The Garden Rail team don't just write about large-scale railways, once a year, at the National Garden Railway Show, we build one too! Read how we got on with our “Layout in a Day” as well as all the other news from the event.
On the workbench this month:
Bonsai trees
Lights for coaches
A 16mm scale bi-plane
Adding a standard gauge feeder line
Building a tunnel maintenance train
A modular garden line
Fettling a Mike's Models loco
Building a SAR brake van
Plus lots of news for the garden railway enthusiast.

Garden Rail January issue is available now

Does a garden railway mean loads of expensive rolling stock? Dave Skertchly doesn't think so, which is why the idiosyncratic “Vale of Weedol Tramway” is such a delight. With an entertaining history, this little line provides pleasure to its builder, and the good people of Wales where it is set.
Over on the workbench
We find out how the buildings for Bourton-on-the-Water model village are built and maintained
Building a “Greendale railmotor”
Timpdon Models small brake van
Wodeleigh Engineering's W&L open wagon
Spooners “Boat”
A vintage steam railcar from Locomotion

All this, plus the latest new products for the garden railway modeller.

Garden Rail November issue is available now

Grandpa William enjoys a fine-looking garden railway, and so do three generations of his family who are now taking the time to share it with the public to raise money for charity. Our photos transport you back to sunny days as you read how this lovely line was built.
On the workbench this month:
Building a Boot Lane Works tram kit
Laser cutting to produce bespoke nameplates
Building skips wagons
Free files to produce LNWR water cranes and towers
Horses for railway trains
We also take a look at the Bachmann G scale loco that changed the world, as well as all the latest news for large-scale model railway enthusiasts.

Do you have a shed? Is it full of G gauge railway? Eddie Spencer is lucky enough that his answer to both questions is yes! So, when it's too wet to run on the outdoor line, he can still have friends round for some train fun.

In the rest of the magazine:

We talk to Sinisa Stanisic from LGB
Developing a bogie electric locomotive
Pedal cars and Bond motors
A summer of development at Lazy Grange
Looking back at vintage steam
Building a German brickworks locomotive
3D printing “Flying Scotsman” in Gauge 1

Plus all the latest Product News for large scale railway enthusiasts.

Garden Rail August issue is on sale now

Crossing paths with inset model railway track

Creating a flush, ‘tram’ style G-scale track by Peter Hobbs

Don’t be a Square – Get a Round Tuit! By Mark  atcher

Building the Talyllyn Railway Dolgoch Viaduct by Simon Atkinson

What do you do when your garden is on the site of an old castle? Name your railway after it of course! The Cleobury Castle Light Railway is Ken Walsh's second foray into 16mm outdoors, and he shares the tricks he has learned in our June issue.

Moving on to the practical features:
Servicing a Vale of Rheidol Railway locomotive
Building a Festiniog 'might have been' brake van
Chinese railway coaches
A 16mm scale canal boat
Create a miniature Talyllyn layout
A coal yard for your line
Scratchbuilding inclined plane wagons

We also review the Accucraft Shay, and bring you the latest Product News.

A 100-year-old model railway? The Fairplex Garden Railroad was established in Los Angeles in 1924 as part of a model boat display. Now it is home to over 10,000 feet of G gauge track, and some stunning scenery, operated by a trained team of volunteers.

On the workbench, we have:
Building a trestle bridge
Anglicising Bachmann's “Big Hauler”
3D printing an Irish railcar
Making a DHR van
Painting people
Scratchbuilding GVT coaches

Plus all the latest Product News for the garden railway enthusiast.

There are two influences on our lead layout this month – owner Phil Clarke's love of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, and a Spinone puppy who can demolish a train in seconds! A high level line full of L&B locomotives ticks all the boxes, and provides a substitute for driving real trains.

On the workbench:
Mark Thatcher looks a budget range of kits
Building a McEwan Pratt locomotive, and something suitable for an estate railway
Creating stunning buildings
Building a low loader wagon

Plus all the latest product news for the large scale modeller.

March brings you a bumper issue of Garden Rail. This month, our lead layout is the stunning Lazy Grange Bay 3, built by Michael Duffy. This isn't just a garden railway, it's an entire world in miniature!

On the workbench this month:
A 16mm fish van
Anglicising a pair of Gauge 1 railbuses
Sorting out a live steam Hunslet with new radio control
Refurbishing lineside details
Turning a G scale diesel into a steam tram
Building a real life diesel-electric locomotive
Creating a locomotive from cardboard
A 3D printed snowplough

There's also all the latest new products for modellers, and a review of the Regner Guinness live steam locomotive.

And finally, the complete show guide for the Midlands Garden Rail show!

We capture the last days of Charlie Walton's Hylands Light Railway, before a house move means it will be relocated. The unusual, and simple design, would work perfectly for many people. It's certainly a hit with his granddaughter!

We've a bumper selection of practical projects this month:
Building a laser-cut permanent way locomotive kit.
Stock boxes for wagons and coaches.
A simple steam tram.
Miniature lamp posts.
Scratchbuilding a Bagnall wagon.
A first London tramcar.
Refurbishing an older model.
A simple four-wheel coach.

Plus, all the new products for modellers in the larger scales including four new locomotive announcements!

Star of social media and local TV, the Jersey-based HSBA railway comes to Garden Rail. Built by Curtis and Nikki Stanier, this beautiful, G scale line is regularly open to the public, and has raised a huge amount for charity along the way.

As a special treat for December, we also visit the Arrowbear outdoor Lego railway in the USA.

With winter on the way, and the workbench beckoning, we bring you some fun projects: :

Building a rail truck from a souvenir.
Adding fish traffic to your line
Building a railcar from a damaged coach
A selection of small, fun, locomotives
And if all this is too much, we prove that garden railways are good for you!

Plus our usual extensive new of new products for the large-scale modeller.

Inspired by none other than PD Hancock, Alistair Ross built the Conegra Road Garden Railway around his garden, featuring some impressive and innovative bridges and viaducts, using materials you might not expect to find in a garden.

On the workbench, we have:

A goods shed for Lynton
16mm scale footbridge
An electric Peckett locomotive
Part two of the Boot Lane 'Nancy' build
A G scale passenger train in only 6ft
An automatic signal – which we are giving away the 3D Prints files to let you build.

Plus details of new products for modellers in the larger scales from around the world.

40 years to build a garden railway? To be fair, Andrew Armstrong's layout, the Blackhead Light Railway, has been rebuilt several times in different locations, and there has been plenty learned along the way.

We've a fine selection of workbench features too:

Building 'Edward' from the railway stories in G scale
Measuring the power of a steam locomotive
Scratchbuilding a Kerr Stuart diesel
Fitting wagon wheels
Building a wooden wagon kit

There's also a review of Roundhouse Engineering's latest loco – Harrogate as well as a range of laser-cut platform trolleys.

Welcome to the August 2023 digital edition of BRM.

Enjoy the excellent August issue of BRM with all this extra content on top…

Digital extras this month! 
* FREE issue of Garden Rail Magazine 
* 3 BONUS layouts 
* 34 EXCLUSIVE images 
* 5 EXTRA videos 

What’s Inside BRM August

FOUR AMAZING LAYOUTS
* Weaver Hill (OO)
* Killybegs (10mm:1ft)
* Ashgate (OO9)
* Low Fell (N)

PRACTICAL ADVICE
* Weathering road vehicles
* Modelling fish vans 
* Painting plastic loads
* How to transport your rolling stock
* Top tips for wheel cleaning 
* Ballasting basics explored
* Build a shed of a Wickham trolley

PLUS
* The history of fish vans explored
* Reviews of the new Dapol B4 and M7, Sonic Models J50, Hornby’s new Class 08 and Scotrail Class 153, Rapido Trains 20T brake van, plus much more!
* A round-up of the latest headlines from the model railway world this month

Enjoy the issue!

Variety is the spice of life on the Greendale & Brownhill Railway. Rupert Conner and his family have built not so much 'an 0 scale' railway, more 'a no scale' railway where anything goes. From vintage steam to the latest 3D printed locomotives, all have a place in the line.
 

Also in this issue:

Opening your garden railway to the public.

Building a budget radio control system.

Electric motors for your models, how do you pick the best?

A 3D printed GWR water tower – and the free files to make your own.

Cooper-Craft kits are back, we build the entire 16mm scale range.

Steam oil for your locomotive.

 

Plus the latest product news for the large-scale modeller.

Garden railways are more than just track and trains. The Stella and Corglass Railway has provided its builder, Peter Dawes with a focus while he recovered from illness, and terrific friendships along the way. Both line and owner are now thriving, a tribute to our hobby. 

Also in this issue:
Part 2 of our Cornish pumphouse build. 
The wonderful world of tipper wagons. 
Building Ivor in G scale. 
Coaches from cardboard. 
Plants for garden railways. 

Plus all the latest product news for larger-scale modellers.

Many railway enthusiasts dream of crack express locomotives thundering past their garden, well Peter Hollingsworth has them thundering around his - his Gauge 3 layout has taken over the entire plot, and his family is perfectly happy. They even get involved with the modelling!

Also in the magazine: 
Building a Cornish pumping house
A laser-cut Isle of Man shelter
Scratchbuilding a Bagnall locomotive
A simple brake van conversion
Getting started designing for 3D print

Plus all the latest news for the large-scale modeller. 

We've a bumper issue this month, with not one, but two feature layouts, and they couldn't be more different.

First, there is Pen-Y-Bont, Steve Howard's amazing indoor garden railway that's a slice of Wales, but with real plants as the backdrop. You'll be amazed at the realism and atmosphere created, and the ingenuity of the design.

Next, there is Loft City Central, a huge Playmobil layout normally found in owner Brendon Baker's attic. It's bright, busy and one to delight kids of all ages.

Both will be appearing at the Midlands Garden Rail show – the guide for which can be found in our pages.

On the workbench we have a PW railcar, platform footbridge, bolster wagons and loads, turning a German classic into a British locomotive and perhaps the most realistic platelayers hut in the larger scales.

Not forgetting all the latest Product News and a review of Roundhouse Engineering's Roundhouse Darjeeling C Class Pacific.

Welcome to the February issue of Garden Rail. Included in this issue:
• The Newton and Southlands Tramway
• Building a Wild West Loco
• Building a Penryhn Coal Wagon
• The Inglenook Railway Sidings
Plus diary dates, readers models and much more!

We've gone for a smaller scale than normal for Garden Rail's lead layout - but it's a rare treat to visit modelling master Alan Brackenborough's line. As you'd expect, the trains are astounding and he's taken full advantage of the space to run full-length O gauge formations. 

On the workbench, we finish the Peckett build, assemble a coach kit and discover how to make your own figures. There's also both signalling and point control plus a budget build of a Crosley diesel. 

All this, and the latest news of products to tempt the large-scale model railway enthusiast.

It's all action in our big layout feature this month. Playmobil trains mix it up with slot cars in a display that has been delighting kids of all ages at exhibitions for years. And since, it's December, what better time to celebrate the younger end of our hobby?

Back at the workbench we build a huge truss-girder bridge, add realistic checkrails and ballast to an outdoor line, and our Peckett project reaches its grand, steamy, finale.

All this, plus plenty of new products for the large-scale railway modeller. Something for the Christmas list perhaps?

No space for a 009 layout at home? Richard Bratby's solution - move up a scale and take the layout outside. A small, paved, city yard might not be the obvious location, but he's built a line with a sense that trains travel from place to place rather than just run in circles. 

We've plenty of tipping going on this month with a working tipper wagon build, and an operating stone unloading facility. Our live steam Peckett build continues with the loco running on air, at least after the Editor learns a few things about lubrication. 

All this, plus a bumper Product News with all the latest releases for large-scale modellers. 

As the Gauge 1 Model Railway Association celebrates its 75th birthday, we visit the president's own line, with a show of many of the locos he has designed.

We're getting technical with a look at gearboxes for battery-powered models, building a 4WD Simplex with plenty of grunt, a mine and concrete huts, suggesting the top 10 tools for your workbench – and starting our biggest project yet, building a live steam locomotive from a kit. Can a novice put together something that works? We'll find out.

All this and the latest Product News for the large-scale model railway enthusiast.

Inspired by Switzerland's RhB railway, Pavel Ponížil has created a stunning model behind his home in the Czech Republic. Everything is built the hard way, one stone block at a time, and the resulting layout might be the best one ever featured in Garden Rail. 

Over on the workbench, we create a modular layout for those who can't accommodate a permanent line, turn a Playmobil wagon into a radio control inspection wagon, build a 3D printed loco, shunters truck, and fit new valve gear to a Roundhouse Bertie. 

Finally, a garden railway needs plants, so we look at trees for the railway modeller. 

How long does it take to build a garden railway? Days? Weeks? Years? 

5 hours. That's all the Garden Rail team had to build a working layout, complete with real plants at The National Garden Railway Show. We did it too! Read how, in our August edition. 

It's very practical this month, with two brake vans (FR and RNAD), a barrel wagon, locomotive refurbishment and a beach hut on the workbench. 

Of course, there was loads of news from the NGRS, and we're bringing you the pick of the new products announced at the show.

As we spend more time in this hobby, our interests can change, and so it was that Richard Barwick transformed his line from its typical LGB-based German theme, to something that reminded him of happy holidays in North Wales. The Amber Valley Light Railway makes use of much of the rolling stock, but you wouldn't know it...

On the workbench, we build a wartime diesel, ex-GVT carriage and a row of shops as well as look to keep you safe while running live steam engines.

All this and our comprehensive round-up of the new products for modellers in larger scales.

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Garden Rail is the ONLY magazine for outdoor scales, devoted to bringing you the best garden railways from around the world, in-depth practical articles from industry expects and the latest news and product reviews. 
Every issue includes the best garden railways from around the world, providing inspiration to get you started in outdoor scale modelling or to further improve your current garden railway. We also bring you easy-to-follow expert modelling advice and the latest news and product reviews. Garden Rail really is THE magazine for outdoor scales!

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