News, nostalgia, preservation and modelling

REM August 2012 Contents

IX    Newsdesk: Latest developments
With the Class 47s hitting 50 years of service, Bachmann and Modelzone announce new model releases. Also new from Judith Edge Kits is the diminutive Southern electric DS74.

X    Modelling: Silver Fox Class 89
Alex Carpenter builds the Silver Fox Models kit of this much-liked machine, withdrawn from British Rail service 20 years ago this month, in both of its InterCity liveries.

XIII    D&E Files: 89001 Avocet
Intended as the forerunner of a fleet of electric locomotives for the East Coast Main Line, 89001 ended up as a prototype without a purpose. Its turbulent history is detailed here.

XIV    Reviews: Bachmann
There’s a corporate era theme to this month’s selection of goodies from Bachmann, encompassing a three-car Class 108 and a number of Mk.1s, including more Pullmans.

XV    Review: Hornby ‘Van B’
Hornby has a decent record of producing non-passenger coaching stock built by the Southern Railway. The latest, the bogie ‘Van B’ which lasted well into the 1980s, is now out.

XVII    Reviews: Graham Farish
Among the latest batch of products in ‘N’ gauge is the all new Mk.1 First Corridor while the Class 37/0 gets the Network Rail yellow treatment as a departmental
Class 97/3.

XVIII    Exhibition diary
It might be summer but there’s still plenty of exhibitions to tempt modellers out of the deck chair, including the D&E focussed Stormex event and Midland Railex at Butterley.

XIX    Review: TMC Mk.1 Horse Box         
Produced by Hornby Dublo many years ago, there is now a new version of the Mk.1 Horse Box thanks to the Bachmann model commissioned by retailer TMC.

XX    Modelling: Safeway containers
The forerunner of today’s containerised services run for the likes of Tesco and Asda, the Safeway swapbodies brought a freight revival to the Far North in the early 2000s.

XXII    Modelling: HST barrier coaches
Ever since the HSTs were introduced, there has been a requirement for barrier coaches to move vehicles around. Mick Bryan builds a pair of present day Mk.1 BG-based coaches.

XXIV    Serial: Elcot Road #19
It is time to start the scenic work on our ‘P4’ layout project with construction of the road bridge scenic break and creation of the overgrown bank along the backscene.

XXVI    Review: Dapol MRA tippers
The five-vehicle MRA side-tipping ballast wagon sets are among the most distinctive of Network Rail’s new generation engineers’ fleet, the new Dapol model is assessed here.