Modelling Engine Sheds and Motive Power Depots

Modelling Engine Sheds and Motive Power Depots of the Steam Era by Terry Booker

Depot scenes are becoming more and more popular modelling subjects. The oldwp.railwaymodellers.com Facebook group has provided us with a great variety of projects, and also given many of us the opportunity to ask questions about how best to model engine shed and depot scenes. This book gives you many of the answers.

Many railway modellers include an engine shed somewhere on their layout. However, all too often the shed is squeezed into a quite improbable location and is little more than a place to ‘park’ engines when they are not in use. This well-illustrated and comprehensive book, written by an experienced railway modeller, helps even the beginner to develop a far more realistic approach and to capture the unforgettable grimy but exciting atmosphere of the locomotive shed in the steam era.

• Covers all types of engine shed from the branch line sub-shed to the main line motive power depot
• Discusses research, planning, the building process, readily available materials and simple tools
• Explains how to obtain the very best from kits, how to site and operate sheds, and how to make them look authentic
• Demonstrates the construction of over a dozen kits, including off-the-shelf kits and the newest computer downloadable kits
• Shows the modeller how to create special dioramas depicting the whole shed scene and how to scratch-build complete sheds, including coal stages and other infrastructure
• Provides advice for those with a limited amount of space, contains ‘top tips’ and is budget-conscious throughout

Terry Booker has had a lifelong interest in railway modelling. A fervent railway enthusiast in the 1950s, in this book he helps the modeller to recapture in miniature the wonderful sights of those long-since vanished days. Terry provides step-by-step guidance on the construction of both the individual models and the fully detailed diorama settings. He also presents the reader with examples from his own extensive loft-layout, Wessex Lines. This layout has taken over twenty years to build and has featured on video and DVD and on the pages of Railway Modeller and Model Rail.