Continental Modeller

As has become customary, this issue includes the second part of our annual report of new product announcements for the coming year, covering N, TT, Z, O, 1, narrow gauge, G, and selected structures and scenics. Our report has to be presented over two issues, for reasons of time and space – it would otherwise fill one issue, and in any case could not be completed before the deadline. Despite the ‘instant’ availability of information on line, we hope that a carefully collated presentation will reveal things of interest which might otherwise be missed. The Spielwarenmesse in Nürnberg in February has declined in significance for the model railway sector, but many model railway manufacturers, large and small, still choose to announce their plans for the coming year around this time…

After moving from Italy to the UK I had a few years break from railway modelling. A new country and a new job meant that the priorities were on other subjects. A few years later, my wife asked me why I had several removal boxes full of model railway stuff and was not doing anything with them. So, I started to have some interest in the hobby again and joined the local club in Milton Keynes in 2015. After some headscratching as to what kind of layout I would like to build, and measuring the garage, I started building at the beginning of 2016. As on my previous layout I combined narrow and standard gauge, as I think this makes the layout more interesting for both operators and visitors. But…

Sometimes, all it takes is noticing a single element, perhaps seemingly insignificant at first glance, for the mind to wander and invent a story, sometimes far removed from its own. In this case, an antediluvian painted wooden sign was the starting point for a small creative project to tell an alternative story through a freely inspired scene. A very old sign, or at least what remains of it, overlooking an entrance archway: this is all I needed to create a different story about this feature. Step 1 This entirely invented story will be summarised in a ‘simple’ scene, using basic materials like foam board and plaster, primed with enamel paints. Step 2 Once everything was completely dry, I resorted to my usual flaking techniques, using a wide range of Vallejo/Prince…

Many of you will probably know the Beatles song Back in the USSR, but for me this is ‘Back in the DDR’. My previous East German layout was Neuburg (CM March 2018). That served me well for around four years and attended many shows. It was on the way back from a show in early 2024 that I was mulling over the idea of either building a new layout or modifying an existing one. The latter won and it was Neuburg that was sacrificed to become a Scottish themed layout set in the 1960s. I have to say it took a lot of courage to take the wrecking ball to a layout I was fond of, but it happened, and the result was very satisfactory; but that is a story…

Locomotives A recent book, The Transition Years, details the locos that were allocated to the various depots around the state from the 1950s, before diesels arrived, through to the end of steam. From this I could even find the number of particular locos allocated to depots in the area where the layout is set. Narrandera depot, which would have supplied locos for the Hay line, was home to one 19 class 0-6-0, ten 30T class 4-6-0, and one 32 class 4-6-0 in 1950. In 1960 it had one 25 2-6-0, ten 30T, and two 32s. By 1964 the depot at Narrandera had been closed and diesels based at Junee provided motive power in the area. In addition to the steam locos, Narrandera was home to CPH railmotors and 600/700 class…

European Loc Pool (ELP) is a locomotive leasing provider which focuses on leasing Stadler six-axle hybrid locos with an output of up to 2.8MW diesel, 9MW electric and a tractive force of 500kN, with the standard fitting of ETCS Baseline 3 for operation on Category 2 routes. The first Eurodual locos from ELP have been in service on the German network since April 2020 enabling operation on both electrified and non-electrified lines as well as last-mile and shunting operations. ELP has established a partnership with railCare, a Co-op Group company specialising in transport for Co-op and other customers in Switzerland. railCare signed a twelve-year full-service lease agreement for three Euro 9000 locomotives with ELP in 2023. The first was tested and approved at the Stadler plant in Valencia in mid-May…