How do you show / run your models

[hayfield]

Like a few others I seem to have aquired some old locos and stock, which either do not fit in with my own small layout owing to wrong region / era or coarse scale wheels etc. On my shelf layout I will build 2 of the raods in the engine shed in code 100 (mainly for mt whitemetal kits with RTR wheels) so the locos canhave a run out.

 

However thoughts wandered to building a small shelf style layout on 60's practices. Looking through old Railway Modellers the style was small and simple. Airfix kits still abound as do and probably better Builtezzee card kits. Scratch built platforms. Large tender coaches pulling 2 or 3 carriages of a different company etc

 

Simply a Retro layout (if thats the right word) then thoughts went to track, small radius points and perhapps hand built track (card/balsa sleepers).

 

Any thoughts about this or has anyone done this

[TT3]

Hmmm well my 3mm layout is pretty retro given most of the RTR and kit stock date from 1970 or earlier so I guess that counts. Many moons ago we built a Triang 60s labout (for an exhibition in 1988), super 4 track, triang building the lot worked very well too.

[Il Grifone]

It would depend how coarse the wheels are. Peco Streamline and other 60s track were designed to accept all the then current wheels, which basically meant averaging out to Dublo standards; Tri-ang were a bit coarser and scale (BRMSB0 a bit finer. The very coarse Trix Twin/Express wheels had by then virtually disappeared. I believe (but have not checked) that Peco tolerances were tightened in the eighties, but are still a bit too 'lenient'.

 

My last layout was basically a retro/vintage as I used HD 3 rail track and stock together with contemporary accessories. (This was a bit limiting and some interlopers crept in!) I'll post the photos in tmy layout thread, as soon as I can get access to them on my other computer.

[hayfield]

David

 

My collection ranges from finescale Hamblings and Romford to Hornby Dublo through to Triang, Rolling stock is Romford(ish). I was considering going down the 00 universal scale route with code 100 as both Romfords and Triang will work.

 

I have just brought some ERG brass chairs off Ebay but they are too fine scale. I was hoping to find some Peco Indvidulay or similar off Ebay for some retro track building ! I may have to settle for copperclad construction.

[Jenny Emily]

Around a decade ago this is how my Father and I ran our old Hornby Dublo stuff. It was all laid onto green painted flat wooden baseboards that were held on a steel frame (not unlike the way market stalls are constructed). We could run four three rail and one two rail trains at the same time. The trick with Hornby Dublo was to accept that the track was just a toy, and treat it as such without trying for any additional realism. They ran fine, but we found over a weekend the third rail required oiling, or else holes appeared in the pickup shoes.

 

 

[Il Grifone]

IIRC the ERG chairs were intended for bullhead rail which I think would have been roughly code 100, which was considered finescale at the time.

 

I had some Peco flexible (Pecoway?) in the early sixties, which was incorporated in my first 2 rail layout. At the time, I thought it was very realistic. (I plead youth!) It was certainly better than Wrenn's stuff, however. Individulay came as fibre bases or individual sleepers spiked down with ½" track spikes - insulation board was the recommended base. I fear it will be difficult to find today. The fibre base did not like being relaid and was susceptible to damp. The plastic based track was so superior that the fibre stuff vanished almost overnight.

 

The only fibre track that is still realively easy to find is the Trix 3 rail sectional track - not really suitable for a 'scale' railway even using the hard to find universal points. (Only Trix (and possibly Tri-ang) wheels will go through the others, even if the stock will go around the 13½" corners curves.)

[hayfield]

IIRC the ERG chairs were intended for bullhead rail which I think would have been roughly code 100, which was considered finescale at the time.

 

I had some Peco flexible (Pecoway?) in the early sixties, which was incorporated in my first 2 rail layout. At the time, I thought it was very realistic. (I plead youth!) It was certainly better than Wrenn's stuff, however. Individulay came as fibre bases or individual sleepers spiked down with ½" track spikes - insulation board was the recommended base. I fear it will be difficult to find today. The fibre base did not like being relaid and was susceptible to damp. The plastic based track was so superior that the fibre stuff vanished almost overnight.

 

The only fibre track that is still realively easy to find is the Trix 3 rail sectional track - not really suitable for a 'scale' railway even using the hard to find universal points. (Only Trix (and possibly Tri-ang) wheels will go through the others, even if the stock will go around the 13½" corners curves.)

 

These might not be ERG but come in similar paper packets that ERG items have come in and were described as ERG, they are too small for code 100 though, but the seller also was selling ERG fiber sleepers. Still will keep a look out for some form of early type track

[Il Grifone]

I recollect I had a few brass chairs at the time (Don't ask the make or how/why I had them), which I recall had two clips to hold the rail and two tags to fit through holes in the sleepers. There was also an affair bent from strip. which provided a vetical piece to gauge the rail and a flat piece to solder it to. It must have been a real pain to assemble!

[Il Grifone]

Around a decade ago this is how my Father and I ran our old Hornby Dublo stuff.

 

That's really good. In the true fifties' tradition of covering the board with track. (What it's for after all! )

 

I particularly like the shot of the 'Castle'.

[hayfield]

I recollect I had a few brass chairs at the time (Don't ask the make or how/why I had them), which I recall had two clips to hold the rail and two tags to fit through holes in the sleepers. There was also an affair bent from strip. which provided a vetical piece to gauge the rail and a flat piece to solder it to. It must have been a real pain to assemble!

 

The seller stated these were ERG, having read your reply and looked at the ERG sleepers (with 2 holes each side)he was selling, these are from some other make.

 

 

As the items are so small my ability to keep them in focus is limited. They are either sliced from a profiled brass bar or are stampings. They are not exact copys of chairs as they are in 2d not 3d format.

 

They fit code 75 and not 100 might they be TT gauge ?. Still will be of use making points and I might use them when building C&L plastic sleepered track when adding some copperclad sleepers to add a bit of strength.

[ceejaydee]

Hope that I'm not dragging this thread up after too much inactivity....

 

Although not vintage when compared with some of the models on here; I was contemplating building a small layout to run my collection of mainly Triang-Hornby '60s/70's stock.

Some of the locos will not go through Peco code 100 points so I was considering having a go at hand building my own using copper clad sleepers so I can tweak the check rail clearances.

Also whilst I can live with the oversize rail the HO scale sleepers have always bugged me somewhat.

I did find some old plastic based Dublo 2-rail track and the proportions were quite pleasing although the base itself was too brittle to consider any real experimentation.

 

I too find something comforting in Airfix, Triang and Superquick buildings and feel that they compliment the older stock perfectly.

[Il Grifone]

There shouldn't be any problem (apart from being H0) to running Tri-ang Hornby on Peco code 100. It might be worth checking the B-B measurement. HD track is a bit delicate as the base is polystyrene and fragile. The only 00 track is the old Formoway and Gem, but availability is limited these days.

[ceejaydee]

The main culprits seem to be the 0-6-0 locos and despite having flangeless centre wheels they seem to bind on the check rails on Peco points, even Setrack.

The R041 57xx Pannier is particularly stubborn; although having said that I haven't checked the B-T-B measurements.

 

I'm glad that I found this part of the forum - seems I'm not the only one who gets exited at the mention of Gaiety Panniers and the like

 

 

(Having a few problems getting quotes to work properly today though)

[hayfield]

The main culprits seem to be the 0-6-0 locos and despite having flangeless centre wheels they seem to bind on the check rails on Peco points, even Setrack.

The R041 57xx Pannier is particularly stubborn; although having said that I haven't checked the B-T-B measurements.

 

I'm glad that I found this part of the forum - seems I'm not the only one who gets exited at the mention of Gaiety Panniers and the like

 

 

(Having a few problems getting quotes to work properly today though)

 

I have been meaning to build a code 100 point/turnout so I can run my older locos on Triang/Hornby?Hornby Dublo chassis. The worst offenders are the Triang locos, in the past I have had trouble in quatering the wheels on these locos, so increasing the back to back distance must be done carefully.

 

I have some ABC (Alan Brett Cannon) track in 18" lengths and will build a larger radius turnout to match them, hopefully the B to B measurement will not be so tight. I think the problem with the smaller radius turnouts is that the check rail measurement may be taken from the stock rail rather than the V, not a problem on the straight section but it is on the curved road as the gauge may have widened. If this is the case, cut off the plastic check rail from the RTR point and refit a new metal one.

 

No problem on restarting the thread or even creating a new one. I tend to get side tracked like everyone else, so whilst I have no more trackwork commissions I am doing something else for a change. I was given a K's GNR Atlantic to rebuild. Its been rebuilt at least once before and some of the parts have been filed to fit previous builds so its a bit of a challange. This week even this week has taken a back seat, captains week at the golf club and lots of black and white currants needed picking.

[Il Grifone]

I've been having some thoughts (always rather traumatic!) on a mini layout for my collection, which runs from Trix Twin to the fine 2.2 mm wheels intended for EM. The old (and AFAIK the only) solution to this was the universal track with the whole blade closure and wing rail assembly moving to close the gap at the crossing. Code 100 rail should be OK as the deepest flanges are the 2mm of Trix wheels - obviously the rail requires to be soldered to PCB sleepers leving the web clear, at least on the inside.

 

The first step was to be a fiddle yard traverser using recovered HD rail from scrap track. I have the idea to interlace 00 and EM gauges so that one EM running rail serves as the centre rail for the 00.

 

The only universal R-T-R track is fibre base Trix, with the later design of point. The problem here is the 13½" curves of the pointwork and standard curves.

[Dan Griffin]

hi, hope this fiots in this thread, but i recently, re-discovered this in the attic, at the bottom of a box of old toys. clockwork trains really are fun, however the circle of track soon got a bit boring. so, i was wondering what a little 0-4-0 clockwork tanks haulage and range was. so onto the layout it went. its wheels didnt like code 75 points!! it managed 2 and a half laps of my layout which is around 38ft round. and it managed to haul 6 Bachmann HEA hoppers plus two brake vans before slipping away. it was comical next to a Bachmann class 37,(acting as thunderbird!!!) dcc sound and clockwork side by side! this is the fun part of the hobby!

 

ready to go!

 

this is where it came to a stand. two and a half laps later

 

'thunderbird' 37057 draggin percy back to the station. NEM couplings would not work with the wagons.

 

wheels spin with mor than 8 Bachmann wagons.

 

by the way if anyone has one of these that they do not need anymore, id love to get a roof for this train. god only knows when it went missing!