Realistic Railway Modelling Steam Locomotives – Iain Rice

This is the second title in a new series, Realistic Railway Modelling from Haynes, both written by Iain Rice. Iain is well known in the model railway field as both an author and model maker, and this has to be up there with the best of his books. Realistic Railway Modelling Steam Locomotives is well written with his usual  touches of dry humour, that many of his readers will be familiar with. The book as a whole has some great ideas about how to model steam locomotives.

Iain Rice’s book Whitemetal Locomotives: A kitbuilders Guide has been on my bookshelf for many years and is sadly out of print. So I’m a great fan of Iain’s approach to locomotive modelling already. The opportunity to buy a much updated work on the subject by Iain is long overdue, but this book doesn’t  aim to do that. This one is more general and aimed at a wider audience, examining the uses of various types of locomotives on the real railway, and how to get a locomotive fleet that is balanced and realistic on your layout.

I particularly liked the chapter on improving ready to run locomotives, even the ones that you would not think require improving. I also like the way he explains not just why he chooses to improve a locomotive, but how, and in most cases with great detail, which does not leave you the reader, with further unanswered questions, like other books I have read have done.

 

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