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Smallest garden railway?


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3 hours ago, Ben B said:

that had formed the driving trailers for a pair of the sets that had bodies modelled on the Eurotunnel electrics

 

I’ve never seen one like this, do you have any more information? I’ve only had either the US outline steam loco or a more British-looking tank loco in my sets (which I think is the one you use for your excellent steam outline loco here, with the cowcatcher off the American one: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/147900-port-eden-a-rundown-seaside-miniature-line/&tab=comments#comment-3736322 ). I wonder whether a motorised coach could be used to propel the locos - I didn’t manage to fit drivers to mine because of the motor.

 

3 hours ago, Ben B said:

I do like how long these sets have been around

 

 

This page seems to show a version of one of these sets: https://www.binnsroad.co.uk/railways/lido/index.html (the Western Express one).

 

I bought my first set around 10 years ago and used it to build the original stock and the red steam loco. This developed uneven wheel wear which annoyingly meant it would only run one way round the circuit. Later one of the connecting rods broke, so this loco is now on a new chassis. I can’t remember but I have a feeling that the original chassis (with no rods and with replacement parts from the one I dismantled for spares to correct the wheel wear issues) may be the one now under the diesel. I don’t like the rods anyway and in future I think I’ll go for more heavy rebuilds with modifications to the chassis as well, like on the diesel.

 

There was even a Christmas layout with one of these, featured on Small Layouts Scrapbook. This was partly what gave me the idea originally:

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

I’ve never seen one like this, do you have any more information? I’ve only had either the US outline steam loco or a more British-looking tank loco in my sets (which I think is the one you use for your excellent steam outline loco here, with the cowcatcher off the American one: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/147900-port-eden-a-rundown-seaside-miniature-line/&tab=comments#comment-3736322 ). I wonder whether a motorised coach could be used to propel the locos - I didn’t manage to fit drivers to mine because of the motor.

 

 

 

This page seems to show a version of one of these sets: https://www.binnsroad.co.uk/railways/lido/index.html (the Western Express one).

 

I bought my first set around 10 years ago and used it to build the original stock and the red steam loco. This developed uneven wheel wear which annoyingly meant it would only run one way round the circuit. Later one of the connecting rods broke, so this loco is now on a new chassis. I can’t remember but I have a feeling that the original chassis (with no rods and with replacement parts from the one I dismantled for spares to correct the wheel wear issues) may be the one now under the diesel. I don’t like the rods anyway and in future I think I’ll go for more heavy rebuilds with modifications to the chassis as well, like on the diesel.

 

There was even a Christmas layout with one of these, featured on Small Layouts Scrapbook. This was partly what gave me the idea originally:

 

 

 

 

I'll have to try and find what box the Channel Tunnel-type sets ended up in, I think it's up in the loft.  Most of these sets you see in the shops tend to be the Western set; I saw the Channel Tunnel sets in a poundshop (not Poundland itself) in Bradford about a decade ago, and have never seen them anywhere since.  I bought three as parts donors for a 009 project that never happened.

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_NGRM_ToyTrains_19_07.jpg.ac64f6d42f47593313845eabeca9d46b.jpg

 

Here's my first set- bought some time in the early to mid 1990's from Poundworld in New Street, Brum.  The loco has had some (not great) drybrushed weathering when I was about 11, and the tracksides were part-painted in grey enamel paint as ballast.  I've since managed to track one down in as-new condition too.  I loved this though; I was on a family trip into Brum with my Grandparents, they let us look in Poundland for a treat, and I couldn't quite believe how good value this was for a quid!  Loco, train, decent stretch of track too.  Great fun!

 

Copyright_Ben_Bucki_NGRM_ToyTrains_19_08.jpg.64a18ee6727c3b11505dccc4888994c1.jpg

 

This is as far as the prop-layout got by the way, based on a track plan in an micro layout book.  The blue track would have formed another high-level loop to re-join the yellow stub of track just behind the loco, but it didn't work properly (too many derailments).  One of the locomotives had a bad habit of somersaulting backwards on the climb!  The US-outline diesel is the one that resurfaced modified and in Railfreight Red-Stripe for the cakebox btw, another variation on the toys that I've only ever seen once.  They only had one set with the diesel in the poundshop when I bought the donors for this build, and I've not come across them since.

 

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That looks great, but yes unfortunately the locos absolutely hate any kind of gradient, which I think is due to only having one axle driven. The paving slab base for my garden setup settled in such a way that it ended up with a gradient. The loco was fine but it severely limited what it could pull. Adding weight improves the adhesion but also makes everything even heavier, possibly making things worse. The somersaulting effect sounds familiar; I think this is because the driven axle is at the back.

 

Presumably the reverse curve in yellow is modified so it isn’t handed? How did the locos take the S-bend?

 

Also, apologies if I’ve slightly hijacked the thread and gone off-topic.

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43 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

That looks great, but yes unfortunately the locos absolutely hate any kind of gradient, which I think is due to only having one axle driven. The paving slab base for my garden setup settled in such a way that it ended up with a gradient. The loco was fine but it severely limited what it could pull. Adding weight improves the adhesion but also makes everything even heavier, possibly making things worse. The somersaulting effect sounds familiar; I think this is because the driven axle is at the back.

 

Presumably the reverse curve in yellow is modified so it isn’t handed? How did the locos take the S-bend?

 

Also, apologies if I’ve slightly hijacked the thread and gone off-topic.

 

The yellow reverse curve was a bit of a sod... I did chop up a couple of existing curves, and the with the locomotives it rather depended on which one was in use, as there were some differences with the motors.  The diesel there was nice and steady, one of the Western locomotives went like a bat out of hell and launched itself off the rails on any curve... The best was my oldest loco, a Western which was who knows how old; it was more detailed than the modern versions with better applied paint in about 5 different colours.  No idea of the exact age, it was chucked in with a box of spares-and-repairs N gauge I picked up at a show at the GWR Gala at Toddington in '97.

 

I was rather overthinking it, with this 'layout', to be honest.  It only really needed to be a basic prop in the background of some photography work I was doing, and me trying to create a working layout was just frustration that I didn't have time to work on my actual layout.  How practical or useful the finished multi-level rabbit warren would have been was a moot point.

 

Also, sorry for the continuing thread hijack :)

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1 hour ago, Ben B said:

The diesel there was nice and steady, one of the Western locomotives went like a bat out of hell and launched itself off the rails on any curve

 

When I first ran mine, I used to use batteries that had previously been used for a digital camera. When they no longer had enough charge left to run the camera, they were actually about half “full” so worked well to keep the loco at a sensible speed. Evidently not all locos are the same (especially after modifying and rebuilding) because some work better with a brand new battery. The garden line added the additional variables of the gradient (so the loco needed more power) and the effects of low outside temperatures on the batteries.

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On 26/12/2020 at 20:13, 009 micro modeller said:

That looks great, but yes unfortunately the locos absolutely hate any kind of gradient, which I think is due to only having one axle driven. The paving slab base for my garden setup settled in such a way that it ended up with a gradient. The loco was fine but it severely limited what it could pull. Adding weight improves the adhesion but also makes everything even heavier, possibly making things worse. The somersaulting effect sounds familiar; I think this is because the driven axle is at the back.

 

Presumably the reverse curve in yellow is modified so it isn’t handed? How did the locos take the S-bend?

 

Also, apologies if I’ve slightly hijacked the thread and gone off-topic.

My loco's have a crude traction tyre arrangement which i have seated better in the grooved wheels and they can climb quite well even with my weighted wagons. It took a little fiddling to also allieviate the wobble!

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30 minutes ago, 33C said:

My loco's have a crude traction tyre arrangement which i have seated better in the grooved wheels and they can climb quite well even with my weighted wagons. It took a little fiddling to also allieviate the wobble!

 

Yes. Fortunately I was able to replace the tyres when they wore out on one of mine.

 

 I think it’s partly a problem (familiar to anyone who’s owned a whitemetal 009 kit built loco on an N gauge chassis) of the replacement bodies ending up heavier or less stable (taller and wider) than the original body, and partly that adding weight in specific places for better balance solves some of the problems but then creates more by increasing the overall weight.

 

I’ve just remembered, there was somebody on Gnatterbox years ago who was working abroad with no access to conventional model railway stuff who made a lot out of similar plastic toy trains. Don’t know if I’ll be able to find the thread now though.

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3 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

Yes. Fortunately I was able to replace the tyres when they wore out on one of mine.

 

 I think it’s partly a problem (familiar to anyone who’s owned a whitemetal 009 kit built loco on an N gauge chassis) of the replacement bodies ending up heavier or less stable (taller and wider) than the original body, and partly that adding weight in specific places for better balance solves some of the problems but then creates more by increasing the overall weight.

 

I’ve just remembered, there was somebody on Gnatterbox years ago who was working abroad with no access to conventional model railway stuff who made a lot out of similar plastic toy trains. Don’t know if I’ll be able to find the thread now though.

The whole idea of trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear has reawakened my modelling mojo at this difficult time, where before i would agonise over getting things right, now it's, "what can i turn this cheap toy into?" and this has led me into a part of my book and reference collection i do not normally go near and the ideas are flowing!:superman: Plus, articles about the "Clickerty Clack" railway in "Garden Rail" mag were very inspiring.....Cheapo! How low can you go?

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14 hours ago, 009 micro modeller said:

I’ve just remembered, there was somebody on Gnatterbox years ago who was working abroad with no access to conventional model railway stuff who made a lot out of similar plastic toy trains. Don’t know if I’ll be able to find the thread now though.

 

Found it! Some links:

 

http://gn15.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5392&hilit=Taiwan&sid=df7bb831db1b4852b615efeeb3257395

http://gn15.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4631&hilit=Critter’s+bank&sid=077262c238c7e01fb0ce84f418439c08&start=25

http://gn15.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5103&hilit=Taiwan&sid=df7bb831db1b4852b615efeeb3257395

http://gn15.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5995&p=77224&hilit=Taiwan&sid=8c6c80065cf3723e915fe13c7f7c9d32#p77224

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  • 4 weeks later...

BEN_BUCKI_TT-scale_battery_channel-tunnel-train_03.jpg.35d4b0333134fbf427145e23adb40031.jpg

 

Here's something- I dug this out of a box in the loft after seeing a pic of one of the locomotives in the Dec issue of the Train Collectors Society mag.  Only ever saw these sets in one local Poundshop in Bradford about a decade ago.  Seem to be based on the Eurotunnel electric locomotives... maybe useful for a line through a pipe under a garden pond? :)

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On 24/01/2021 at 20:57, Ben B said:

BEN_BUCKI_TT-scale_battery_channel-tunnel-train_03.jpg.35d4b0333134fbf427145e23adb40031.jpg

 

Here's something- I dug this out of a box in the loft after seeing a pic of one of the locomotives in the Dec issue of the Train Collectors Society mag.  Only ever saw these sets in one local Poundshop in Bradford about a decade ago.  Seem to be based on the Eurotunnel electric locomotives... maybe useful for a line through a pipe under a garden pond? :)

That is fab! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I fancied something a bit different so, here we go! From "Western Train Set" to.....Western Front train set! (From Hong Kong to the western facing flower planter) Simplex, class A, class P and tipping tub wagons. 

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18 hours ago, 33C said:

I fancied something a bit different so, here we go! From "Western Train Set" to.....Western Front train set! (From Hong Kong to the western facing flower planter) Simplex, class A, class P and tipping tub wagons. :locomotive:20210124_125411.jpg.5ea43578805dede6945d7765fda2085b.jpg

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That's an impressive bit of work with the plasticard!

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51 minutes ago, Ben B said:

 

That's an impressive bit of work with the plasticard!

Thanks, i do get through it! Check out my "Cheapo train sets, get creative..." thread for more pics.

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  • 11 months later...

Smallbrook Studio models "Emett" train, found damaged at the bootsale for £5. (1,2.) As found. (3,4.) After sorting out the bits and roughly assembling them. (5,6,7,8.) After fettling, a re-paint and new, coarser, wheel sets, in the planter, as the Last train to "Smugglers Reach" !

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  • 1 month later...

Coal India, Tipong mine, Sharp Stewart, class B, 0-4-0ST and train of full tubs in the midday heat.....20220617_150946.thumb.jpg.fd4dd211707c6203850d0acc728d4bdd.jpg

Check out all the videos on Flickr. L.T.S.R. albums.20220617_151726.jpg

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