News from your model shop - modelling coach kits

Hello

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Railway song of the week

Reader John got in touch to suggest "Southern Pacific" from Neil Young & Crazy Horse. While the song was recorded in 1981, we prefer the live version which is double the length of the studio one (as with most of his live recordings). You may not know that Neil Young has a massive O gauge layout that he built in the 1980s with his son. In 1995, he acquired 20% of American manufacturer Lionel, the rest belonging to a private equity firm. He also owns about 20 patents related to model railways. But we digress, let's listen to some music...

Parkside Models are a sub-brand of Peco and produce a wide variety of OO gauge wagon and coach kits. Some of their wagons and all of their coach kits may be familiar to long-established modellers as they were formally manufactured under the Ratio brand name, also a sub-brand of Peco.

Parkside's coach kits concentrate predominantly on 19th-century classic panelled coaches built by the GWR, Midland and LNWR railways. All of the kits require assembly and painting and do not come with any decals, however, moulded details are well applied and there are a number of separately fitted parts that combine to result in a very credible model. Also in the kits' favour is the choice of variations each coach type has to offer, making them an excellent choice for modellers wishing to break from ready to run models.

A long-established firm favourite of many modellers with smaller layouts is the GWR 4-wheeled coach. Built between 1890 and 1902, these coaches operated on more rural parts of the network and are ideal for branch line dioramas. Parkside produces three variations of this coach including an all 3rd, a composite and a brake composite.



The much larger 48 ft LMS (ex Midland) non-corridor suburban coaches were built between 1903 and 1910 and remained in service until the early 1950s. They were used as close-coupled sets for the Birmingham and Manchester areas and Parkside produces four varieties of the coach, an all 3rd, an all 1st, a brake 3rd (6 compartment) and a brake 3rd (4 compartment).

There are few coaches that possess as much character as Clerestory coaches. Built between 1898 and 1902 by the Midland Railway, these non-corridor coaches were used frequently on express services and survived long enough to eventually see the crimson livery. Parkside produces an all 3rd, a composite and a brake 3rd giving modellers the ability to create convincing rakes.

• Do I need expansion gaps on my railway layout?
• How do I create a story with my model railway?
• What is a cameo scene?
• Why are railway signals upside down compared to road traffic lights?
• How do I build a model railway in limited space?

• Under what circumstances should I consider using a Capacitor Discharge Unit (CDU) with a Point Motor?
• How do I add simple paint chips with a foam sponge ?
• What is a footplate?
• How to remove excess glue and putty from a model ?
• What are my options for motorising a level crossing?

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