With over 25 years of experience owning, driving and maintaining model steam locomotives, Andrew traces his passion for steam railways back to his youth in South Africa, where everyday working steam was still to be seen until well into the 1990s. The hobby led into a trickle of some commission work, which during Covid turned into a flood, and today he is undoubtedly the most prolific model engineer in the world, having designed or built locomotives in scales spanning an unprecedented range from 10.25" gauge down to O gauge, in over 20 new locomotive designs.

3D CAD provides the digital blueprint for each one, from which every aspect of the model, from the valve gear geometry to the detailed fittings, is extracted to make the most of the exciting rapid prototyping technologies available, from 3D printing for casting patterns or metal prints, to CNC machining.

In a hobby that has traditionally needed significant time and space, both of which are ever more of a challenge, Andrew sees Steam CAD as an way to give the hobby a boost with cost effective components that save time.

With a borderline obsessional fascination in railways since taking his first breath, Martyn has lived railways and all things steam whenever time permits (and even when it doesn’t!). With experience volunteering on railways of all sizes and in several countries, Martyn has found his home with standard gauge in the UK, metre gauge on the continent and 7 1/4” wherever possible. A co-founder of Steam CAD, Martyn is keen to expand the model engineering industry in a direction that enables more people to access the hobby from a younger age, whilst being able to balance the challenges of a busy working life, by offering parts that help people to build and get the satisfaction of owning and running a stunning looking and mechanically capable locomotive!