RH&D Scale

[HonestTom]

The 1981 vintage Hornby A1 might be better than older or newer A3s as none of the Romnet engines have banjo or pear shaped domes. Also A1 cabs were slightly higher like the Romney engines. Of course, most of them have parallel boilers though some have had or still have tapered pattern lagging.

An older A1 would probably be a more attractive proposition, as you'd need to do a bit of modification to get it looking like a miniature version of an A1.

 

The reason I suggested Bachmann Gordon above was that it doesn't have much detail (so you can add scale rivets, controls etc) and certain details such as the cab windows are overscale. However, the tender looks like nothing that ever ran on any locomotive ever, so I guess a Triang or Hornby Gresley tender would need to be substituted.

[Ohmisterporter]

Most 15" gauge tenders have to accommodate the driver sitting in them and they are usually longer and mounted on bogies. My personal opinion is that bogie tenders improve the look of RHDR and R&ER locos.

[Dunsignalling]

An older A1 would probably be a more attractive proposition, as you'd need to do a bit of modification to get it looking like a miniature version of an A1.

 

The reason I suggested Bachmann Gordon above was that it doesn't have much detail (so you can add scale rivets, controls etc) and certain details such as the cab windows are overscale. However, the tender looks like nothing that ever ran on any locomotive ever, so I guess a Triang or Hornby Gresley tender would need to be substituted.

A Gresley tender would be way too short for a RH&D Pacific. Their bogie tenders are built to do the job and look in proportion to the loco rather than being scaled down versions of what ran with the standard gauge Pacifics the locos are based on.

 

An OO A1 or A3 makes a reasonable basis (though probably nowhere near exact) for a 1:24 scale Romney loco, and it has been done quite convincingly in the past. I remember seeing a quite extensive RH&D layout at Salisbury show several years ago which (I think) started that way. It had been around for so long that I think its Pacifics were based on the old Tri-ang Scotsman, with X04 motors in the locos. IIRC  the two "Canadians" were converted from the old Transcontinental "Hiawatha" and the Mountains used modified Gresley bodies on continental mechanisms.  

 

Nowadays a Railroad Scotsman provides an initial route to reliability but will still require a fair bit of alteration, starting with a lower cab floor, I'd suggest. Then you'll need a scratch-built tender and coaches. I would suggest sparing use of things like rulers if attempting such a project which is always going to be a case of capturing the spirit and atmosphere of this marvellous little railway unless one is willing to make everything from scratch.

 

Yes, No's 1-3, 7 and 8 have an LNER look about them, but not everything is scaled down by the same amount. One example is the valve gear. If using a Hornby mechanism, it will really need something considerably more chunky to look right.

 

The odd "might-have-been" would be fun, too; locos based on a A4, P2, Duchess or Bulleid Pacific would add more than a touch of individuality. Or, how about a Garratt?

 

John

Edited February 6, 2018 by Dunsignalling

[BernardTPM]

Graham Lindley's 'Hythe' layout was built to 1:25.4 scale, or 1mm to 1 inch. By pure chance back in the late '70s I'd scratchbuilt a Clayton pullman in the same scale, though because the roof warped it is shown here with an incomplete new roof.

 

Of course in 12mm/1ft scale a 1/3rd scale Pacific is 4mm scale...

Edited February 7, 2018 by BernardTPM