Reptilian Feline

I just got my posts approved at the lner.info forum, but googling the subject turns up information that seem to say both yes and no, so I'm still a bit confused. I need to dig deeper. My problem, I think, is that most coaches were replaced by newer models before WW2. If so, then it becomes a less plausible coach, and not worth the trouble trying to make... unless it might have been kept in use in low traffic areas or by companies that wanted something simple for their workers... or maybe for some train crews working on improving the track or something. I will read up on the GER website.

You wouldn't happen to know where I could find some pictures or more info about them? From what I understand, the look was distinctive between pre-grouping companies.

I have some old coaches in German outline that I wish to convert to LNER, but they have six wheels instead of the 4 + 4 boogies, so I'm wondering if LNER ever had coaches with six wheels. If NER never made any, would LNER in the same area run some on a smaller line during WW2?

I'm sorry if I'm not "fine" enough, but I'm hoping for some help anyway... even if it's just to point me to a different part of the forum. I'm modelling N gauge, and being in Sweden, the lack of clubs etc. to help with finescale is non existent. I have to stick with RTR for the locos, and have already built a few Metcalf buildings, so I guess my scale is stuck on 1:148. None the less, I was advised to use finescale tracks, and have pulled up the Peco range in my software. I'm curious to know if there is any known problems with any of the tracks or points from Peco, or if I can just pick any of them and they will all be fine. Then there is the question of radius and gradients and the inside size of tunnels and bridges. I've been told to not using anything less than the R3 Peco curves. Is that only for the visual bit, or for running as well? How high does a bridge need to be to accommodate the track and the train that goes under? How wide need the tunnels be in the curves? The model will be fictional branch line northern Yorkshire, 1942-45, mostly rural. Lots of freight, no fancy Flying Scotsman, local passenger train, maybe a passing express. I need the gradient for letting the track pass over the other track for more length of running track. I like the visual bit of trains passing over each other, and I'd like all my tracks to be accessible by the same train. My space is limited, and finescale might give me more, just a tad, but it would be a lot more difficult to get the engines (I think), and I think that maybe the Spitfires in 1:144 might be just a bit too large as well. I thank you for your help in advance.

If I can paint the J94 in war department livery, then I can get away with it. At this point I don't have any interest in DCC. I figure that if I wire properly for block control running, then if I switch to DCC later, any non-DCC might still be able to run. I haven't really read up on DCC, since I can't afford it at this point, and wish to run my trains on my own. The LNER info website is now my go-to list of very useful websites. Any loco suggested, I look up there before checking the Hatton website. Rails of Sheffield... I know those ads from the RM magazine. I'll check them out on ebay,

I was hoping life had gotten easier when it comes to N gauge but I guess it's hard no matter what. I was hoping for some chassis, like Rocuhan makes for Z. Is it possible to find used models with a reputable ebayer? I know brexit is putting a damper on things when buying from the UK, but with the right seller, I'm sure we can figure out how best to do it.

My first thought when getting back to plan my model railway was to do it in Z. I'd say N is a lot easier!

Background: N gauge, rural north Yorkshire, LNER steam, WW2 era. Fictional. I can buy a few locos that fit the setting of my layout as RTR. They number of locos are limited though. If I go for kits, would I be able to find other locos, or are they the same, but you need to put them together on your own? If I buy a kit, where do I find the bottom part with the motor and wheels? Are kits cheaper or more expensive than RTR? Would 3D printed kits be better, or do people still go for the brass kits?

Thanks for the wonderful videos. So... try to avoid gradients... but if need be, then let one track half down, the other half up. Use Peco 55 and R3 curves if possible. Do open baseboard for better realism. I set up the parallell track in the software using the Peco scissor crossover as a template. It helps me when connecting points and sidings in the software. Wider gap in curves is a given, even when banking. I have to set up engines, carriages and wagons to see how long my sidings need to be. I just hope that the ones I want to use have their measurements posted somewhere. I have plenty of square tubing in aluminium and corner joints to make the "table"-legs, so I don't think that should be much of a problem with making the open baseboard. It should still be pretty stable. I'm used to working in papier maché, so the landscaping shouldn't be much of a problem once I get started. BTW... I didn't know you put points on a gradient.

Lots of interesting replies and points. So, first, I'm planning the layout in XTrackCad and the Peco libraries. My plan is to use the Peco points with Peco flextrack. It will be a DC setup, no DCC, mostly because of the cost. Xtrackcad is a bit fiddly when it comes to nice changes for sidings and so on. I want to set it up with a realistic number for the tightest radius, because this is also what it uses when connecting tracks to points. The software has a parallell track button. Very useful when making up stations, and it was set at 50 mm spacing. I tried to match the very impressive crossover from Peco, but wasn't sure I got it right. The software also has a feature so I can check gradients, but I need to know the spacing between levels to set it up properly. I have a general area for where I can put the layout, but the size is somewhat flexible, but on the smaller side, and I'm trying to figure out the smallest size I need for the station and its sidings, where it will still be useful. The layout will probably be O shaped, so I might not need the tightest radii for the main curves. It will be single track in and out of the station, but hopefully with a way to chose between two routs once the train leaves the station. I don't want the layout to be too flat, so some elevation and hopefully a viaduct will be part of the layout as well. I probably won't have the luxury of testing gradients before hand, so I'd rather play it safe.

I did some checking on minimum radius and steepest elevation in Z scale when I though that was what I was going to model. Now that I'm back to N, I know I can get some experience input, and not just crunch some numbers. I think that I read that elevation shouldn't be steeper than 4%. I assume that it doesn't matter what scale that is. However, I also need to know the clearance of engines and coaches and wagons, so that I can calculate the elevation. For steam LNER, what would be the best number to go by? Also, the radius. With proper banking, and short engines and wagons, the radius can be pretty small, but how small? Setting up XtrCad for the track laying isn't that hard when you have the numbers. BTW what is the space between parallell tracks? I'm thinking that the double crossover switch could work as a template for that, but the software refuses to the list the space between the tracks.

You're absolutely right. I think the problem with the Settle & Carlisle suggestion back when I got it, was that it's well documented, but I never really looked at the landscape, just buildings and locos and the area around the track in the pictures. LNER is the way to go if that is what would be proper for the landscape I have in my mind. It would still be miles more easy to make than a Z-scale version of fictional Yorkshire. BTW... I like the LNER Y1 shunter (it's Y1 and Y3 on the LNER site). It's small, appropriate, right in the time as well as for the usage I plan for it... and cute too. BTW... I'm a woman ;-) but I know that's unusual, so I don't mind being called a "he" when nobody knows any better. :-D I didn't know there were small steam shunters. The railway book I read spoke about diesel shunters being popular a lot earlier than I thought diesel was used for engines. If steam could do the job, then I don't need to put up diesel refuelling spots on the layout.

After coming across a LNER forum thread from 2008, it seems that LMS lent some engines to LNER during WW2, and they were only renumbered, not relivered (sp?), so still had LMS on the side. I could make a military train with an LMS engine and it would still be OK for the area... at least that's what the post I read sounded like.

One thing I'm thinking about is the type of shunter I can use. When I read about it, I found that small early diesel locos were used to replace the horses. LNER had very few, but the Z6 is a nice little thing. The question is, is there some way I can make one based on a donor chassi? The LNER J26 looks like a possible engine for my layout. It seems to fit, historically. Looks short enough for some tighter curves too, but I need to read up on some reviews for that first.

Such a wealth of information! Thank you all. I wish to point out that I'm planning an N-gauge layout, so RTR for N might be more limited. As for Yorkshire... did you know it's old viking land? I'm reclaiming my property! I think that if I choose carefully, I can make something work. I'll look through the list of possibilities, and figure out what scene would be possible and make sense. I know the war office (I think that's what it was called) had their own trains, and that could be used as an excuse for some locos, but I'd rather go with what might be found in the area, rather than rely on the war effort.