Veinenburg railway museum

Perceived wisdom is that British trains are always late, while those in Europe run to time. This isn't true, as I found out when travelling from Aachen to Wernigerode. My ICE arrived over 20 minutes late at it's destination, the result being me stranded at Veinenburg for over an hour, waiting for the final train of my day. 

At first, this looked a bit grim. The town wasn't immediately apparent from the station, and the platforms were adorned with little more than the most basic shelters. 

Needless to say, I wandered around a bit. My first discovery was the local library in the main station building. Nice, but not that useful, although there is a lovely loco-shaped storage box. 

A little further down the platform, there was some old rolling stock, including a Jung diesel, which looks a lot like a resin-body loco kit I bought many years ago. It was attached to some wagons, and there were a few bits of railway ephemera around, including a hut and water crane. Google Streeview makes it look particularly appealing. 

It turned out that this is a railway museum. A bit more digging tells me that on the right day, there is much more to see, including a model railway.  Of course, it was closed. 

Fortunately, despite the door also being closed, the station cafe was open, and I was able to grab a drink and some cake. 

A couple of postcards too - because I love sending postcards. Admittedly, when I wrote them, I wasn't quite sure how I'd get to my new stop, but I crossed my fingers and placed my faith in the DB railways app. 

There are a few more photos on Flickr. 

Warehouse Wednesday: Das Lagerhaus

I left Aachen for Wernigerode, so experience the HSB. Of course, when wandering around the town, I couldn't help but snap a few of the many interesting buildings to be found, especially in the back streets.

While the town is a bit chocolate-boxy for my taste, it is well-preserved and real people actually live there, so we get to see some real workplaces, even just off the centre. 

This one fascinated me. Surely there isn't enough space to properly back a cart up under the doors to load? The railway would get in the way, but it's not close enough to load onto a railway wagon. I'm sure neither building or track have moved for a very long time. 

The final shot is of a boarded-up shop I passed as I walked from the hotel to station and back again. All I could think is, "That would make a lovely model shop..."

Modell Center Hünerbein

 

Arriving in Aachen mid-afternoon, I idly typed "Model shops Aachen" into Google, and it pointed me at Modell Center Hünerbein. According to the map, a 20-minute walk would get me there before they closed, with the benefit of a chance to see the old city, and the main shopping area. 

Off I strode, not really knowing what I'd find, but when I arrived, the frontage was huge!

Looking in the windows, it was pretty obvious that the range was pretty comprehensive, and with only half an hour to look around, I dived in. 

This place is vast! With the possible exception of HobbyCo in Sydney, this is the largest model shop I have ever visited. Well over half the shop is given over to railways of all scales from Z to G. Racks and racks of second-hand, all nicely displayed. 

There was even a solitary OO item!

One surprise was the large selection of road vehicles on offer. We do see these in the UK, but not in the quantity here, plus the huge range of plastic and laser-cut buildings. 

Of course, there is also a big selection of plastic kits, radio control and modelling materials. 

Chatting online with friends, some know of this place, and had left money for models in the past. Now, one feature of this trip was that I carried everything in a rucksack, so I simply couldn't buy very much, as I couldn't carry it. But, the law is that when in a model shop, you must buy something.

Which is why I grabbed their last pot of Humbrol 144 - a very useful colour all but extinct in the UK as a start. Then a little metal VW van, well I was in Germany. And finally, one of those buys you make because you'll regret it if you don't, a festive VW. Don't ask me how much this cost, I just knew I loved it a lot, and would certainly remember my trip to the shop!

Check out the Modell Center Hünerbein website. And if you are in Aachen, pay it a visit! 

Germany 2025

While you've been enjoying my posts, and possibly wondering why they were a little more random than usual, I've been on my travels. 

A few months ago, I read that there is a plan to "decarbonise" the Harz Mountain Railway in Germany. This, I assume, means fewer steam engines and more diesels. Now, I'd always had it in mind that this was a line I'd like to visit one day, so perhaps this day was arriving? 

Over the last year, a few events have made me realise that life is short. Perhaps I need to seize the day a bit. Blow a chunk of savings on ticking off a few places I want to visit, and just get stuff done. My trip to Switzerland last year worked well, and I had been pondering taking another with the same company. 

Sadly, the Harz trips didn't work for me with the show calendar, so I dropped Ffestiniog Travel a line and asked what they could do. After a little discussion, a rough itinerary was supplied, along with an invoice. My plan included both the Harz, and, more importantly, the Wuppertal. Riding the Schwebebahn has been on my "bucket list" for decades. All the travel was to be by train, because this is the best way to move around, if not the cheapest. 

Anyway, in a week the plan was Eurostar to Brussels and then on to Aachen for my first night. After that, some more ICE action to Wernigerode for three nights, so allow me to experience the HSB. After that, back on the train to Wuppertal for a couple of nights, followed by a reasonably epic dash back home. 

I'll be honest, I was worried about doing all this. I speak no German, and while the itinerary was very comprehensive, I was on my own, albeit with limited support from the travel office. However, the fact that I'm writing this tells you I made it. And will now bring you some edited highlights over the next few (OK, many) days. 

And in case anyone is wondering why I didn't save cash by booking this all myself, preferring to use an old-fashioned travel agent, it's simple. For a start, I'm not confident about ticking all the boxes. More to the point, left to my own devices, I simply wouldn't get around to it. There's always something more important to do. Let's face it, I felt guilty enough about taking the time off as it was. No, I needed to be able to say, "Get me here, here and here" and have someone who knows what they are doing sort out the details. Which is pretty much how it worked out. 

 

Stafford 2025

 

An early start to be at Stafford show on the Sunday. Along with York, this is a show for me, not necessarily for work. 

First stop is always the second-hand stall. They usually extract some money from me, but this year, it had been stripped pretty much clean by all the people on Saturday! That's good news for the club, as numbers through the door were good, and probably good news for me as I don't really need any more toy train stuff. As it was I picked up a couple of turnout operating units that appear to be commercially made. Cheap enough for me to have a proper look at some point in the future. 

I consoled myself with hot chocolate and cake. Both excellent, but when did railway modellers start ordering fancy coffee with a "shot of whichhazel" or other pretentious demands? What happened to a dunked teabag, or cup of instant? Fussy coffee slows up the queue, and stops me getting to my cake!

The layout selection was excellent this year. Not a single space-filler. I picked up a few photo shoots for BRM, which I'll sort over the next few months. And we'd already featured quite a few on our pages in the past - always the sign of a quality show. 

Trade was also good. Were money no object, an Aster G1 German steam loco would have found its way into the back of the car. As it was, I've picked up some new TT:120 models. To be honest, I'm not short of projects for either work or me, so the day was more about wandering around, chatting and enjoying the trains. 

All of which, the show did admirably.  

Saturday Film Club: Load your wagons

Another of my World of Railways videos has been released into the wild, this time showing how to load those empty wagons running on your layout. 

Turbo car upgrades

 

Drop into the model railway club often enough, and you see some sights. Recently, one of the madder OO gauge team had a Tri-ang Battlespace Turbo, also known as the best thing ever made for model railways, and alongside it was a set of reproduction stickers. 

At least one of my Turbos could do with some sticker help, so I asked about the supplier. Apparently, it's some guy on eBay who posts occasionally. I'll be keeping an eye out, as although these are thicker than the originals, they don't look bad, and certainly better than battered, or missing, decoration. 

Under that sleek exterior, this Turbo car hides another secret. It's been fitted with DCC control!

Apparently, this is a reasonably easy task, with no sacrifices required to make the witchcraft work. I'm not convinced, but it does run OK...

Garden Rail November 2025

 

Think big – and not just in your back garden! This month, we spotlight Warton Road, a stunning Gauge 3 layout that’s too impressive to stay at home, you can catch it live at the National Festival of Railway Modelling at the NEC this November. Until then, dive into its story in our latest issue.

Also inside:

• England locomotives in 16mm scale – classic charm in miniature
• Design your own station nameboard – easy step-by-step guide
• Laying solid foundations – essential tips for your garden railway
• Build a budget Hudswell-Clarke loco – great results without breaking the bank
• Chelfam station – a masterpiece you can recreate
• A mobile pub for your line – quirky, fun, and full of character

Plus, this month’s Postcards from the Vale of the White Horse Railway, all the latest product news for large scale modellers, and our biggest competition ever – win a Gauge 3 steam locomotive worth £2495!

  

Warehouse Wednesday: City centre slipway

 

 

Right in the centre of York, there is a sizable boat slipway. It appears to be a private facility for City Cruises, as one of their boats is visible in the air in the photos, and I couldn't find any mention of it online. 

This must fit firmly in the "prototype for everything" box, as if you built something like this on a layout, people would think it made up. 

Google shows just how compact the site is, and it's hardly visible from the street. 

Useful for a model? Maybe. Stick a Kibri Ferry Boat kit on it, and you have a pretty good approximation. 

Finished flat

 

One final job on the flat wagon - applying the transfers. Easier to do than to photograph, I assure you. 

Those supplied in the kit are of really nice quality, and there are three sets provided in case it all goes wrong. Simply cut as close to the lettering as possible, give them a bath in water, and then position on the wagon. Slide the backing paper away, and when happy with the position, dab with some kitchen towel. 

All the model needs now is a coat of matt varnish to protect the plastic from UV light, and it's good to go. 

You could argue that these look very similar to Accucraft RTR models, and I'd agree. That's not a bad thing though, as the RTR stock has gone up in price and become harder to buy. These, for a lot less money, look the part, run well, and stand up to typical handling. 

However, my wagon box is now full. Please don't tempt me to build another one. Mind you, I have the skip wagons...
 

Woodleigh flat wagon

 

Now I have a stock box for the 16mm, 45mm gauge goods wagons, there is space for another one - as long as it's a flat wagon. Now, I very nearly bought one at the Llanfair show, but held back for fear of needing another box. 

Problem solved, so at Barrow Hill show, I availed myself of Woodleigh Engineering's bargain show deal for one of their 3D printed wagon kits. £20 for all you need to build a wagon? How can anyone go wrong? 

As is usual with Woodleigh, all the parts are FDM printed in the correct colours. When I first saw this, it blew me away!

Work starts by pulling away a little flash. You can see some around the solebars in the top photo - it comes away cleanly with hardly any use of a craft knife. The main area I needed one was at the ends of the brake lever, but we're still talking minimum skill levels. 

Bearings are "pressed" into the back of the axleboxes with a few taps of a tiny hammer. The rest of the construction relies on superglue, and the excellent part fit. 

One upgrade I've made to my other two Woodleigh wagons, is replacing the 3D printed wheels with Accucraft metal ones. It's not essential, the current wheels aren't bad, but these are such excellent wagons, metal wheels are a worthwhile upgrade. Icing on the cake. 

Build time was a little over half an hour. OK, this isn't my first model from this manufacturer, but I didn't bother downloading the instructions either.  

 

Yorkshire Garden Railway show 2025

 

 

You can't have missed that the modern railway is 200 years old this year. All sorts of events are taking place to commemorate this milestone - one of which was the Yorkshire 16mm group and their plan to have 200 locomotive wheels running on a layout at the Barrow Hill show. 

I was invited to don the Garden Rail tweed jacket, and record the event for publication.  At 12:30, I was there with cameras, trying to find a spot where the light wasn't terrible, and no identifiable children could be seen (the paperwork is a pain) which lead me, and one the hall managers to one corner of the line. 

As you can see, it was a little chaotic, but in a very good way. I've no idea if the 200 wheels target was reached, but there was lots of steam, and many little locos running around the layout. It was fabulous. 

Elsewhere, the trade was very good, layouts interesting, and catering a bit slow, but more than acceptable. 

I rarely indulge in a custard slice, and when I do, I remember why - they are so messy to eat! Even with a knife and fork this must be one of the hardest cakes to consume, and this was a small one! Very tasty though. 

Barrow Hill is a fascinating location for the railway enthusiast. The exhibits were spread among the locos standing around the turntable.

Every so often, it was spun around for our entertainment. 

Next to the main shed is one for the Deltic Preservation Society. It turns out a know a few members, and so was allowed into the cab of  "Tulyar" to have a look around. 

It's comfortable, but suspect that's only the case because we were in a shed. The extra noise insulation behind the driver, a late fitment, suggests that all was not perfect when the locos were new. 

All in all, a fantastic day out. I managed to buy a flat wagon kit, and didn't buy the stunning steam-fitted tugboat for £1500. Well, I have too many boats still to build, it was a lot of money, although a stunning bargain, and I'm not sure I have the skills to look after such a model. Well, that's what I'm telling myself.  

Saturday Film Club: How to build a Shannon class lifeboat

I've not done any model boat building this year. Maybe watching the pros doing it might inspire me? 

Mystery point

Picked up for a couple of quid from a preserved railway, this point is an interesting mystery. Three-rail, and obviously hand-made, it could well be heading toward proper antique status. 

I'm wondering if the chairs are Bonds - but I think those tend to be chunkier. 

So, over to you. In the grand scheme of things, identifying the components isn't important, but it is a bit of fun. (All the pictures are clickable for a better look). 

 

Dray time in BRM November

 

It's BRM time again, and this month I've built a horse-drawn dray from the venerable Peco kit. Conceived as a quick project, it's this month's 4-step build, I really like the end result. OK, I've tweaked it a little, but considering the age of the kit, it's come up very well. 

Elsewhere, I've been out with the camera. 

At Glasgow, I shot the O gauge "Glebe Street". 

 And at Bristol, picked up the EM gauge 'North Cornwall Brewery"

 

Warehouse Wednesday: Whitley Bay station, and a K4!

 

Thanks to Duncan for his photos taken around Whitley Bay station. The building is impressive, and interesting to see the addition of the Metro sign on the front - a subtle addition that doesn't IMHO detract from the architecture. 

But, this isn't the exciting bit. While there, he found a K4 telephone box!

The K4 wasn't a great success. A large lump of a box, it is fitted with a stamp machine. The trouble was that even if sufficient space could be found for one, the stamps tended to get damp, and stick together. When the machine was being used, it was so noisy, talking on the telephone in the box wasn't possible. 

Only 50 examples were installed, and most have vanished, so finding one "in the wild" is exciting. I've only ever seen them in preservation. 

You can see the box on Google Street View. Duncan tells me the phone is out of use, but as these boxes are all Grade II listed, presumably it will need to be restored. 

Little people

 

It's time to play, spot the personality!

Having videod Redbridge Wharf some time ago, it seems that they have commemorated my visit with a couple of 3D printed Phils among the people on the layout. I was challenged to spot them, but failed completely. In my defence, it's a big layout, and I was tight for time. 

So, if you go down to the wharf today, look on the station footbridge, where I can be found getting a face full of soot. 

I'm also spotting in the corner of a field towards the left hand side of the model. 

I'm not alone. Last year, Rapido's own Corwin was scanned with his head in his hands. Unbeknownst to him, his colleagues had a load of models printed, and set them up around the show. The one I spotted was on the excellent Bowaters layout.

Don't expect to see him in future though, the layout owner was very clear, this is a one show-deal!

More Giraffe photos

 

You've got to hand it to the Rapido team. Inspired by my video, they dropped everything and printed a couple of giraffe heads, and were colouring them with paint pens within 20 minutes. 

The AK pens are pretty effective, and obviously ideal for quick jobs. Worth remembering for the future. 

I was presented with both heads at the end of the show, and I'm really chuffed with them. 

While there, we also took the chance to give a traditional Tri-ang car a quick wizz along Overlord. 

Rapido Railex 2025

 

Ahh, Maidenhead. This year, I managed the run down there in under 6 hours, and arrived in time to help set up the stand. Useful, as I'm tall enough to assemble the light boxes without a ladder. 

This was the year of the giraffe car protests. As you will remember from last week's post, the Rapido mob had started a beef with me over the lack of giraffe transport in their latest announcements. So, I turned up with a petition. 

They had other ideas. When we got to the stand on Friday, a cuddly giraffe looked down on us from the top of the light box, and another had appeared in the water tank of my little layout. 

Actually, it's a very nice 3D printed model, which was under construction 20 minutes after my video dropped. There was another in the official display cabinet. 

Anyway, I worked the room with the petition, getting some dubious sorts to add names to it. 

I'm not actually convinced everyone was taking it seriously - the first name was Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and Simon "Mr Hornby" Kohler also appeared, even though we didn't see him. However, he's since promised to sign, so all is good. 

By the end of the two days, we had nearly 100 names on the pages, and I presented them to Andy Hardy, Rapido UK big boss. He looked impressed. 

I think we can take it that soon there will be a new addition to the range...

The show was as ever, great fun. Star of our stand, was Chris Mead's swimming pool model, which appears in the current issue of BRM. So many people were captivated by the vivid blue water, and he kept having to abandon his layout Overlord, to explain the resin process. 

Elsewhere, I photographed one layout, and have the details for a couple of others to squeeze into my busy calendar. 

Cake? Well, nothing worth speaking of in the hall, but on my way back from lunch, I detoured through the adjacent cinema, and found a cake stand. I couldn't resist the Duffins. Very nice too, and my little giraffe friend didn't seem quite so keen!