Model Rail

Model Rail magazine is the UK's biggest-selling magazine dedicated to railway modelling. Every issue is packed with the country’s finest home and club layouts, stunning photography, unbiased and in-depth product reviews, expert tips, layout plans and step-by-step articles that really show you how. In our unique ‘Workbench’ section, we tackle a wide range of modeling skills and projects. Our expert writers and model-makers will help you to get the most from your hobby and build the layout of your dreams. Model Rail is published 13 times a year, every four weeks.

Welcome

Opening the box • The latest happenings from the world of model railways

LMS ‘BLACK FIVE’ LEADS HORNBY’S ‘TT:120’ APRIL RANGE LAUNCH

OTHER ‘TT:120’ HIGHLIGHTS

BRUSH TYPE 2 ADDED TO DIESEL ROSTER

HOPPING TO IT: THREE ALL-NEW ‘TT’ WAGONS

LATEST HORNBY ‘OO’ ARRIVALS

WELSH WONDER

ACCURASCALE SETS THE PACE

LEYLAND UNITS MOVE TO ACCURASCALE

NEW ‘SHEDS’ ON THE WAY

EXCLUSIVE ‘TRACTOR’ ADDED TO RANGE

HELJAN’S STEAM RAILCAR IS A FIRST

PECKETT AND MORE WAGONS FROM RAPIDO

WELL-ROUNDED SUBJECTS FOR RAPIDO

EFE ‘T3’ STEAMS IN

BACHMANN REVS UP FOR ALL-NEW ‘TURBOSTAR’

NEW VENUE FOR MILTON KEYNES SHOW

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

SUPER LINESIDE CABINETRY

Modeller’s Bookshelf • Richard Gunn and George Dent present a quarter of new titles that will inform and inspire your modelling.

ON THE WORKBENCH • What new items have appeared in George’s workshop this month?

PIT PONY CLUB

MEET ME AT THE CHAPEL

HERD INSTINCT

EXHIBITION DIARY - MAY 9-JUNE 7 2026

Unusual scenes captured by the lens of Chris Nevard

News Real • Our full-size railways are constantly evolving, providing fresh inspiration for modelling projects. BEN JONES looks at a few of the latest developments that could soon be appearing on our layouts.

Staff Show & Tell GOING GREEN • With a yellow ‘PWM’ already at work in his engineers’ yard, George Dent recently added a green version of the R&H 0-6-0DE to his fleet, giving it a suitably work-stained appearance.

SIZE ISN’T EVERYTHING

SMOKE… WITHOUT FIRE

Inside track with Ben Ando

SHELF LIFE • Who needs a railway room when you can build a layout in your office? Kevin Crane demonstrates how vertical thinking solved his space problem.

3 things we like

Workbench • Inspirational projects, advice and top tips that show you how

HOW TO BUILD WHIMSY PIT PART 1 • Two become one as Chris Nevard lets his imagination run wild, carving up ‘Moorewood Colliery’ and ‘Windmill Sidings’ to create one single layout, complete with standard gauge conversion…

HOW TO MUCK UP A COLAS CLASS 70 • After something of a hiccup, George Dent found the motivation - and a suitable set of decals - to finish a weathering job on a Bachmann model.

HOW TO BUILD A MODERN INDUSTRIAL UNIT – FROM SCRATCH • Making structures from scratch can be a far more satisfying - if time-consuming - project, and it offers the chance to create something truly unique, as Peter Marriot discovers.

A true survivor • It’s hard to believe that steam locomotives can still be found in industrial use in Europe, but a special wartime survivor - a close relative of the Southern’s ‘USA’ S100 class tanks - is still at work in Bosnia in 2026.

HOW TO CUSTOMISE A ‘USA’ TANK FOR INDUSTRY • Inspired by a Yugoslavian Class 62 still at work in Bosnia, George Dent transformed a ‘USA’ tank into a freelance industrial locomotive that has survived well into the diesel age.

SHOW & TELL • The place to share your projects with the Model Rail community.

YORK RACECOURSE • York is one of Britain’s great...