MODELLING THE MIDLAND REGION FROM 1948

The largest administrative region after railway nationalisation in 1948 was the London Midland, and the amalgamated company forms a rich source of material for the railway modeller, who can choose between the cityscapes of St Pancras or Nottingham, the wild mountainous areas of the Peak District and the Pennines, or the lush farmland of the Leicester plateau. Each one offers not only a distinctive backdrop but also a different style of railway architecture. Melton Mowbray station was one of many Midland stations that featured the elegant platform canopy supported on cast-iron pillars, while in the north of the region Appleby station, also pictured, was a typical 1875 Settle and Carlisle three-gable single storey building with decorative pierced bargeboards. The general appearance of most British railway lines in 1960 was that of the company who had owned the line for most of the century. The book covers the transition to the corporate image of British Railways and its successor British Rail, and a long chapter on London Midland and Scottish locomotives is introduced by background paragraphs on the chief engineers including Fowler, Lemon and Stanier, followed by an overview including shed codes and classifications. An example of a locomotive popular with modellers is the Midland compound 4-4-0 no 1000, which worked the Settle and Carlisle line, but when the Bachman model was launched in 2013 the Famous Trains charity, which the authors represent, was critical of some details compared with the cheaper Hornby model of the same locomotive, so they customised the Hornby with extra details for their layout. Among older locomotives the ubiquitous Stanier Class 5 (4-6-0) gets an appreciative mention, while featured British Railways steam locomotives include the trailblazing Britannia class. Diesels include the Deltic prototype, and electric engines are also covered, together with passenger and goods rolling stock. The final section of the book covers structural modelling advice including rock formations, signals and signal boxes and the tricky business of creating water in a region full of canals. 19x x 24.7cm, 174pp, softback, suppliers, colour and archive photos on every page.