Model of the Month

By Graham Ashby I picked up the Mamod at the end of 2005/2006 Kent area Groups’ winter indoor steaming for £40. There was a possibility that it was a non-runner but I took a chance; 1, on the engine and 2, on what my wife would say. The engine was put on a shelf in [...]

By Tim Gregson  A long time ago before I had fully discovered the delights of 16mm modelling I happened to pick up a copy of Issue 100 of GardenRail in and on page 25 discovered a rather delightful Garratt locomotive built by a Mr. Peter Angus. The article proudly proclaimed "To commemorate the momentous milestone [...]

By Dave Mees Castell Caernarfon awaits its duties on our line in North Wales The Prototypes C H Funkey & Co (Pty) of Alberton, near Johannesburg built the loco and its sister which became Vale of Ffestiniog for work at a diamond mine in Namibia, the build date being uncertain. The pair went on to [...]

By Bert Coules My first bit of Mamod bashing, shortly after the original SL1 loco first appeared back in 1980, was a vague approximation to the small George England tanks which were the Festiniog Railway's first ever steam power.   Shortly afterwards it occurred to me that the same line's first Fairlie was essentially two of [...]

By Brian Dominic ESME was an IP Engineering "Lollypop Railcar" acquired at the 16mm Association's AGM & Convention in April 2004. It is pictured here on 5th May 2004, complete with name and number plates, on the MDLR's first working of the day - the "up explosives". Note that this whole train was built in [...]

By Brian Dominic The Rat (numbered 25 in the MDLR Stock List because Class 25s were known as "Rats") was one of those bonkers ideas modellers get from time to time. I bought one of these with the express intention of causing havoc on occasions at garden railway meetings and creating a diversion when things [...]

By Derek Wiggins Most people tend to remember Mike Chaney for a whole range of engineering modifications for the ubiquitous Mamod. You could deal with him directly, or buy through such people as Salem Steam Models. He has, however, built a whole range of locomotives, of which ‘Hero’ is one. I knew nothing about the [...]

By Nigel Town The Christmas holiday usually presents the opportunity for a bit of modelling. Last year I managed to make some progress with a Glyn Valley Tramway brakevan. This van has been modelled by others previously so there’s nothing especially novel about the prototype. This model has been built plank for plank like the [...]

By Keith Skillicorn In 1863 the first of the little George England tank locos came to work on the Festiniog Railway. Whilst everyone knows them in their current modified form with the saddle tank and full cab, it may come as a surprise to some that they began their lives in a very different form. [...]

By Alan Price In our last home, I had a good garden railway that kept me occupied and which saw a lot of development and evolution. Being a sloping site, the line originally began at ground level, then went to waist-height. I never got round to making the intended girder truss bridge, making do instead [...]