Prefab platforms

  We have started the building of our platforms on Ingatestone 00 which are of two types –  traditional brick and the later extensions using a pre-fabricated concrete system (see header picture). This has meant we have been busy making prefabricated plastic components too! And they have to be laid out accurately so that the …read more.

Empire Mills – Feb 17

We’ve had a couple of good operating evenings at Keen House already this year, and the picture above shows my Class 08 on shunting duty this week. Members will have read in our last Bulletin that Empire Mills has new trackwork and a colourful new turntable fiddleyard. Over the next month or two we will be …read more.

Skills Transfer Days 2017

One of The MRC’s aims is to ensure that modelling skills are passed on to the next generation. It’s perhaps easy for experienced modellers to forget how daunting it was to take some of those key steps in developing techniques, and all too easy for the less experienced to put something in the ‘too difficult’ category.

So we’re continuing our series of ‘skills transfer’ days, to allow a small group of people to try out something they may not have tried before with more experienced modellers on hand to help them. During the day each attendee will work on the kit/parts supplied to learn the techniques and hopefully take home a working model. These courses have been running successfully since 2009, and have been popular with positive feedback. Space is limited on each course, so please book early.

The courses take place at Keen House, 4 Calshot Street, London N1 9DA, and generally start at 10am and run until 4pm with a lunch break unless stated.

We’re pleased to confirm the following dates:

Skills Transfer Days 2016/7

One of The MRC’s aims is to ensure that modelling skills are passed on to the next generation. It’s perhaps easy for experienced modellers to forget how daunting it was to take some of those key steps in developing techniques, and all too easy for the less experienced to put something in the ‘too difficult’ category.

So we’re continuing our series of ‘skills transfer’ days, to allow a small group of people to try out something they may not have tried before with more experienced modellers on hand to help them. During the day each attendee will work on the kit/parts supplied to learn the techniques and hopefully take home a working model. These courses have been running successfully since 2009, and have been popular with positive feedback. Space is limited on each course, so please book early.

The courses take place at Keen House, 4 Calshot Street, London N1 9DA, and generally start at 10am and run until 4pm with a lunch break.

We’re pleased to confirm the following dates:

Ingatestone goes to the Palace !

A very successful weekend for Ingatestone at the London Festival Of Railway Modelling held last weekend at Alexandra Palace. After the safe delivery of the three boards (numbers 4 to 6), the “in progress” demo drew a lot of attention and positive comment from the show-goers. Over the weekend, all of the group took their …read more.

Ingatestone turns the corner !

After a lot of wiring, testing of the track power on Ingatestone has started – here we have Bachmann Class 37/4 37421 on the up line on board 6 powering round the corner – next Thursday we will be testing the boards that will be attending London Festival of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace. Come …read more.

Ingatestone powers ahead !

This weekend saw Lawrence. Mo and Tom make progress with the power wiring for the layout, as well as on the woodworking. Protector boards to avoid track damage on board ends are being fabricated, and the covers for the trolleys that will be home to the corner boards 5 and 6 took more steps forward. …read more.

3 Red Panniers Project – Blog 1: Farewell GWR

Red Pannier Tanks became a standard feature on the London Transport Network until the 70’s. Their small size was ideal for transporting goods across the Sub-surface network, many were seen trundling across the Metropolitan Line in the final years of Steam on the Underground. There has always been something about Panniers that I have found …read more.

Manatee Bay

“Manatee Bay” is Eddie Thompson’s winning entry in the MRC’s 2015 layout challenge. It’s a fictitious H0 marine terminal (part of a larger layout) located on a river estuary on the Florida Panhandle operated by Seaboard Air Line Railroad.   The inspiration for the layout came from the March 2014 edition of Model Railroader which …read more.

Old Head

  “Old Head – County Mayo” is Nestor Middleton’s entry into the MRC 2015 layout challenge. The Location The railway came to this remote little part of County Mayo when the Midland Great Western railway of Ireland opened its line to Westport in 1866. Not before long, a short extension was opened to Westport Quay …read more.

Newton Peverill

“Newton Peverill” is Mike Lloyd’s entry in the MRC’s 2015 Layout Challenge.  It’s an N-gauge Great Western terminus, that whilst meeting the criteria of the challenge has been designed to be extended to 8’x1′ to make it more operationally interesting.    

“Narrow Gorge” – OOn3 microlayout

“Narrow Gorge” is Tom Cunnington’s entry in the MRC’s 2015 layout challenge.

Although not his first layout,, it is a first attempt at a number of techniques, including narrow gauge (all the kit-built stock is new for the layout), modelling cliffs and water, and trying to give depth in a very small footprint. It was also a bit of a rush, having previously decided (several times) that it would be a distraction from other projects.

It’s built at 1:76 scale, the same as OO, but with narrower 3′  gauge track – normally called “OOn3”

Here’s the diary of how it was built over 18 days, mostly an hour or two later in the evening (with apologies for viewers on some mobile devices – the photos keep rotating back)