BRM June 2026 arrives with Rapido, Hornby and Cavalex reviews

BRM issue 269 arrived in shops on 14 May 2026 and is also available to download at £6.99, with the print edition listed at £6.99 plus postage. For a single monthly issue, it packs enough named content to justify a purchase: fresh reviews of Rapido Evolution coaches, Hornby’s LNER Class A4 and Cavalex’s Class 56 sit alongside three layout features, a heavy practical section and a tribute to Sir Nigel Gresley.

The strongest draw is the spread of review subjects. Rapido Trains UK’s Evolution coaches bring a newly tooled OO gauge pre-grouping bogie coach range into the frame, while the Hornby review lands on the LNER Class A4 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley, a locomotive built at Doncaster Works in 1937 and entered into service that October. Cavalex’s Class 56 adds modern diesel muscle to the mix, with the model already tied to the real-life 56301/56045 now owned and operated by DC Rail. That breadth matters because the issue is not leaning on one niche corner of the hobby. It is covering coaching stock, steam and contemporary traction in the same package.

The layout line-up gives the issue another layer of value. Venture Park in OO, Porthllechen in OO9 and Pedwardine Forest in OO each promise a different modelling challenge, from standard-gauge scenes to narrow-gauge character. The practical pages push further, with features on building a seaside store, weathering an exclusive Port of Par locomotive, making a house eco-friendly, refurbishing a second-hand carriage, modelling a summer fair cameo scene and constructing a low-relief cottage. That mix is the sort of content that earns a place on the workbench as much as on the bookshelf.

BRM also leans hard into traction and historical context. Its Traction section includes an action-packed five hours at Salisbury, coverage of Motor Rail and Hibberd Industrials, and West Coast Main Line traction at Greenholme. The issue also celebrates Sir Nigel Gresley at his birthplace, with the article written by Ian Lamb, and that sits neatly alongside wider hobby attention on the 150th anniversary of Gresley’s birth. Taken together, the June issue feels less like a routine monthly and more like a compact snapshot of where the hobby is right now, with enough layouts, projects and product coverage to earn its place in the June spend.