Model Railways

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Featuring Hornby Magazine 

Read the full Hornby Magazine issue in PDF format or dip into our reformatted online features for KeyModelWorld at your leisure. 

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Latest news and features from model railway on Key Model World

Waterman sets model railway World Record

Pete Waterman OBE set a new Guinness World Record for the World's largest portable model railway with Making Tracks: The Final Frontier at Model World LIVE on April 27 2024.

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Banana Van Bonanza

Southern Railway banana vans are the latest additions to Accurascale’s rapidly expanding ‘OO’ gauge range. BEN CHURCH casts a glance at these ap-peel-ing new arrivals.

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Rapido GWR ‘Mink A’ van

A year after the better known Great Western Railway (GWR) ‘Iron Mink’ vans arrived, Rapido Trains UK has developed its wooden-bodied ‘Mink A’ cousins in ‘OO’ gauge.

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Flying Scotsman: the amazing story of the world’s most famous locomotive

Eight years on from its last publication in print, Andrew Roden has re-released and remastered his bestselling volume Flying Scotsman in e-book form on Kindle and Apple iBooks, incorporating new information and insights and the locomotive’s career following its triumphant return to service in 2016.

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Class 59 Revolution

The General Motors Class 59 Co-Co diesels were a revolution in freight haulage on the British railway network on arrival, but can Revolution Trains do the same for ‘N’ gauge with its all-new model of the design? MIKE WILD finds out.

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3D-Printed Cable Trunking

Expanding on its impressive roster of line-side detailing items comes a comprehensive suite of 4mm scale cable trunking from West Hill Wagon Works.

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MGR Coal Trains

Amberley Publishing’s roster of railway books is bolstered by the addition of MGR Coal Trains, a retrospective photographic reminder of these important coal trains.

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Railways Remembered: North East England

First in a new series called ‘Railways Remembered’, this new publication from Crecy is a well-produced and high-quality look back at the railways in North East England from the 1950s to 1970s. The book covers steam, diesel and electric traction on main lines and the region’s many industrial railways.

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Latest model railway videos

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Fairwood Junction

One of the star attractions at the 2024 Great Electric Train Show is STEVE JONES’ brilliant contemporary recreation of this important Great Western Main Line junction in ‘OO’ which showcases the huge variety of the modern railway.

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Hope Street - the pre-grouping era in 7mm scale

A pre-Grouping goods station is the setting for JOHN BUCK’S evocative ‘O’ gauge layout, which brings to life a long-gone but once commonplace scene.Photography, Jonathan Newton

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Quarry Hunslet Digital Sound

Fitting DCC sound in Bachmann’s tiny ‘OO9’ gauge model is difficult – but as John Gay explains, is possible, bringing it to life beautifully.

Bachmann Narrow Gauge Baguley-Drewry 4wDM for OO9 gauge. Review Premium

Bachmann Baguley-Drewry 70HP diesel

Bachmann’s long-awaited ‘OO9’ gauge Baguley-Drewry diesel locomotives are here five years after they were first announced, but have they been worth the wait? BEN CHURCH takes a closer look.

SERIES 8: Digital Sound - installing ESU LokSound chips

The fourth part of our new Digital Sound video series is here focusing on ESU LokSound decoders. In this part we had sound to a Bachmann 'OO9' Mainline Hunslet, a Dapol Class 68 and a Bachmann BR '5MT' 4-6-0. Discover how we completed the installations here.

Locoman Sounds BR 2MT sound installation guide Feature Premium

Locoman Sounds for the Hornby BR ‘2MT’ 2-6-0

The recently released Hornby BR ‘2MT’ 2-6-0 is an attractive locomotive, but challenging for sound installation. MIKE WILD explains how he fitted a powerful speaker into the tender with an ESU chip from Locoman Sounds.

Melin Llechi 16mm narrow gauge layout Feature Premium

Melin Llechi

The slate industry of North Wales is the theme of this evocative 16mm:1ft scale narrow gauge layout. THOMAS ASHCROFT-DOMONEY outlines its origins and operation.Photography, Jonathan Newton

SERIES 8 Part 3: Digital Sound - installing ZIMO chips

Part 3 of our new digital sound video series is available now exclusively for Premium Subscribers. In this video we show how the ZIMO decoder family can be installed in a Bachmann Class 40 and a Hornby '9F' 2-10-0 with simple tools and readily available speakers.

Click here to watch our full collection of model railway videos.


 

Latest model railway reviews

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Banana Van Bonanza

Southern Railway banana vans are the latest additions to Accurascale’s rapidly expanding ‘OO’ gauge range. BEN CHURCH casts a glance at these ap-peel-ing new arrivals.

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Dapol ‘N’ gauge Class 59

The first of a pair of ‘59s’ is reviewed by MARK CHIVERS – but how does it compare to its new rival?

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3D-Printed Cable Trunking

Expanding on its impressive roster of line-side detailing items comes a comprehensive suite of 4mm scale cable trunking from West Hill Wagon Works.

Review Premium

MGR Coal Trains

Amberley Publishing’s roster of railway books is bolstered by the addition of MGR Coal Trains, a retrospective photographic reminder of these important coal trains.

Review Premium

Railways Remembered: North East England

First in a new series called ‘Railways Remembered’, this new publication from Crecy is a well-produced and high-quality look back at the railways in North East England from the 1950s to 1970s. The book covers steam, diesel and electric traction on main lines and the region’s many industrial railways.

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RailRoad Class 101 returns

Hornby’s enduring Class 101 DMU is back, offering an important train for BR era modellers. BEN CHURCH sees if it stands up to present-day scrutiny.

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Class 68s in Profile

Another recent addition from Key Publishing is this in-depth look at Direct Rail Services’ (DRS) Class 68s. The company ordered an initial 15 in 2012 to complete the replacement of its elderly Class 20s, but the Stadler-built locomotives have proved far more versatile.

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Class 59 Revolution

The General Motors Class 59 Co-Co diesels were a revolution in freight haulage on the British railway network on arrival, but can Revolution Trains do the same for ‘N’ gauge with its all-new model of the design? MIKE WILD finds out.

Click here to read our full collection of model railway product reviews.