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Modellings tips and answers - Adding lights to a layout

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Don't forget to read our latest modelling tips and unboxing videos located at the bottom of the newsletter.

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Railway song of the week

"2:19 Blues" is a classic 1940 recording by the incomparable Louis Armstrong and his orchestra, capturing the jazz legend at the height of his creative powers during the swing era. Though written by the prolific songwriting duo Sidney Bechet and Guy Wood, it was Armstrong's rendition that truly brought the piece to life. The song’s playful, syncopated melody and wistful lyrics, which reference a lover's departure and anticipated return, reflect the emotional depth and rhythmic innovation that defined Armstrong's artistry. A staple of his extensive repertoire, "2:19 Blues" remains a timeless testament to his enduring influence on jazz and popular music. Click on the picture to listen to it:

This week in history

On the 17th of September 1909, the first Garratt articulated steam locomotive was fired up to produce steam. The 2ft gauge K1 locomotive, designed by Herbert William Garratt, was to be used on the North East Dundas Tramway, Tasmania.

Boring old sidings

The railway network is littered with derelict, infrequently used and abandoned sidings. Some might see them as boring, but for others, there's an inexplicable intrigue and atmosphere surrounding a set of old, derelict or empty sidings and many modellers have a desire to capture this in the model sidings that they create.

Strangely, modelling such abandonment can often involve modelling more, not less, and a study of real-life long forgotten sidings will often reveal a number of clues hinting at the action that once bestowed them. This could be anything form rusty rails peeking through the undergrowth to remnants of more substantial structures such as a carriage cleaning platform or yard lamps. Other infrastructure that may be visible includes ground signals, ground frames, walking routes and track crossings. So take a good look at some real sidings (or pictures of them) to give you some inspiration, all of these features can be easily modelled in OO gauge using model kits and walking routes can be created using little more than some sand or mud coloured ballast or scatter.

Once you have added the models, you will need to add the decay, and lots of it. You will need to add rust, you will need to add weeds and you will need to add junk. There are lots of things you can do to make this task easier, rust, for example, can be added to rails using a special pen-like tool designed specifically for the job, weeds or grass tufts can be sourced ready-to-go and junk can be anything from bits you have broken off your original models to show decay to purposely designed packs of timber.

Once your scene is suitably overgrown and lovingly made to feel unloved, try adding a few modern features too, after all, just because your sidings are no longer used to service or store rakes of Mk1s or MGR wagons, it doesn't mean that activity is no longer taking place, why not add a modern take on a lineside hut or a Network Rail van and some lineside workers.

Of course, no one is suggesting that you implement all of the above suggestions, as this would be overkill in the space often afforded to a siding on a model railway, but just thinking about what once was, and showing hints of it will help you build some beautifully realistic boring sidings.

Modelling tips

We keep on adding modelling tips to our website. Here are a few:

You can read all the articles sorted by categories or from the most recent published one on our website.

Unboxing videos

You want to know what is inside the boxes of modelling products? We open them for you! Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified before everyone else or simply click on this selection. Please note that videos are at the bottom of each page.

You can access all the unboxing videos by visiting this page or simply click on the link called "videos" on our websit e.

Events and exhibitions

Find all the latest events and exhibitions for the model railway world, on the UK Model Shop Events directory. Hopefully, 2026 will give us plenty of opportunities to attend events all over the country.

Do you need to order?

Send us an email or give us a call to check availability or to reserve anything, whatever scale you model in. As usual, if we do not have in stock what you are looking for, we will order it for you and you will get it fast (usually within a week if the manufacturer has it in stock). We place weekly orders with most suppliers.

Remember, you can park for free for one hour on the High Street. So no excuse not to come and visit us!

Upstairs Downstairs is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am till 4.30pm. Obviously, our website is open 24h a day and we can post to most locations, including Europe, USA and Australia.

Upstairs Downstairs
3 Pier Street
Sandown, PO36 8JR
Isle of Wight
Tel: 01983 406 616
http://www.trainshop.co.uk or find us on Facebook

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