A pair of Garratts

[DavidB]

In preparation for the Spring service, Garratt K1 was moved out of store (I understand that it's called 'winterisation' these days) by the loco department and sent out on a test rake of WHR carriages.  Here it is waiting in the loop (observation car Glaslyn remains in primer at the rear of the rake).. 

 

 

This is a twin-motored Garden Railway Specialists kit with battery r/c.  I have made some changes to the kit, including narrowing the width across the frames.  These are designed in the kit to allow for both 32mm and 45mm gauges and this had the effect of making the cylinders stick out beyond the loading gauge on my line.  I have also fitted an ashpan (complete with flickering LED 'fire', simply to relive my Tri-ang childhood days) and coal rails for the bunker, to reflect the coal-firing of the real loco.  It also has a Tasmanian headlamp on the front power unit and an SAR twin beam sealed unit at the rear.  These headlamps are remarkably complex to make - each one took several days' work to complete.  It still needs final painting and lining, as well as fitting brass cab window frames and makers plates.

 

 

K1 ran very smoothly and made light work of the 7 car train.

 

 

Control then decided to attach a second Garratt to the train, see backing down here.

 

 

Here is the view from K1's cab as the train prepares to set off.

 

 

The high coal bunker of the NGG16 reveals that this is not one of the WHR fleet - it's SAR No.131.  Here are the two Garratts toying with their load. 

 

 

At just under 20 feet long, the train takes up a fair bit of room as it swings round the gentle curves at 25 mph.  Both Garratts share the same GRS motor/gearbox combinations and have identical onboard power (16 rechargeable AA batteries each), so they work perfectly together under control from the same transmitter.

 

While the power units of the NGG16 are complete, the cab and boiler have not yet received any detailing, so look very plain at the moment in their unpainted finish.  After the time spent on the bufferbeams alone (soldering on more than 100 14BA nuts and fabricating two cowcatchers from brass tube in a jig) I am building up courage to tackle all that pipework!

 

 

Here is a final quick look inside the rear NGG16 power unit (the body shell unclips to allow access to the motor, batteries and receiver).

 

 

At some stage I intend to test the combined haulage capacity of these two locos, but I suspect that I will need to build a few more carriages before I reach their limit!

 

David

 

 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Phwoar, I love your NGG16 - tell me more!

[Narrow Minded]

I've never been a big fan of Garrats (and I got my head bitten off the last time I said that!), but somehow I've changed my mind since seeing this thread

............. and someone's got to say it - "Nice Pair".  The K1 is gorgeous and I'm looking forward to seeing progress on those final jobs, it's going to look fantastic!

[DavidB]

You are very kind Dr G-F.  It's based on two Garden Railway Specialists chassis from their Campbelltown and Machrihanish kits for 0-6-2Ts Argyle and Atlantic.  I reworked the chassis to put the motor and gearbox at the cylinder end and added sprung pony trucks at each end, with new bufferbeams (copper) and revised cylinders (reworked resin castings that came with the chassis)..  The pivots are large diameter heavy duty brass washers soldered to the frames, with lengths of studding locating the boiler unit onto the frames.  The boiler is a steel table leg from B&Q - I chose one slightly under the scale diameter and added plasticard wrappers so that I could have the smaller diameter smokebox and the wider cladding for the boiler itself.  The bodywork is mainly plasticard, with Archers rivet transfers.  The dome is a homemade turning (Plastic Padding moulded to a cylinder shape with a central brass mounting rod embedded in the moulding and then turned to shape) and the chimney is a Garden Railway Specialists G64 moulding for an SR O2 tank that I've lengthened using brass tube.  Various other odd items have been pushed into service - for example the treadplate is the moulded plastic base from a Marks & Spencer pack of ciabatta breads, while the pony truck bearings are drawing pins with 12BA nuts soldered on.   I've made all sorts of compromises, but it's slowly coming together now.

 

David

[vjoneslong]

I love the K1. A very fine loco. And I look forward to seeing the NGG16 finished as well.

 

Any chance of a video so I can oggle all that lovely motion going round and round?

[DavidB]

I'll see what I can do about a video - I may need to press-gang my teenage son into helping out, as I'm still trying to work out where to put the butane, steam oil and water into the camera before firing it up!

 

David

[vjoneslong]

I'll see what I can do about a video - I may need to press-gang my teenage son into helping out, as I'm still trying to work out where to put the butane, steam oil and water into the camera before firing it up!

 

David

Isn't there a hole in the bottom of your camara? Thats usually where I squirt the gas in! 

[DLT]

Wow!

[DavidB]

Wow!

That's very kind coming from someone whose work I admire so much (both narrow and standard gauge) - thanks for all of the tips I've gleaned from your threads over the last few years.

 

David