Joe Works Narrow Gauge Locos

[Adam1701D]

I recently purchased what was thought to be a job lot of N Gauge kits but actually turned out to be mostly OO9 or the HO equivalent. A couple of the loco kits are a Peco "Manyways" 0-6-0 and a  FR Baldwin 590 both coming with Arnond or Minitrix 0-6-0 chassis.

 

The really intriguing items are from Joe Works of Japan - there is a tiny "Porter" 0-4-0 with a brass cab (to take a big motor) and lovely cast / turned parts. My favourite is an old-time railbus with a lovely brass body. I have not come across this company before and would love to know more about these vehicles and the prototypes.

 

 

[Nearholmer]

I will get back to you after ferreting deep in a cupboard, because I have a catalogue from c1980.

 

In the meanwhile ....... they made a wide range of H0e kits, starting I think with the Porter 0-4-0ST which you have, and a Sakai 4WD, the prototype of which was either a licensed build or copy of a Plymouth. The range included: several 4W railcars;  locos, coaches, and wagons from the Kiso forest railway; an O&K 0-6-0WT; and, was expanded to include a set of pastiches of D&RGW 3ft train, and some scale SR&RL locos and stock.

 

They were stocked in the UK by Victors of Pentonville Road, and were not cheap. They were beautiful things, but some of the mechanism designs were very fiddly to assemble, and irritatingly difficult to get to run smoothly. It could be done, but by golly did it take skill and patience!

 

Quite when they ceased to trade I'm not sure, but at a guess I would say that they were available from c1975-1990, although I suspect that many of the kits were only turned-out in smallish quantities, because, even at the time they were difficult/impossible to get.

 

The basic 0-4-0 chassis was available separately, and a few UK kits, notably some by Brian Clarke, were designed around it. His uber-kit was an entire Groudle Glen train, loco and coaches, cast in teeny-weeny bits of whitemetal (why he didn't supply wire instead to make the coaches I could never fathom), which used one of their 0-6-0 chassis, which had to be cut down to make the 2-4-0T. I persevered, and built it, but doing the coaches nearly drove me mad (actually, maybe it did).

[Nearholmer]

By a miracle, I found the catalogue at first stab.

 

The price-list with it is dated 1981, and tells me that when I bought R303 it cost me £27.50. The Railway Modeller cost 50p then, so using that as the index, now £4.95, that 2” long loco that was a nightmare to get running well cost >£200 in present value. No wonder it felt expensive at the time!

 

 

Edited November 21, 2021 by Nearholmer

[Nearholmer]

[Nearholmer]

[New Haven Neil]

Oh what a memory jerker.  'Somewhere'....ahem.....I have the Porter and a Gamecock, which I built to run on our club 009 layout in, ummm, 198....3? I have seen them since we moved here 19 years ago, but i have no idea where they are now. Crikey, were they that much!

[Nearholmer]

Gamecock - £26.95 (I remember I couldn't afford one before they went out of stock, because I needed money for the deposit on my first house!)

 

Porter - £16.10

 

They were wonderful things, and if they came back on the market I'd be seriously tempted to get back into H0e (after obtaining a stack of large magnifying glasses).

[Adam1701D]

Many thanks for he information @Nearholmer. Really useful.

 

These look like exactly the sort of thing that Victors would have stocked in their heyday. I worked at Kings Cross in the late '80s so Victors and Kings Cross models were like second homes!

 

The Railbus is a little gem - I've applied power to the wheelsets and she runs sweet as a nut.

[eastglosmog]

Just found my version of Gamecock, must have been bought back in the 1980s (from Parkside I think).  As can be seen from its rather cobwebby and dusty appearance, it doesn't work any more - its on the list for some care and attention!

 

Edited September 5, 2022 by eastglosmog
Restore photo

[AndyH]

Hello,

Have a look here at the range of kits.

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~bw9t-ymgs/draw/drawfrontE.html

@NearholmerMy father brought back that catalogue from Victor’s on a trip to London and I remember pawing over these.  On my auction house search list ever since, no matter how crude they are in comparison.

andy

[Nearholmer]

Japanese makers are still turning-out beautiful kits of the same general type in both H0e and Oe, but now to even higher standards, and with far better motors and drives. Probably mercifully for my wizened bank-balance, they are only sold direct, and via a few very specialist model shops, within Japan, because they are “reassuringly expensive”. Japan has an entire sub-culture of very tiny H0e layouts, executed with tremendous finesse, which I’m convinced have roots in their fine art and gardening traditions, the whole business of being able to create a resonant composition with very few, simple elements.

[friscopete]

I ,for my sins , made most of those kits for Victors  including the oh so frabjous shays .Lovely kits but oh so  dodgy runners especially as I had to produce a good runner.The only model train Bernie  Victor kept from  the shop was a little Gamecock I made for him . It doesnt run. I still have a Joe works chassis with a gear missing some where  .

[Nearholmer]

Notice the creative use of language on the front page, where it says they “run sweetly first time”!

 

One of the guys in our 009 area group used to spend absolutely hours, days even, working on the mechanism parts using valve-grinding paste on a piece of plate glass, getting rid of every tiny burr and eccentricity, and his ones did run very well indeed. The biggest problem I found with the basic 0-4-0 chassis was that the plastic it was made from was slightly flexible, and that made it a pig to get the worm-gear mesh consistently correct. The 0-6-0D had quite good arrangement, all metal, with a longitudinal shaft running in bearings created by opposing U-cutouts in plates IIRC, but I did have to scour the tool shops of London to find a reamer to get the resultant holes round and to size.

[Silvolde]

As a new member here I'd like to introduce myself. 

I'm Dutch, retired and living in the Netherlands in a small village, the only one with a toll bridge.

 

I'm collecting standard gauge and narrow gauge models in h0, h0m and h0e. In the late 70's I purchased my first Joe Works kit from Gerard Suisse, a 0-6-0 Koppel loc. From a friend I received a copy of the Victors Joe Works Catalog. Over the past years the kits collection grew. I've built a couple of them including the R 203 Shay. A couple of years ago I ran into financial problems and sold a part of my collection including the Sango made S.R.&R.L. SR kits. 

The older standard 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 models utilize a brass frame with the 3-pole Mabuchi blockmotor; the newer constructions have a plastic frame with a 5-pole motor. My shay has been equipped now with a Faulhaber ironless 1016 motor with flywheel and runs smoothly. Together with a hobbyfriend I purchased from Flying Zoo a r-t-r Shay which has the 5-pole original supplied motor. (see photo)

I'm currently digitizing the assembling instructions including the Victors catalog. I will use the current Far East made ironless motors with 7, 8 and 10 mm. diameter to replace the 3-pole block motors. These motors are also in the UK available, for instance from the Tramfabriek, located in Eton Wick.

 

Since 1979 Joe Works produced the Ferro Suisse h0m and 0m models of the RhB, FO and BVZ narrow gauge lines in Switzerland. In addition the h0ez rack Brienzer Rothorn Bahn was produced with special 9 mm rack tracks.  

Practically Joe Works was owned by Ferro Suisse. Joe Works went out of business in 2000.

 

I like to continue here with photos of build Joe Works models.

 

I wish all a prosperous and healthy 2023.

 

Silvolde

 

 

[Nearholmer]

Thanks, that’s added a bit more to my knowledge.

 

Are you a tram engine??

 

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Nearholmer

[New Haven Neil]

I really must try to find my Joe Works locos, I have an itch to scratch.

 

As for the Groudle Glen stuff, do you still have them @Nearholmer ?  I was a driver at Groudle...I'd love to see them.

 

 

[Nearholmer]

Long gawn, I’m afraid.

 

All of my 009/H0e stuff was sold via the famous 009 society sales system to fund 014 and 016.5 kits, which were sold via the 7mmNGA to fund a US H0 layout, which was sold to fund SM45 in the garden, which was sold to fund retro-0, each at a loss, and with additional funds pumped in at each stage, so goodness knows how much money I’ve wasted down the years! If I’d stuck with one scale and gauge I’d be retired on my own private island in the Caribbean by now (well, maybe not).

[New Haven Neil]

2 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Long gawn, I’m afraid.

 

All of my 009/H0e stuff was sold via the famous 009 society sales system to fund 014 and 016.5 kits, which were sold via the 7mmNGA to fund a US H0 layout, which was sold to fund SM45 in the garden, which was sold to fund retro-0, each at a loss, and with additional funds pumped in at each stage, so goodness knows how much money I’ve wasted down the years! If I’d stuck with one scale and gauge I’d be retired on my own private island in the Caribbean by now (well, maybe not).

 

ah yes, I kind of understand - except I never seem to sell anything of my own - (I used to be Trackshack!).  I have OO, 009, O HO, SM45.....and a small house with an understanding wife.  Although as she has 4 motorbikes, so she understands obsession!

 

NHN Groudling - at least I could stand up on the Steamplex, getting in and out of Sea Lion's cab was an issue for me.  Tall with some mobility issues!

 

[Nearholmer]

That’s some loco. I have only been to GG twice, once during the picturesque abandonment phase (which is why I bought that kit), once about 25 years ago, so haven’t seen the more recent locos. Next 25 yearly visit must be due!

[New Haven Neil]

7 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

That’s some loco. I have only been to GG twice, once during the picturesque abandonment phase (which is why I bought that kit), once about 25 years ago, so haven’t seen the more recent locos. Next 25 yearly visit must be due!

 

It was wild fun, it was LOUD! We've sold it on now (it was mate John's, I was the caretaker) as we both have succumbed to advancing years and injury in my case, I have had to give up Grumble as a result but if you ever come here, give me a shout!  The New Brown Bear (Polar Bear replica) and Otter the other new build are nice to see, plus Annie when she comes back from Jack Dibnah's getting overhauled.  My favourite was Annie, again I fit in, and I just liked driving her.  Oh that 009 itch is getting bad!

 

Me as Guard, second left.

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by New Haven Neil

[Silvolde]

14 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Thanks, that’s added a bit more to my knowledge.

 

Are you a tram engine??

 

 

My nickname is indeed the name of a tram engine, made by Backer & Rueb. The original is stored at  the narrow gauge museum in Valkenburg (ZH) close to Leiden. I've stated to build an h0e model during my study time. Three years ago Sven van der Hart designed a nice kit.

[Nearholmer]

My one proper (not working) visit to NL involved Valkenburg, and Hoorn-Medemblik, the latter I particularly enjoyed because it involved going to the rural life museum and on a boat trip too, a good and long day out from Amsterdam.

[Silvolde]

 Good evening Nearholmer,

 

Both Hoorn - Medemblik and Valkenburg are of interest but for narrow gauge fans There is an important place to visit. The former Rotterdamsche Tramweg Maatschappij RTM, now an active museum line in Ouddorp connecting the provinces Zuid-Holland and Zeeland.

The former RTM was a 1.067 mm narrow gauge line connecting the city of Rotterdam with the environments including the islands from Zuid Holland and Zeeland. After the activities from the RTM were terminated in 1966 a group of narrow gauge fans starts to restore the a part of the line and conservate the rolling stock. Initially in Hellevoetsluis but later on in Ouddorp where they build a new museum track.

 

The unique fact is that the RTM (rijdend Tram Museum) only utilizes rolling stock that was in service with the original RTM. 

Several narrow gauge railroad fans from the UK visited the RTM and thanks to them a lot of foilm material  has been stored. 

 

A visit to the RTM museum can be recommended.

 

Rgds,

Silvolde

[New Haven Neil]

Had a good look in the garage today, but haven't found the Joe Works locos yet. A little concerned as I am sure they were down there.  Tiny boxes in an O and SM45 world!

[Silvolde]

Hi all,

 

I've added now three photos of assembled Joe Works tenderlocs.

 

Rgds,

Silvolde