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Modelling UK RR's (maybe Sodor) in the USA and N


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Hello all,

very new here, somewhat new to model railroading.  i found this site via a search for Isle of Sodor model railroads and ran across Tom's thread and the good work he is doing.  i find it very intriguing, and have thought about a more realistic Isle of Sodor (or portion of it) layout several times.  To be clear, not the Thomas show with the faces and all, but i am interested in modeling the rolling stock and environment as they might/would/were in reality.

 

along those lines i have a few questions if you all might entertain them and provide information, opinions, etc.  please keep in mind the N gauge context.

 

1. does anyone know if there are US outlets for UK rolling stock, especially of the 1920's or so?  i really like steam and am not that interested in the more modern periods.  what about specific rolling stock for this idea?  is RTR readily available in N?  or at least close for some minor kit bashing (i just do not have the available time for scratch building or extensive modifying - and in general I am ok with close enough stand ins - not a rivet counter).

 

2. the same questions for track, but i think that is more accessible via Kato (i know Japanese but still 1:150 which is awful close to 1:148) or Peco, both of which seem to be fairly accessible here in the US.

 

3. an opinion question: would it be horrible to use Kato Unitrack?  i do want to follow T-TRAK standards (I could potentially modify this to suit my needs and I do not intend to go to shows/meets) but have been considering using Peco code 55 instead of Kato as the standard calls for.  I would like to be able to take the layout down, move it, etc.  Kato seems fairly easy.  i know this is really up to me, but i would like to solicit opinions with starting a brawl.  :D

 

4. perhaps i am biting off more than i can chew for a first N gauge layout in selecting UK equipment?  i do know a lot more about US equipment, but i also see it as a learning opportunity.  any opinions that I should perhaps stick to US rolling stock, etc. this time around?

 

i may think of more questions, i thank any and all for entertaining me.

 

Helmut

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Manufacturers of UK N scale models have improved significantly over recent years, so if you go for recent releases, such as Bachmann's 'C' class, or Dapol's 'Schools' class, you should be OK.

 

A little bit of British railway history for you: before 1923, there were a very large number of separate railway companies, each with their own colour schemes and designs of locomotives and rolling stock. In 1923, most of these were forcibly merged to form four new railways, the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS), London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR) - known as the Big 4. Then, in 1947, these were merged to form the nationalised British Railways. British Railways were split up and privatised in the 1990's, but that is a whole other story.

 

Pre-grouping (1923) models ready-to-run are few and far between, but there are plenty of models available in the Big Four liveries.

 

So, you need to think about your timescale, and also which area of the UK is to be modeled. Each of the Big Four railways covered a particular area of the country, although there was some overlap here and there. Many types of goods wagon could roam and turn up anywhere, but usually quickly returned to their home territory.

 

If you really want an insular system, like Sodor, you could look at the Isle of Wight. A smallish island on the south coast, at one time it had over 70 route miles of track, operated by a number of pre-grouping companies, and later operated by the Southern Railway.

 

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Thx. much to the two of you.  I believe I would want a post-grouping period in the 20's.

 

I will check out Isle of Wight as well; for now it probably does not matter where I place it as it will be a smallish switching layout, hopefully with a return loop at each end for some continuous running.  I imagine I will be semi-freelancing the actual layout.  Also the idea of the independent isle has crossed my mind a few times as well.

 

Any thoughts on Kato Unitrack?  I am torn between ease of setup/changes vs appearance.

 

As far as manufacturers of rolling stock, how does Graham Farish rate?  I am not sure if they are comparable to Bachmann Spectrum (I believe Graham Farish is by Bachmann) and that has a good reputation here in the US now.

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The British Raiway Modellers of North America list a number of dealers, a couple of them in the US.

http://www.brmna.org/prodser.shtml

 

British modelling doesn't have the same freelancing variety as the US as most of the locomotives are very identifiable. Sodor solved this by buying a variety of used equipment, but not many of each.

 

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The "issue" with the Isle of Sodor is that it is entirely fictional. In contrast the Isle of Wight isn't.  The Rev Audrey who created Sodor had his own layout (I saw it at Central Hall, Westminster on Easter being operated by the Rev Teddy Boston).  As such, he ran what he liked "bought in from the mainland GWR, LNER, SR and LMS railways".  So for freelance, go Isle of Sodor.  In contrast, the Isle of Wight had very specific small tank locomotives (and diesel shunters?) - until they got second hand London Underground Tube stock in the 1960s?  You would be very limited in loco choice if you went for Isle of Wight.

 

Perhaps do a Rev Audrey, create your own fictional British Island and run what you want?

 

For N gauge outline, there's Graham Farish (owned by Bachmann) or Dapol as the main Ready To Run suppliers.

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1 hour ago, knitpick said:

For N gauge outline, there's Graham Farish (owned by Bachmann) or Dapol as the main Ready To Run suppliers. 

 

And also Union Mills do some steam locomotives.

 

Kato is about to enter the UK market, starting with a very modern unit, so it may be a while before we see steam from them.

 

Kato track can look OK if painted and weathered and blended into the scenery. Finer rails, like the pseudo code 55 track from Peco and the code 40 components from FineTrax will look better, but will require more work and ballasting.

 

 

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Thank you all.  Will take all into consideration.

 

I do like the Peco code 55 (pseudo) and have been considering it for a US layout as well, but I know it does not look like prototypical US rail.  But I still might just use it even if I do a US based layout.  The Atlas code 55 looks pretty good, but there is the issue with larger flanged wheels, the flex is a bit more difficult to get to stay in place, and I just despise the ends on the set track and switches.  Something about those squares just sets me off; I guess that is my model railroad pet peeve.

 

David,

Thx. for that link to BRMNA, I did not know they existed and have not run across them.

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Many UK N Gauge modellers use Kato track. I prefer to use Peco Code 55, it's a personal choice.

 

As far as buying stuff goes, in my experience, it is better to buy virtually everything you need for a UK outline layout from the large online retailers in the UK, (Hattons, Rails of Sheffield, etc), as it will be cheaper.

Once they have deducted UK sales tax (~-16%) (VAT) from their list prices it more than covers a fast DHL delivery to the US. This is even true for boxes of Peco Flexitrack and N Gauge DCC decoders (don't know if you are doing DCC).

 

About the only things I purchase from US retailers are Tortoise point motors and NCE Switch8 decoders to drive them. I would probably buy Kato track here as well.

 

You can use any N Gauge track system as all N Gauge track is to the same scale, it's just the models that are different, UK 1:148, Japan, 1:150, US & Europe 1:160.

 

For locos, Union Mills make small batches of small steam prototypes, which have very good haulage but are not particularly well detailed, it is a one man band and I believe he operates off line, so maybe not a good choice.

Farish and Dapol make much better detailed locos, but haulage capacity can be an issue, but then again 'Pre-Grouping' trains could be pretty small affairs.

 

Regards,

 

John P

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Yes I have a model in progress based on Wigan on the West Coast Main LIne. But it doesn't have any steam. It's all electric and diesels based on the past 10 or so years.

 

At the risk of being booted by the mods, there's a lot of specific N Gauge knowledge on the N Gauge Forum, which is where my layout thread is.

 

For specific UK prototype information then RMWEB is the best place IMHO.

 

Regards,

 

John P

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