The Third Rail

The Third Rail Trains, trains, trains!!! We are one of the few local shops that actually carry a lot of stock. Advice, free. Friendship, free.

The birth of some Sarmodel LA-2 in early and late versions. Will show you when they are done. These take a little bit mo...
02/10/2025

The birth of some Sarmodel LA-2 in early and late versions. Will show you when they are done. These take a little bit more time than the average wagon. Detail painting and handrails eat a day like it’s nobody’s business.

Busy with another couple of wagons that I don’t think has been modelled before. The AZ hoppers in a couple of guises, th...
01/10/2025

Busy with another couple of wagons that I don’t think has been modelled before.

The AZ hoppers in a couple of guises, the FKJ, XPJ-14 tanker and a new model Sarmodel just put on the market, the very pretty QZ explosives wagon.

All of them Sarmodel. All of them in 12mm gauge. They can be converted to 16.5mm in about five minutes if you so wish. All of them R1500 each or R1750 each weathered.

Available on pre-order. I have a massive waiting list.

Lekker julle!!!!

STJ-5…… full scale like it should be. I say again, stance is everything!!!Beautiful, long and tall. Such a gorgeous wago...
28/09/2025

STJ-5…… full scale like it should be. I say again, stance is everything!!!

Beautiful, long and tall. Such a gorgeous wagon in any scale.

Another Sarmodel masterpiece. Not bad for a foreigner lol.

I still say weathering brings out the detail in a model. Only problem is, you need a model with detail lol. Luckily I am...
28/09/2025

I still say weathering brings out the detail in a model. Only problem is, you need a model with detail lol.

Luckily I am in the position that dealing with Sarmodel, detail and variety are plentiful.

Two FFJ’s and yes, the airbrake one should’ve been FFLJ but it was too late to redo decals.

Took me a 15hour day to do the detail work on 7 sugar wagons. They come out beautiful. Thanx Frank!!!

These are going to the expo. Come see them there!

Walked into a dark workshop yesterday. And by ten am power was still off. So I packed a couple of wagons and brought the...
25/09/2025

Walked into a dark workshop yesterday. And by ten am power was still off.

So I packed a couple of wagons and brought them home to decal. A change of scenery is as good as a holiday. Decalled 5 of them in one day!!!!

Decided seeing that everything is here, I am working here today as well.

Lekker julle!

I might have gotten across wrong the other day when I said that nobody alive can print like Frank Collingwood at Sarmode...
23/09/2025

I might have gotten across wrong the other day when I said that nobody alive can print like Frank Collingwood at Sarmodel.

What I meant was that it is a complete package. I hear along the grapevine that there are people out there blaming me for siding with the “foreigner” lol.

But in the pictures you will see why. It is not just the printing, it’s the engineering and knowledge behind it. He knows the prototype. He understands it. And his passion drives me. It takes time, I know but I will rather build ten good items a year than 1000 bad ones.

This is why I stick with him. We are birds of a feather. Like my favourite music band Interpol indeed says in one of their songs: “we are slaves to the detail, if your life is such a joke, why should we care.”

He was the only guy that did it 100% prototypically correct. He was the only guy that modelled everything under the catwalk as well.

A lot of stuff was said in the process. Which did not win us any favours lol. And then we both realised that you cannot change made up minds. But what did happen was that the really extraordinary modellers took the bait and some really good stuff is surfacing.

And the likes of Leon de Klerk that has been a master for longer than any of us, became a friend that I value very much. He is teaching me so much. And he is building a massive SAR detail portfolio. Thanx boet.

Another guy that should be watched is Steven Mitchell. I just got a model from him that is truly professional. And extremely well thought out. And bloody gorgeous. Will show you guys when I have finished one. Thanx Steven.

Lourens Sturgeon also bit down and is building stuff much better than before. He remains a brilliant modeller.

Phillip Oosthuizen and his trees, Due South with Tim and Fiona also churning out new stuff. Houses, structures and detail. Exciting times.

All in, I think South African Railway modelling is heading in the right direction. The first Peco stock in code 75 12mm gauge is also on its way. Available from myself or René Bosch. Let us know if there is anything you want. My shop is only going to stock 12mm gauge stuff.

But, look at this. Frank at his best. The detail under a STJ-5 timber wagon. And my favourite wagon of all time, the sugar wagon in FFJ guise. Gorgeous thing.

Lekker julle!!!!!!

I was also asked what are the most difficult models to build. Without a doubt, a tie between the class 44 and the 8E in...
22/09/2025

I was also asked what are the most difficult models to build.

Without a doubt, a tie between the class 44 and the 8E in HO scale.

Take these bastard handrails for instance😂……

You have to be so careful. I cannot paint them and then fit because they get jammed in the bracket. If you force it at this point….. click….. body in the bin.

So now they get painted on the body….. which is immense fun at almost 60 years of age.

Drink ‘n Redbull….. dan bewe jy die besigheid laat hy soos ‘n Zebra lyk.

Guy asked me on Saturday what the best model train was that I ever built.It has to be the YNF Class 34GM. It was an abso...
22/09/2025

Guy asked me on Saturday what the best model train was that I ever built.

It has to be the YNF Class 34GM. It was an absolute clean sheet. I asked the customer what his favourite colours were and he said blue and silver……

I designed the livery. Thumb sucked the shades of blue and silver and slapped it together.

It was a dummy loco. Which meant I could slap it right down, do the inter bogie connections and play around a bit with detail.

The fact that the GT26MC is my favourite diesel to this day, had a lot to do with the final product. I loved this model. Poured everything I had into it.

The class 31-000. A loco I could never warm to. But, it has a loyal following. And it was immensely successful. It firml...
20/09/2025

The class 31-000. A loco I could never warm to. But, it has a loyal following. And it was immensely successful. It firmly cemented GE as a loco supplier to South Africa.

I have heard many stories on how this little loco punched way above its weight. So it needs to be in my collection and it needs to be developed. I am making moulds of its weight plugs as we speak.

I went for the original oranje- blanje-blou paint scheme on this one. It is still in an early stage as I am doing it inbetween other locos. Will show you when it’s done.

First off, I have excuses. These two locos are from my ZF range…… pardon the French lol. The Zero F***s were given when ...
16/09/2025

First off, I have excuses. These two locos are from my ZF range…… pardon the French lol. The Zero F***s were given when built.😂😂😂

The main problem was that when I received these, there was also a class 44 in that box. And that thing consumed me.

But when I finally got back to the 33-200’s, a couple of things became apparent. You can not do the upper handrails in one shot with 0.3mm brass. It warps and do funny things. Then I modified a speaker enclosure…… and broke the high nose’s chassis. I then did the unthinkable and copied one of Frank’s chassis and reprinted it in PETG because no living creature can print resin like Frank Collingwood.

It then turned into a modification that when open, looks decidedly back yard….. But what the hell, it runs. These are mules. People often asks me why I am not building their locos but I stuff around with mine. Because I cannot build yours unless mine runs perfectly. I write novels of notes on each model.

So there, these are extremely badly built and painted. I cannot lie. However, as models, they are sublime. These two weigh in at 715g together. As they will run in consist most of their lifes. And there is nothing they cannot pull.

Anyway, here they are.

And then there were two…..I should have waited for tomorrow but I am burning to show you guys.One dummy and one live DCC...
12/09/2025

And then there were two…..

I should have waited for tomorrow but I am burning to show you guys.

One dummy and one live DCC with sound. Both of them 16.5mm gauge. Both proper HO 1/87 scale.

The live one still needs airhorns and the little light lenses.

They are going to America. And I just hope they are bloody good enough.

If they are, we might do a blue train set next year.

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Benoni

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