Modelling Narrow Gauge Railways in Small Scales

This invaluable book is essential reading for all those who wish to build a small, narrow gauge model railway layout to a high standard. Comprehensive in its coverage, the book begins with a useful summary of the history and development of narrow gauge railways in the British Isles, and this is followed by a detailed, but easily digestible, consideration of the complex and wide choice of scales available to the modeller. In subsequent chapters, the author covers all aspects of construction, including materials and tools, skills and techniques, layout design, laying the track, scenic modelling, painting, soldering and wiring, as well as the construction of narrow gauge stock and appropriate buildings. The author provides clear, step-by-step instructions and photographs to show the reader how to build a straightforward narrow gauge model of a fictitious late 19th to early 20th century light railway in 4mm scale on 9mm track. He also suggests how the methods he has used can be adapted to other scales and briefly explains, by way of example, how they can be transferred directly to 7mm scale. Fully illustrated with 223 colour photographs and also included are several working sketches.

Chris Ford has been a modeller since childhood starting with simple plastic and balsa wood kits. By his teens he had become almost exclusively interested in railway modelling and by adulthood he had developed a particular interest in what some regard as the more 'quirky' railway prototypes, especially the narrow gauge lines. Chris has built many model railway layouts over the years both for private home use and for public exhibition display. Most of these layouts have featured in articles published in the model railway press and for two of them he received the Reiner Hendriksen Award for freelance modelling, which is presented each year at the Expo-Narrow Gauge model railway exhibition.