Isopon body filler on, as I packed an awful lot of it into the front wings. 

But, what a lovely, comfortable place to sit! Far more foot room around the pedals than my Peugeot, and so roomy inside too. I have fond memories of that car, we took it on holiday several times. 

In fact it's so exciting that for a change the Matra Rancho wasn't the best car in the show, for me anyway. Second best maybe.

There was also the first car I drove on my own - a Mark 1 Ford Fiesta. OK, ours was grey, and had the 950cc engine, but it wasn't a million miles from this pristine example. Sadly, there was no chance to sit in this one. 

If I had the space the money, this South African import VW Beetle would have come back home with me. £10,000 for something unwelded, running well (apparently) and with some interesting local details, such as these odd little front reflectors. 

At the back, the taillights seem to be a mix of the elephant's foot ones on my bug, and the earlier version. I don't recall seeing these before. And yes, I am being nerdy about Beetle bits. 

For research purposes, I took quite a few photos of this Porche Junior tractor. There is a kit for one in my stash, and it's interesting to take a look at the real thing. 

So, other than travelling I spent a train-free day. Is there a connection between classic car shows and model railways? I think so. If you look at a lot of layouts, you'll spot old cars that turn out to be the first ones owned by the modellers. We all love a bit of nostalgia! 

Sadly, my family seems to specialise in owning vehicles that no one makes model of. Peugeot 206, Berlingo, Nissan Juke, Talbot Horizon - nothing doing. There is a Mk1 Fiesta in the Oxford Diecast range, but there is something very odd (to my eyes) about the rake of the windscreen, so I don't own one. 

You are probably wondering if I bought anything. Well, there was this Alfa that screamed "Mid Life Crisis car" that I liked the look of, but no more cars for me until the Beetle is back on the road (Permissible exception: Rust-free UK spec Matra Rancho in Bronze or red, for under £5k), but I did come back with a couple of things. You won't guess what they are though...

Lots more photos over on Flickr. 

Saturday Film Club: New York Central's Mercury: An Art Deco Masterpiece

A quick look at some stunning American locomotives. I could get into collecting models of these - they are beautiful! 

Painting delay

 

Just paint for the SR van then. Slight snag, for the last few days, Stampy has decided that my modelling board is the perfect place for a kip. He might be comfortable, but it does really slow me down...

Garden Rail December

 

We start off with a visit to the Butterley Garden Railway Association, where the magic of miniature trains meets public wonder. How many future modellers have walked away from their line at the Midland Railway Centre thinking, “I want to build one too!”?

Then we journey to the legendary Compton Down Railway, revisiting Peter Jones’ iconic creation through the eyes of his daughter Kes – a tribute to one of the hobby’s most imaginative builders.

On the workbench this month:

• Mini dioramas with maximum charm
• A laser-cut carriage shed
• Replacing Taliesin’s safety valve
• Scratch-building a classic tin hut
• Small wagons sized for little locos
• Planting tips to prepare your line for next year

Plus: Our Christmas Gift Guide is here to help you find the perfect present for the railway enthusiast in your life - and don’t miss the heartwarming tale of how Eddie Castellan was reunited with a beloved steam locomotive.

Chassis upgrades

 

It's no good. Those wobbly stretcher bars are annoying me. As has been said in the comments, you can't really repair them. 

At the same time, I remembered that I'd not replaced the moulded safety loops on the brakes. I used to do this as a matter of course, but as I say, I'm out of practice. 

Some small clippers removed the bars, and moulded loops. The latter are replaced with bent-up staples. Maybe a bit chunky, but you can see through the loop, which is what matters to me. On a layout, looking along a train, I like to think is is noticable, even in the gloom under a wagon. 

The stretcher bars are replaced with the smallest brass angle I had to hand. This still looks a bit big to me, they scale out just under 3 inches deep, but the job is quick, and hopefully not too obvious when painted and weathered. I've not actually done this before, but I'll look to add some thinner angle to my metal stocks at some point. 

Incidentally, why weren't buffer shanks and heads included in the kit? I had to dig around in my spares boxes before I found a set of Parkside leftovers. Yes I have metal ones, but they are complete with the housings in a kit of bits, and I'm not breaking one of those up for this job. This is very much a layout wagon, and the sort of layout I build, not some super finescale jobbie. 

Sprat & Winkle couplings

 

I'm going full Old Skool on this wagon. That means Mk1 Sprat & Winkle couplings, the ones I use on all my exhibition layouts. In my mind, they combine reliable operation with discretion. OK, Alex Jackson's are a bit less visible, but they seem to need a lot of tweaking before a show opens, time better IMHO spent acquiring tea, and perusing the second-hand stall. 

Best all all, they are easy to fit, even if you haven't done it for a while. 

Step one, fit the coupling bar. 

I built a height gauge well over 30 years ago. Wheel the wagon up to it. Pop superglue on the buffers, and sit a de-headed dressmaking pin on the gauge. Yes, I know "proper" modellers would make a U-shaped bit of wire to emerge from the buffer beam. I think this restricts the swing of the hook, and anyway, my method is really easy to do, and repair if required, so it wins out for me. 

Step two. Fire up the soldering iron and fit the hook and paddle. 

The original instructions showed a weirdly bent piece of wire holding the etched hook in place. It relied on glueing wires along the floor, without sticking the paddle itself down. Que lots of bad language, and a lack of success. 

This method, which I later learned from his book that Rice used as well, involved bending up a staple, putting it through the holes in the paddle, and shoving the steel through the floor of the wagon with a soldering iron. It takes a few seconds to get moving, but once it does, the paddle is quickly fixed, and by heating the staple, you can adjust the fit. 

I've fitted EM gauge society coupling chain, which I bought in quantity decades ago (do they still sell it?) as it's perfect for the job, and easier than making my own. 

The chain is a bit further out from the bufferbeam than is ideal, but as I say, it's a while since I've done this, and it will still work. 

No surprise, I've written this up before, with different photos.  

Very liquid glue

 

Bodybuilding time. A job that it turns out would have been a lot easier if I'd remembered to bring some Revell Contacta plastic cement. 

As it was, I had to rely on the Barrie Stevenson's MEK, applied with a slightly larger than ideal, paintbrush. 

Normally, I'd tack the parts together with the cement, then run some MEK into the joints. This time, I had to apply the solvent while holding the parts together. It did not go well. 

I don't know if this MEK is a lower viscosity than Slater's version, but it shot all over the kit. Result, a fingerprint in the end.  That's not a one-off either, this stuff shoots around the model incredibly fast. OK, I'm out of practice doing this sort of thing, but I don't remember having this problem before. 

On the plus side, it grabs the parts really fast, so if you can make it work, speedy building will be very possible!