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New to O gauge - Any advice?


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Good morning all,

Noting that some O gauge products are now within my budget, I finally took the plunge and purchased my first O gauge loco, this one:-

 

https://www.Dapol.co.uk/7D-008-011-O-Gauge-Class-08-Blue-08173-no-ladder

 

I'm really pleased with it and I think it will be ideal for the light shunting duties I have planned. I'd like to run it on a garden layout and have some ideas in my head but I'm not sure how feasible they are. I haven't drawn up any sketches yet but in essence I'd like to move cans of beer and fish food from my bottom patio up to the top patio to deliver the beer and then on to my garden pond to deliver and hopefully off load the pond pellets.

 

I'm wondering what sort of rolling stock would be appropriate, I guess some sort of flat beds for cans of beers? For the fish pellets, I'm thinking about a hopper, I've seen older one's with manual tipping capability. Is it possible to motorise these mechanism's and add DCC control?

 

The other issue is that I haven't been able to get any Peco track, should I go Bullhead or Flatbed? Also I've read that the bullhead can be joined with SL-10 joiners as used on OO gauge - is that correct?

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited by APT Fan
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I use Peco O bullhead, and indeed OO fishplates / insulated fishplates work well. Never used Peco flat bottom track.

 

Nice idea to transport beer & fish food - don't mix them up though !!!!

 

Brit15

 

 

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Many people wire track joints in 7mm rather than relying on fishplates. 

 

My observation would be that reliability and durability outside are more important that exact prototypical looks for garden layouts (eg tolerating visible wires on track mounted on, say, roofing felt, rather than having holes in boards that water can then get in).

 

Numerous related 7mm garden layout threads on here. I'd start by reading up on them and learn from others experience.

 

 

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yes, I would imagine that 0 gauge wagons would have no issues carrying beer cans, but you might find yourself outside the loading gauge height-wise.  the Warwells are excellent models, and run beautifully, but if you're hauling large quantities of beer, and you want it delivered whilst still cold, you might want a bigger loco than an 08. 

 

Regarding your fishfood, I think I'd look for a couple of Big Big or Lima mineral wagons, (eBay) change the wheels for something more suitable, and fit 3-link couplings.  You could fit sprung buffers too, but I think I'd only bother if the ones I bought were broken.

 

You can certainly use fishplates for alignment, but they will corrode and electrical continuity will become a problem eventually.  depending on where you live, the oxide that appears on the rails will sooner or later make soldering wires to the rails quite challenging, so my advice would be to do it as soon as you lay the track.  That or convert your locos to battery power and radio control.  This also means that you don't need to clean the track before running.

 

photos, take photos, and put them on here!

 

Simon

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The 08, when sound fitted has a max speed of scale 20mph (which is correct).  I use the 28 step option when running mine.

 

Yes, 0 gauge is addictive, I have way more wagons than I "need", but I can't resist.:scared:

 

John

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Your first problem has been identified in that the 08 is not big enough!

Hence the trap door is well and truly open into the O gauge abyss that is more locos than you need and an empty wallet.

I found therapy helped me…. Buy more :nono:.

once hooked on this scale ( see what I did there) there is literally no going back.

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26 minutes ago, Baggies1961 said:

Your first problem has been identified in that the 08 is not big enough!

Hence the trap door is well and truly open into the O gauge abyss that is more locos than you need and an empty wallet.

I found therapy helped me…. Buy more :nono:.

once hooked on this scale ( see what I did there) there is literally no going back.

 

Resistance is futile

 

Paul R

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32 minutes ago, Baggies1961 said:

once hooked on this scale ( see what I did there) there is literally no going back.

Whilst every new o gauge thread has a boilerplate post saying you will never go back, the endless supply of barely used Dapol locos available on ebay suggests that, in fact, most give up!

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12 minutes ago, Hal Nail said:

Whilst every new o gauge thread has a boilerplate post saying you will never go back, the endless supply of barely used Dapol locos available on ebay suggests that, in fact, most give up!

Lightweights, more for the rest of us! 

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2 hours ago, Simond said:

Regarding your fishfood, I think I'd look for a couple of Big Big or Lima mineral wagons, (eBay) change the wheels for something more suitable, and fit 3-link couplings.  You could fit sprung buffers too, but I think I'd only bother if the ones I bought were broken.

 

Simon, I think I would push back on the Big Big or Lima wagons.  I have looked at a Big Big steel mioneral wagon (a friend brought one over with the idea that it could be improved).  Every dimension was off and after giving it some thought, even posting a thread here, I abandoned it.

 

It does depend on the standards you have chosen.  As indicated in the thread, I did a cost estimate of the parts that I felt were needed to even come close to a decent upgrade (my standards) and this was not far from the cost of a Parkside kit or indeed a Dapol RTR.

 

John

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4 hours ago, sncf231e said:

I do not think cans of beer can be transported on an 0 gauge railway; I think you need 1 gauge or better even LGB. 

Regards

Fred

I like the idea of using the railway for a 'proper' purpose, transporting stuff up the garden, but I agree that IMO, O is still a bit small for "real" loads. Loading gauge may be immaterial in the garden, but the weight of beer bottles ( not cans, pleeeease!! Cans are for lager fizzy donkey wee) would also make for a high centre of gravity and could topple an O scale wagon on uneven track. 3-link couplings would be tested, as well.

For such 'real load' purposes I would go for LGB, with dead rail/radio control so you can walk with the train. Go with the Fun Factor; keep the O scale for an indoors shunty-plank. ;)

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4 hours ago, sncf231e said:

I do not think cans of beer can be transported on an 0 gauge railway; I think you need 1 gauge or better even LGB. 

Regards

Fred

I have a pair of specialist wagons but they are in SM32. Decision needed : a fun garden railway or a shunting plank for the office?

Fine scale 0 gauge round the garden is very possible but it tends to take you in the direction of ever bigger locomotives and then longer trains to do them full justice.

That said, a group of thirsty mates down the garden might be just the excuse of a brace or two of bogie well wagons .

Edited by doilum
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I think F-UnitMad and I must have typed exactly the same idea at the same time. Here are my beer wagons. The wheels are from IP Engineering at 11 pounds for two axles and the rest came from the scrap bin. The loco is a simple battery powered scratch build using the mechanism from a 30 quid kit. It is there for distracting younger visitors whilst I prepare the live steam Roundhouse Kayti. Finance aside, there is no reason not to enjoy both forms of modelling

IMG_20210721_170055.jpg

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10 minutes ago, jcarta said:

I like the idea of a beer train...... I don't think the missus is impressed in loading up the wagons whilst I sit in the sun...

 

PHOTO-2020-04-10-17-10-31.jpg.1826a3e8d2d380fb7b7dc1d07f783552.jpg

 

PHOTO-2020-04-10-16-25-55.jpg.86d4439aaf8c517983f44830419b647f.jpg

 

Jim

Proper Job!! :declare: :sungum:

 

See what I did there? :boast: :mosking:

 

Ok I'll go away now.... :punish: :tomato:

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3 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

For such 'real load' purposes I would go for LGB, with dead rail/radio control so you can walk with the train. Go with the Fun Factor; keep the O scale for an indoors shunty-plank.


Agreed.

 

For my small 45mm garden line, I have a very nice can/bottle wagon, with laser-cut steel cradles for the load. It’s from a German kit, and they know how to deal with beer.

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Just spotted someone on the TCS Facebook group who was today transporting bottles of beer on finescale 0 gauge wagons in his garden, by standing them upright on ‘crocodiles’. Looked very precarious to me, but it seemed to work!

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On 21/07/2021 at 17:25, jcarta said:

I like the idea of a beer train...... I don't think the missus is impressed in loading up the wagons whilst I sit in the sun...

 

PHOTO-2020-04-10-17-10-31.jpg.1826a3e8d2d380fb7b7dc1d07f783552.jpg

 

PHOTO-2020-04-10-16-25-55.jpg.86d4439aaf8c517983f44830419b647f.jpg

 

Jim

 

That looks the business, are those Turbot's carrying the beer bottle's? Nice loco too!

 

In terms of control, I already use DCC systems which can be controlled remotely from an Android phone. 

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Yep.


Maintaining track bonding, and keeping rail-heads clean-enough, is a serious job. You will notice that all LGB locos have track-wiper contacts, as well as current collection through the wheels, to help with all this.

 

It’s not that track power is impossible, it is very clearly possible, and many people make it work, it just requires a lot more effort. I can (and do) neglect my outdoor line for months at a time, then cut the undergrowth back and be running in minutes on battery power (or steam), whereas I’d need to spend a good couple of hours on track-cleaning if it was rail-powered.

 

If one wants to run a garden railway, it’s a lot better to study practice in 16mm/ft and G-scale than to attempt to transfer indoor 0 gauge thinking outside.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Nearholmer
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