Further than me too.  Converting wagons and coaches is no problem.  Even building turnouts I could manage.  Converting locos with splashers is another thing altogether.  I couldn't reconcile using wheels that rely on friction fit to the axles so tried Markits.  Amazing what a fraction of a mm will do to you.

Anyway, I switched to 7mm about 4 yrs ago.  Finescale 0 runs on track gauge of 4' 6" ish so is equivalent to EM.

John

10 minutes ago, brossard said:

Further than me too.  Converting wagons and coaches is no problem.  Even building turnouts I could manage.  Converting locos with splashers is another thing altogether.  I couldn't reconcile using wheels that rely on friction fit to the axles so tried Markits.  Amazing what a fraction of a mm will do to you.

 

Anyway, I switched to 7mm about 4 yrs ago.  Finescale 0 runs on track gauge of 4' 6" ish so is equivalent to EM.

 

John

It was the realistic track gauge in 0 that led me to EM, i thought about a piano plan track in 0 but the space available is only 10 x 1ish feet and with B6 points its still a tight fit including the curves at each end.

Edit to add clarity, the curves will run from a fiddle yard to reverse loop in a U shape but the visible part is 10 x 1.

We seem to be going down a similar track to coin a phrase, Building the track I find the easy part, stock is not too bad. Locos is where there could be issues

Buying new RTR locos can be expensive and I understand there are some drop in axle sets available at a price, kits do cost either side of £100 with the cost of wheels,motor and gears being much the same

Sometimes its worth looking for a kit built item, which is reasonably priced, something you can add value and easily convertible.

I have bought a K's pannier for a modest amount, it had Romford wheels, a simple conversion was to add 1 mm plasticard sides to the chassis (one side at a time drilling out the axle holes  as you go, and replace the axles for EM ones. Cost £4.50 + loco which was about £30. I have done similar by swapping the axles of a K's 14xx with Romfords  just adding Alan Gibson axle washers padding out the gaps between the chassis & wheel backs.

A more involved conversion was a part built Southeastern Finecast N7 for £45 which included wheels motor and gears. The body needed painting, the chassis was part built, I unsoldered it fitted new chassis spacers, changed the axles to EM ones. The total cost just over £50.

Its a case of keeping your eyes open for opportunities. It could be a loco or just parts. If you are into the LMS then there are quite a few older kits out there.

I am also just finishing off a Wills Finecast E2, it had an old Triang Jinty chassis (what the kit was designed to use) The chassis was widened by removing the cast spacers and fitting EM ones, with Romford wheels and an Anchorage D11. It was cheap and unpainted. As you have said with complicated valve gear it gets much harder, cut your teeth with something simpler

Hi #hayfield

Thank you for that very informative post.

I have already started looking for damaged locos etc.

I had to buy a lot of tools to do this (you need the right tool to do the right job etc) and have decided to stick to internal pistons for now, 3f 0-6-0 , 4f etc.

As you can probably guess i messed up an expensive Bachmann 3MT during the learning curve but, i hope i can rescue it later on.

PS, i still have not soldered that C&L tie bar to the point yet.....

15 hours ago, down the sdjr said:

Hi #hayfield

Thank you for that very informative post.

I have already started looking for damaged locos etc.

I had to buy a lot of tools to do this (you need the right tool to do the right job etc) and have decided to stick to internal pistons for now, 3f 0-6-0 , 4f etc.

As you can probably guess i messed up an expensive Bachmann 3MT during the learning curve but, i hope i can rescue it later on.

PS, i still have not soldered that C&L tie bar to the point yet.....

 

I will let you into a secret, I try not to use them, every time I do they end up with a bend in the centre

I have slowly built up my selection of tools, though with modern kits the amount required is minimum, certainly a must is a hornblock alignment jig. which allows the axle bearings to be aligned with the coupling rods. Comet sell at a reasonable cost a set of chassis building jigs, Poppys chassis jig is a little more expensive, not used one but heard good results, I bought at a very low price second hand a Hobby Holidays chassis jig, its excellent other makes look just as good.

I have found that buying an old built loco kit, then deconstructing it with paint stripper helps to understand the building process. For the newcomer older Wills kits are a good place to start. as David at Southeastern Finecast is ever so helpful in supplying missing/broken or upgraded parts for a fee.

Look for locos like this one, can be turned around quickly and cheaply as it has most of what is required

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FINECAST-KIT-BUILT-GER-E22-LNER-J69-CLASS-0-6-0T-LOCO-in-GER-Livery-OO-Gauge/313072967554?hash=item48e49a5f82:g:SaoAAOSw1PxesHht

A Wills Back jumper looking a bit tired, it has an older Wills whitemetal chassis, A simple conversion would be to put new 1 mm plastic  sides on the chassis, buy a set of EM Markit axles. away you go an EM gauge loco, you could add extra details but a cheap EM gauge loco

You could buy a Southeastern finecast etched chassis, I would expect a decent High Level gearbox and motor would improve it further, this would push the cost up a bit by be far better

If you enjoy building, then take it apart and rebuild it, surprising what a difference can be made using modern methods, especially filler and decent paint finishes,

18 hours ago, Fen End Pit said:

One thing I did find with rewheeling stock to P4 (and I guess the same is true of EM) is that quite often the proprietary pin-point axles are often a different length to the ones you get for EM and P4. I found I got much better running swapping the wheels onto the original Hornby/Bachmann/Oxford axles, even though you obviously need to put the wheels on with a back-to-back gauge. 

Thank you Fen End Pit, that would explain why i have removed so much plastic from the chassis of wagons and the wheels are still binding. I was starting to think they were binding in the cups.

8 hours ago, hayfield said:

I will let you into a secret, I try not to use them, every time I do they end up with a bend in the centre

I was thinking about this today. I thought i would try to make a tie bar out of some left over nickel silver and epoxy it to the rails with a hole drilled in the centre for a pin from a servo motor.

Thanks again for another informative post.

Paul.

So.....tempted.....must.....resist! ;-) 

Go straight to P4, Do not pass GO. Honestly, I started in standard gauge then changed to EM gauage and then later to P4, this meant modifying most rolling stock twice, which can become very tiresome. For health reasons, think long and hard before taking the plunge. I've still got unconverted stock from 40 years ago.

I have been removing plastic and changing axles to get the wheels from binding on my wagons, squared up the driving wheels and i am pleased to say the Jinty pulls the goods train around my curves nice and slow. Really happy.

I am now going to finish fiing the crank pins down and weather the chassis.

Started building the station, really like the look of the Peco EM track.

If you are a member of the EM Gauge Society another quick win for building turnouts are the Exactoscale turnout bases. These can be used with Either Exactoscale or C&L chairs, also you can use either all the special chairs from Exactoscale, or cut down normal and slide chairs

Common crossings strike fear for some, I have successfully use soldered Vee units and used plastic chairs functionally to fit the wing rails.  0.8 check chairs can be used simply by chopping half a chair off and putting 2 chairs on the stock rail and 2/3 chairs on the check rail, I also use this method of modifying check chairs for fitting wing rails, but chopping up standard or bridge chairs also works

Without boring folk too much

On the left the Vee with chairs the nose needs supporting by a bit of 0.5 plasticard,                 on the right the first wing rail, check chair cut in half on the right

Both fitted in place, fit the straight stock rail after the vee, but before the wing rail. With the wing rail, glue in 2 halves leaving the first half to set completely over night, leaving the gauges in place. Do the same with the other half of the wing rail, as the chairs once set will hold any slight tension in the rail. Don't forget to electrically bond the wing rail to the vee

Hi Hayfield.

I am a member of the EM gauge society. Thats a nice bit of kit, really solid for a newbie like me.

Track building really appeals to me, would love to build a curved station throat at some point. i have a unbuilt CL crossing that i fancy building with a slight curve in it, maybe something you have done on your thread?

Thanks.

Does not come as a kit put as individual parts. I thought the EM Gauge Soc sold these bases, but I can only see the universal point and crossing pack. Certainly they are available from the Scalefour society, I buy then at their shows.The common crossing will work on a curved turnout, which you could easily use on a curved Templot template to your chosen radii (this is the hardest part done for you).I can always email a PDF if you give me details of radii and crossing angle.  Curved turnouts are just as easy to make as straight ones.

The additional switch and common crossing packs are good value at £2 each, most folk have the standard and slide chairs if track building, bridge chairs a bit dearer at £8.50 but thats for 100 which will last for ages, check chairs costs the same but enough for 10 turnouts, whilst the cost of some of these chairs add up you are saving money on not using standard chairs. Don't forget the functional fishplates both in plastic and brass. But you could equally make a decent turnout from the basic bits

The additional switch chairs make one left and one right hand turnout, you are left with several half chair pieces, and if used , would be cost neutral with standard chairs, the common crossing chairs makes one of the following  1-5,6,7,8,10, if all used again will be cost neutral on the saving of cutting up chairs, Check chairs also are about cost neutral against chopping up standard chairs. A larger initial outlay but looks so much better and more or less cost neutral 

As far as the special chairs are concerned C&L were not in the game however Phil is in the process of updating his sprues 2 bolt are out now and 3 bolt in the next couple of weeks. each pack contains 250 standard chairs, 2 bridge chairs, 2 J (joint) chairs and 2 types of fishplate, 350 parts in all for £22. Dearer than Exactoscale, but the J chairs have not been modelled before, as have the 2 bolt bridge chairs and the reinforced fishplates

3 hours ago, hayfield said:

I can always email a PDF if you give me details of radii and crossing angle

Thats a very kind offer. Of course being a newbie i am unsure of those measurements or how to take them. The instructions with the CL b6 kit says i can cut the template to form the curve, i am not sure how well i could do that.

Here is a pic ot the place i was thinking of putting it in with the toe end to the left.

Thanks again for your informative posts.

Especially with Templot being free I cannot see why anyone should even contemplate chopping up a C&L plan, all you will get is a plan with a series of doglegs, not necessarily spaced out evenly. For longer Radii get twp people and a piece of string. One person acts as the centre point and just keep lengthening it until the arc of the string matches the arc of the track.  Or if you wish to draw a radii, tie a pencil to a piece of string, measure out the radius you require, pin the center point and draw the radius line. Unless you are a perfectionist it doesn't have to be mm exact.

Or use a track setter, the radii is printed on it 

On 17/05/2020 at 17:35, hayfield said:

Especially with Templot being free

I downloaded Templot, what a great program / tool that is.

Thanks.

Rather than trying to build Euston all in one go, firstly find the tutorials and just work through some basic ones first