This beautifully illustrated and practical book covers a wide variety of materials and processes, and tells you everything you need to know about building model railway coaches. Master modeller George Dent guides the reader through the necessary techniques and skills, covering all aspects of the subject, from kit building in metal, plastic, resin and wood; through soldering, weathering, painting and lining; to 3-D printed kits and components; and adding passengers to the carriages. Also includes upgrading off-the-shelf models; kit assembly, scratch-building and finishing. He provides important advice on choosing the right tools, materials and adhesives, covers kit building in metal, plastic, resin and wood and presents many ideas for detailing, modifying and converting ready-to-run and kit-built coaches. With essential step-by-step guides to soldering, weathering, painting and lining, this will be of great interest to all railway modellers, particularly those with some experience. Superbly illustrated with 604 colour photographs.
This outstanding thesis characterises the aerodynamic flow around a container freight train; investigating how changing container loading configurations affect the magnitude of aerodynamic forces measured on a container. 1/25th scale moving-model freight train experiments were carried out at the University of Birmingham’s TRAIN rig facility to investigate slipstream velocities and static pressure, as well as measuring, using a specifically designed on-board pressure monitoring system, the aerodynamic loads on containers. Results were compared with full scale data and assessed in terms European standards for trackside worker and passenger safety limits. Rail vehicle aerodynamic studies have tended to previously focus on high speed passenger trains in line with increases in train speed. The research presented within this thesis highlights the issues associated with the aerodynamic development around a freight train, providing the foundations for further research and a basis from which to develop international safety standards in relation to freight, as well as high speed trains.
If it had not been for the scrapyard of Woodham Bros at Barry, in South Wales, the railway preservation movement in the British Isles would have been a fraction of the scale that it is today and a number of steam locomotive classes would have been rendered extinct. The story of Woodham Bros has become part of railway folklore because it tells how 200 steam locomotives were rescued from scrapping as a result of unforeseen circumstances.
Locomotive kit building remains the best route to achieving a varied range of motive power in most scales but it also retains a mystique, being associated with expert modellers and expensive tools. However, in this invaluable, richly illustrated volume, George Dent demonstrates how anyone can successfully assemble working kits with only a modicum of inexpensive equipment and experience. All aspects of assembly are covered in detail including working in plastics, resin and metal; the very basics of working and joining materials; installing ready-made power units and performing more complex operations, such as assembling etched metal chassis frames and intricate valve gear. Includes a full guide to essential tools, materials and adhesives, covers the art of soldering and explains the basics behind chassis construction and alignment. Presents an in-depth guide to the assembly of cylinders, coupling rods and valve gear and examines a range of power unit and transmission options. Demonstrates how to detail and modify kits for extra realism, illustrates painting, lining and weathering techniques and offers tips on running-in, testing and maintaining mechanisms. An essential guide to building locomotives and multiple units from kits and helps the modeller to achieve the best results from every kit. Aimed at railway modellers of all abilities, it is superbly illustrated with 537 colour photographs.
British Rail Main Line Locomotives Specification Guide identifies the major detail differences and livery variations that have appeared on all British Rail, ex-British Rail and privatized railway diesel and electric main line classes from 14 to 92. The book provides a record of the main specifications of each class of locomotive, and details of variations, including: numbers, liveries, headcodes, headlights, wheel arrangements and bogies, brakes, names and - where appropriate - details of refurbishment programmes.Diesel locomotives are a relative newcomer to the railway enthusiast and modelling scenes, and this book brings together information on detail changes in a coherent reference form for the first time, illustrated with photographs of major changes. A useful resource for modellers and those with an interest in the differences that have occurred to the British Rail fleet. Superbly illustrated with around 300 colour photographs.
For British Rail, the 1970s was a time of contrasts, when bad jokes about sandwiches and pork pies often belied real achievements, like increasing computerisation and the arrival of the high-speed Inter-City 125s. But while television advertisements told of an 'Age of the Train', Monday morning misery continued for many, the commuter experience steadily worsening as rolling stock aged and grew ever more uncomfortable. Even when BR launched new electrification schemes and new suburban trains in the 1980s, focus still fell on the problems that beset the Advanced Passenger Train, whose ignominious end came under full media glare. In British Railways in the 1970s and '80s, Greg Morse guides us through a world of Traveller's Fare, concrete concourses and peak-capped porters, a difficult period that began with the aftershock of Beeching but ended with BR becoming the first nationalised passenger network in the world to make a profit.
In 1838 Thomas Edmondson, an employee of the fledgling Newcastle & Carlisle Railway, revolutionised the ticket issuing process in Britain and left an enduring legacy: the Edmondson ticket. Purchased as proof of the contract between passenger and railway company, the ticket was a receipt, travel pass and an ephemeral record of almost every train journey ever taken in the British Isles, reflecting the nostalgia of the railways and a period of history when the movement of millions of people brought together England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The railways printed millions of tickets for every conceivable journey and category of passenger. Most were destroyed after use, but remarkably many survive, in the care of libraries, museums and collectors, and form the basis of a fascinating hobby.