Covrail 2026

Advertised as an air-conditioned venue, sadly the show was bumped out of the hall with aircon, into a tin shed without it, so this was a hot and sticky event. 

I certainly needed to keep my hydration up, as there was a lot of useful chatting to be done. This might have been a local show, not a big event, but it happened to have dragged in quite a few people I knew, who I needed to talk too. A very efficient day!

Layout-wise, the picture was a bit mixed. Some nice stuff, and a smattering of space-fillers. A few of those were new exhibitors, including a club junior section, so I don't begrudge them the space as everyone has to learn what it's like inside the barrier, and despite this, there was still much to see and enjoy. 

My favourite was probably the Cuban model, Central Alonzo Mill.

Well modelled, and importantly, well lit, it exuded the Cuban vibes, or at least as much as I can tell, only knowing the place from a couple of Bond films. 

I also liked Pine Ridge. 

Unlit, this didn't matter as it helped showcase the shop interiors (impossible to shoot on a mobile I'm afraid) and some really detailed buildings. 

I'm very much not a fan of military stuff, but have to say the railways in shell casings, and in a hat, were effective. 

And of course, I can't resist the G-scale model of the Wuppertal. 

The trade didn't include any of the really big names, but wasn't bad either. Plenty of RTR, some good scenic stuff and electronics. OK, no hard-core specialists, but for the market the event aims at, not too shabby. 

Overall, a nice day out, if a bit hot. Being 10 miles down the road, and only eight quid to go in didn't hurt either, although I suggested they should go for 10 to save messing around with change.

More photos over on Flickr.  

Football focus. This is why Germans are better at penalties.

 

There is football knocking around at the moment, and from my limited knowledge, the one thing England are scared of is a game against Germany, going to penalties. We always lose, because the Teutonic player is simply better at these. 

It can now be revealed why -Märklin Tipp-Kick Fußballwagen.

In the box, we have a Tipp-Kick player, a non-round ball, and a railway wagon. The wagon has two holes in the side, and the basic game is simple. Haul the wagon along your layout, and hoof the ball into a hole. 

This is, to put it mildly, incredibly difficult. 

Now, I should be honest, and say that there is not a single sport that I am not rubbish at. Give me something involving a bat or a ball, and I'll show you just how badly I can attempt it. At school, I was always the last person chosen for a team - in fact, normally not chosen at all, I just ended up in a team after everyone else had been picked. 

You will have noticed that for my attempts, the wagon is not moving. Despite this, I score no goals. 

So, we can conclude that the German teams are all expert at this, and through lack of practise, English teams aren't.

Come on Hornby - time to wheel out the big boots, and give us a UK equivalent! 

Melbridge Dock emerges from storage...

 

Doncaster 2016. Melbridge Dock and Ruston Quays set up next to each other to celebrate 25 years (I think) of the show. The Dock had appeared at the very first one, and here it's displayed with my (then) latest layout, serialised in BRM. 

After that, the layout went into store, and was never seen again. 

But, for my Dad's celebration day on Sunday 31st May (all welcome), I really wanted to bring the layout that we built and exhibited for many years, out of retirement. There is a lot of him and me in this model. Arguably, without it, I wouldn't be doing what I do now for a job. 

Best guess is that Melbridge Dock appeared at over 100 shows, from small local one-day events to the biggest in the country. It even managed a trip abroad once. This layout has always meant a huge amount to me, and my Dad, which is why it deserves to be at the day to celebrate him. 

Of course, a layout that has been stored in an unheated shipping container for a decade stands a good chance of having some issues, which is why it came out a couple of weeks early for a check over. 

First question: Will it fit in the car? The chances of getting it on my Peugeot 2008 looked slim, but the Berlingo, no problem. 

I'll be honest, this isn't the best layout packing I've ever done. I haven't had a chance to practice. Each time I loaded the model in the past, the space required reduced as I worked out the best way to assemble the 3D jigsaw. Still, it's all in there, time to take it back home. 

York 2026

 

An early morning photoshoot saw me into York show nice and early this year. Finishing my work just as the doors opened left me with the whole day to wander around looking at layouts, perusing the trade and chatting to people. Far nicer than my normal rush around. 

I'm not going to try to bring you the whole show, there are plenty of YouTubers out there who make it their mission to do that, I'll just mention a few displays that appealed to me, and I managed to get an acceptable photo of with my 'phone. 

First up, I finally had the chance to see Maggie and Gordon Gravett's Port De Crozon, seen at the top of this post. It really is a lovely layout. The unusual high-quality modelling of an unusual subject in an unusual scale - 1:50. The thing that struck me most was the colour palette - muted but very consistent. Nothing stands out, and the colours suggest a quiet village on a sunny day. I was also pleased to see the tower that I remember watching Gordon build many, many years ago at the Chiltern Assoc. show. I'd always wondered where it would end up. 

Sticking with finescale, Old Parrock by Paul Rhodes looked like a chunk of Pendon had been lifted and brought to the show. OK, it's East Sussex, but the modelling techniques looked like the best of the Oxfordshire team, and Iain Rice. 

 

I'd love to have a go at building something like this in TT:120. Enough stock is available to make it practical, and with a scenic section only 4ft long, it would fit in the space I have available, even if the time required wouldn't. 

Larger, but to my eye, very distinctive, is Coniston, by the Morely Model Railway Group. It's a truism that you should be able to identify the location a model is set in without any trains being seen, and this is very much the case here. One look at the station, and I knew we were in the Lake District. 

Novelty always appeals to me, and the Roundhay team seemed to have decided to model the Lincolnshire Potato railways!

Roundhay is a particular favourite of mine. Regular readers will remember that my NG7 layout for BRM was based on it. 

Finally, the most eye-catching-for-Phil layout had to be Janice and Myles McGregor's Studio Tour. Imagine you were visiting a behind-the-scenes theme park based on the Harry Potter films and books, and this is the model of your day out. 

I'm a big fan of interesting ideas, but, and it's a big but, they need to be matched by the quality of the resulting model. Poor execution is a waste of good ideas. This is not the case here. All the modelling (from someone who is new to the hobby!) is really well done. I'd happily see these snow-covered houses in a mainstream publication, ignoring the Potter angle. 

We also saw Ford Anglias and boats on The Dark Lake, operating smoothly and effectively. Statues spun, and there were other working features. Potter-heads will delight in spotting the scenes, most of which passed me by in the same way as the books and films. I was alone in this, though, judging by the crowds in front of the model all day. 

As I say, there were so many quality layouts to be seen, a days entertainment was assured. I've only covered a few. 

But, what about the cake?  

One of my first stops was the restaurant, and how about a rhubarb and custard eclair? Delicious, even if Little Brian was unimpressed with the addition of yellow stuff to his favourite vegetable! 

Lettering improvements

 

After letting the transfers dry, I wasn't happy. I'd reduced the silvering as much as I could, but there was still some. Also, between the big letters, you could see that the clear transfer sheet changed the background colour. 

So, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and safe in the knowledge that a healthy dose of weathering could cover all badness, I very lightly cut along the edges of the letters. 

Then, using a damp brush, I removed the clear sheet. Some of it could be lifted by sliding a scalpel blade underneath.  I've not managed to completely remove it, but most has gone, and I think the effort was worth it. 

A quick coat of matt varnish, and I'm pleased with the results. Now to do the other side. I hate picking out the ironwork... 

 

Ally Pally haul

Or, "What rubbish did you buy from the show this time Parker?"

You know the law. If you go to a model railway show, you are required to buy something.  Anyway, where's the fun in coming home empty-handed? 

We start with some almost sensible items. The Woodland Scenics kits could be useful additions to projects, especially the water towers and tool shed. The middle one is, Tractor Pit Stop, there are whitemetal castings and scenic materials in the box, and it was cheap. Probably a blog project one day.  

I spent more than a penny on these two public toilets, but they are interesting kits. Artitec stuff is always high quality, and the design of the building looks amazing. PN SUD Modélisme are a new name to me, but this one is mostly cast plaster with some slightly (compared to Artitec) agricultural resin castings. More blog projects, as neither really fit into magazines I write for, but they look fun. 

 Looking at the website, I wish I'd bought the lovely looking PN water tower now. But I have enough kits. 

Moving to the German Railway society, I picked up a genuine carriage board. Obviously, I snagged the one with Wuppertal on it as a souvenier of my trip. It's accompanied by a Groudle Glen Railway fridge magnet from Saddletank Books, proving I will buy anything GGR related. 

And a planned purchase - Bob Symes from Buggleskelly Models. I met Bob once at Brighton show, where I was exhibiting Hellingly. He knew the line, and we had a very enjoyable chat. 

I've been trying to buy this 7mm figure for several shows, but I always forget until the end, and he's always sold out. This time, I had him put by early. A wise move as it turns out. 

Now the big stuff. 

I have coveted a raindeer car from Bachmann for years. 2016, to be precise, when I first saw it in the catalogue. Apparently, the heads move in and out as the car moves, a bit giraffe car ish. Just up my street!

No idea why the blokes from the MRC wanted to take my photo doing this. I suspect fowl play in the future. There will be a proper blog post at some point in the future on this wagon. 

Finally, before the show even opened, MRC shop operator, and layout booker for the show, Tom, spotted me, and offered me some junk he didn't want to put back in the van at the end of the weekend. He felt that out of the ten thousand people visiting, I was the only one likely to be mug enough to hand over a fiver.

Yes, it's an Airfix Railway System Multiple Train Control (MTC). According to Wikipedia, it is an analogue system introduced in 1979 and used 20V sinusoidal alternating current on the track with a superimposed control signal. It can control up to 16 locomotives, of which a maximum of 4 at a time be controlled simultaneously. Unfortunately, it was only produced for about 18 months when Airfix went into receivership, and the concept was dropped.

And yes, this fascinating item will also be a blog post. To be honest, it is a bit of a waste of money, but it has been such a good laugh already, I'm glad I bought it. Now, does anyone want to buy it off me? 

The London Festival of Railway Modelling 2026

 

A busy show. Even busier for me, than normal. I spent the time either chatting on the stand (thanks for coming along blog readers who identified themselves) or taking photos. I managed four full shoots, plus a couple of side projects. 

Since this was the 25th exhibition, there was cake. Lots of cake. 

Above is the Warners cake, but Ally Pally also supplied cake, which I didn't get to partake in. The last slice was left for me, but the only time I saw it, it was being wolfed down by our publisher!

Never mind, I did try a slice of the work cake, and a couple of cupcakes, over the weekend. 

Pretty restrained I thought! The cupcakes were given out to the public, and it was interesting to see how often adults needed to explain the concept of ricepaper to their kids. Yes, you can eat it. I mean it doesn't taste great, but then you have a rather nice cake attached to the bottom, so stop moaning. 

Little Brian and Little Phil were out and about. We met some nuns. 

And a celebrity. 

Dad got to visit the set of one of his favourite films. 

A good time was had by all. Sorry, I'm a bit light on general layout photos, there really wasn't as much wandering time as normal. As it is, recovery took a couple of days. Am I getting too old for all of this? 

Break out the airbrush

 

My dream workshop includes a room for airbrushing. All the equipment will be set up, including a great big extractor fan. The door will be close-fitting so the smell stays in the room. And it will be warm. 

As it is, I have to spray in the garage, setting some of the equipment up each time. The smell escapes into the kitchen, and it's the coldest room in the house. 

Which is why the first coat of Humbrol Wine (73) was applied to the wagon using a brush. The second coat on one side and the end was applied the same way. 

Then I caved in, stopped being lazy, and fired up the airbrush. Even allowing for cleaning, a task I hate, painting this Gauge 1 wagon this way was far, far quicker than manually slapping it on with the brush. The finish is much better too. 

I still wish I had a suitable spare room though.  

Saturday Film Club: Unboxing English Electric locomotives

Steven and I had great fun filming this unboxing of a couple of Hornby locos. I played with some DCC, and enjoyed it!

Help, my lorries got no wheel! In April's BRM

 

 

On my workbench in the April issue, I've taken an Oxford diecast Christmas lorry, and ruined it. Off comes the festive lettering, and one of the wheels. On goes dirt and graffiti, plus a pile of bricks to prop the thing up. 

There is also a wooden shelter - from a Scalemodelscenery kit whose construction defeated me, but I built it anyway. Well, bodging is an important skill...

The camera has been out for three of the four layouts in this issue: 

Broadwell lives in Cardiff, and is an impressive club-sized tail chaser with a very familiar station building. 

As well as the material on the page, the layout appears on BRM TV. 

Next, a first for me, T gauge, with the Ock Valley. 

Finally, a fun micro layout, Broad Arrow in 009. 

 BRM magazine is available from all good newsagents, or our online store: www.world-of-railways.co.uk

Supermarket customers will, I think, find it bagged with Garden Rail, which has a DVD on the cover.  

Tidy corners

 

Always turn your brain on, before taking the top off the glue. 

I didn't, and very nearly got my corners on the Manvers wagon mixed up. There is an end door, and this should go at the end of the wagon without corner plates. It took me a little while to twig this, as I sat wondering why the corner joint wasn't as neat as I'd expected. Fortunately, this was at the dry-fit stage. Which is why you do it of course. 

With all the parts in the right place, the corners are neat. Even the floor is the right size, not always a given in smaller scales. I've sanded a couple of mm from the sides and ends before now, so the thing would fit in the bottom. 

At the ends with corner plates, there was a tiny step, so I glued a tiny piece of Microstrip in. Once full dry (overnight), I was able to scrape and sand it to represent the bent bits of metal these parts represent. I'm being picky, and suspect most people wouldn't be bothered, as you can't see anything when the train is thrashing around the layout behind a steam engine!

Manvers Main G1 wagon

 

I mentioned yesterday that I felt the stirrings of modelling mojo coming back, and one of the kits that is helping me with this, is the Gauge 1 PO wagon from Northern Finescale, picked up at the Midlands show. 

Pawing at the components, something in me wanted to break out the plastic glue and stick the thing together!

Northern Finescale kits as injection moulded plastic models, a bit like a larger Parkside model, and since this isn't the first one I've built, I'm confident that it will be nice and easy to put together. 

I appreciate that this isn't the first model from this manufacturer on the blog, and as I have half a dozen more to build over time, it won't be the last! I will try and find something different to say each time to avoid boring you too much... 

Anyway, in the box, which is big enough for the finished model (do they still say that in Railway Modeller) are the parts moulded in greay and black. Only the pastic axle bearings are supplied on the sprue, everything else has been neatly cut off. Only a tiny suggestion of nib remains, nothing that a few strokes of an abrasive stick can't deal with. 

Now, where's the glue?  

Abrail haul

 

I don't need any more kits, but when rooting around under a stand at Sunday lunchtime, it seemed rude to pass up some very cheap Wills kits. They are a handy "get out of jail" card when I need a magazine, or even a blog project. Seated people are very handy too. I've been using a few figures recently, and hadn't realised how few of these I had. These, plus the Ratio drums and Mabex transfers, cost me a tenner. 

The N gauge lorry and horse-drawn parcel wagon are potential four-step BRM projects, and only a quid each.  

My point is, that bargains are out there. I was 3/4 of the way through the show. What was there to be found on Saturday morning? Or am I just weird in the things I choose to buy?  

One thing I really don't need is an O gauge loco kit. Trouble is, I've looked longingly at this one many times. I know it's marketed as a beginner's kit, and I'm an experienced etched builder, but I just like the look of it. Being a Connoisseur product, I know it will go together nicely, and should be a fun build.

To date, I've looked, then carried out the calculation of the final cost once motor wheels and gears are added, and decided against it. Here, we have the kit with those parts, for the price of the basic kit. I pondered for most of the day, but since no one else had snapped it up by late afternoon, I gave in. The thing is, the more I look at the kit, the greater my enthusiasm to put it together. Considering my lack of enthusiasm for personal projects recently, it's worth the money for that alone.

Abrail 2026

 

How has this show flown under my toy-train-seeking-radar for so long? 

It first came to my attention when the guys building Duxbury at the club mentioned they were taking the layout. That was just after they had inserted four feet in the middle of it - cue some hard work bringing it up to standard! A job well done, judging how well the layout ran at the show with some seriously impressive length trains. 

Seeing I had a free weekend, I thought a visit to support them was in order. Then I spotted that there were over 40 layouts. "There must be some that are blokes called Dave who've just nailed a bit of track to a plank to make up the numbers." I thought. 

I was wrong. 

There were over 40 layouts, and all of them were good. Some were great. No Dave's nailing Peco to wood here!

I'm not going to try to run through the lot. There is YouTube for that, but take some sea-sickness pills first, judging by the videos I've seen. 

Instead, a couple of highlights. Basically, the layouts I'd like to build. 

Rye Sands is a beauty. OK, there's nothing much here, but what there is, is superbly done. Loads of atmosphere. Based on a prototype, we are firmly in pre-grouping territory, with lots of curved-ended wagons. 

Sheep Croft is a very buildable layout, with plenty of operating potential, yet not very long. Perfect for a home-based layout that can be left out all the time for impromptu operating sessions. The 3-link couplings were challenging, but the low operating height made things a little easier for those shunting, as well as putting the model on the eye-line of shorter visitors. 

One issue with the show was the venue. Lovely as the college was, its classroom time, and with so much on show, the place becomes a bit of a rabbit-warren. I'll admit, I missed the building full of N gauge layouts, and didn't realise until I had a proper look at the programme back home. This is annoying, as if the quality of these was as high as the rest of the show, I'd have enjoyed them. To be fair, there is nothing that can be done about this. Exhibition centres aren't found on every corner, and when you locate one, the hire costs can be horrific. 

Catering was better than expected. Branded Costa, it turns out this is just the coffee and some of the food, but there were extra goodies on offer for very reasonable prices. I enjoyed the chocolate shortbread for only £1.50 a slice. Less than half what you'd pay in a proper chain coffee shop. 

To be fair, the trade side was OK, but not special. Mind you, I still managed to spend a few quid, which I'll explain tomorrow. 

Will I go back - YES. This is a cracking event. In future, I'll have a layout-booking hat on, and look at the programme properly, so I don't miss anything! 

Volks Electric Railway - Car 2

 

Fate sometimes pushes projects your way. Wandering around Bournville show, I found a trader who was new to me - DoubleM Models. 

Most of the range is 3D printed narrow-gauge models. There are also some T gauge trains, which is what caught my eye. At three quid a go, I picked up a couple, and was about to pay, when I spotted in the boxes at the end of the stand, Volks Railway Tramcars 1 and 2 in 4mm scale. 

The VER was one of my Dad's favourite lines. He had travelled on it as a child, and many times since. That included the centenary day, which we arrived at by accident. 

So, what choice do I have, but to buy the kit? I'm sure if he'd been with me, we'd have been leaving with at least one - over the years, we'd discussed, and investigated ways to make a model of the line.  

The kit runs on a Kato 11-109 chassis, and they sell those too. The Kato unit is well known and respected, so a working model is guaranteed. I walked away from the stand with a ligher wallet, but all the bits for a model. 

This one's for you Dad.  

 

Off to Doncaster

 
I'm off to sunny Donny today, for The Festival of British Railway Modelling. 

I'll be loitering on the World of Railways stand most of the time, with a few old projects on a table to talk about. 

Please drop in for a chat. If you want to say something nice about my Dad, then that's lovely, but not too much. While I'm not china, and handling it very well (I think), I'm there to talk about model railways and making things. 

And that is what I like to do. 

Looking forward to seeing you at the show! 

Time for a new loco cradle

 

I think it's really time to deposit this Peco loco cradle in the bin. It's performed admirably for many years, but the foam has really lost its spring. 

To be fair, I bought a replacement some time ago, and this has just been kicking around on a shelf and gradually degrading. The foam has gone brittle, and bits keep falling off. As you can see, it's more pancake than U-shape. It just goes to show that some things simply fall apart over time. 

And before someone shouts "inbuilt obselecance" - I think that well over a decade (possibly two) of use isn't bad for a foam cradle. I know, in the old days, we had cradles made from granite...

Syston Haul

The rule is that when you go to a show, you must come back with some new toys. 

But. There are very few new toys that I actually need, and not many that I want right now. So, complying with the rule at Syston wasn't easy. 

Spotted in a box, is this nice, playworn, Matchbox hovercraft. I like hovercraft, and for a couple of quid, it complied with the rules. I'll kid myself that one day I'll take it apart and restore it. The stickers could be reproduced on a computer, and they are only bits of paper stuck on. The liver, well a can of white spray paint will sort that. 

For the moment, I'm enjoying it as a desk toy, making hovercraft noises as I push it up and down. I am a big kid. But then you knew that. 

Rather more relevant, and also found under a stand (it's where the good stuff is, but don't tell anyone) is this Hornby Dublio TPO set. 

Despite being an operating accessory fan, I've never got into the TPO sets. There is an orange Tri-ang one in the collection, but that's it. 

What interests me about the Dublo version, is that it works in a very different way to the later Tri-ang and Hornby models. Those are purely mechanical. Dublo uses electricity. There is a pickup skate sticking out of the side of the coach, and what I assume is a matching tongue sticking out of the delivery/collection space. 

How all this works is a mystery to me. I know I could probably look it up, but I'll have fun finding out by experimentation. 

All this, in nice condition, for £15. OK, there are no mailbags, but for some reason, I already have some. There has been some depreciation going on, as there is a paper label inside for £95 - an optimistic price, even when HD was worth proper money!