Barbados Railway

[Schooner]

Dear S Scalers, hullo!

 

I'm new round these parts (normally hanging out with the pre-Groupers), and wonder if I could canvas for a quick bit of opinion.

 

The Plan 

Well...the plan after the plan after I've finished the current plan, but still...! The Barbados Railway (initial info-gathering post here) looks fun, modellable and attainable for an 'inspired by' Little Empire layout.

 

 

Best documented in its post 1898-rebuilt, 2'6" gauge with Baldwin locos, this would be not unreasonable for an O16.5 or even On30 project. But, I much prefer the look and feel of the BR in its as-built 3'6" guise. With plenty else on the go, and so time perpetually tight, I would like to investigate how viable this would be to model in 1:48. Scale gauge would be 22.25mm. S Scale gauge is 22.5mm. You can probably guess what's comming up...

 

 

The Question

What, if any, ready-to-lay trackwork manufactureres would you recommend?

 

 

What, if any, ready-to-run chassis/mechanism (probaby entire locos and I'll change the body?) manufacturers would you recommend?

 

 

What, if any, kit manufacturers would you recommend?

 

 

 

Thanks for your time, all help much appreciated.

 

Merry Christmas, and wishing you all a very happy new year :)

 

Schooner

 

[Flying Fox 34F]

Schooner,

 

The only ready made track I’m aware of is for Om scale metre gauge for Swiss Prototypes.  Possibly too heavy for the track in the photos.  
The same applies for ready to run, Swiss O scale locomotives and rolling stock on 22.5mm track.  Parts are available from the S Scale Society stores, for scratch building.

If you want to attempt bashing RTR chassis to suit have a look at Steve Rabone’s creations on this section of RMweb and his own website, https://www.steverabone.com/sscalewebsite/indexpage.htm

 

Kind regards

 

Paul

[Timber]

Hi Schooner - I am not clear whether you want to model 2'6" or 3'6" gauge.   If you want to model in 3'6" gauge then why not S Scale running on 00 track?  If my maths is correct 3'6" in S Scale is 16.66mm which is close enough to 00 to probably not matter.  Or maybe I have missunderstood - appologies in advance.

[Schooner]

Thank you @Flying Fox 34F, I'll follow those leads :) I note that Mr Rabone's work, and indeed all kits I've found so far, are for inside cylinder locos which would be worth my bearing in mind.

 

@Timber no apologies needed - you've understood perfectly, and you're spot on with that suggestion!

 

I think to be viable the likely approach would be to lean on factory/kit track and chassis/mechanisms; scratch/3D print rolling stock bodies. This would be 1:64 on 00 track, or 1:32 on O (FS).

 

In between, as so possibly the goldilocks option, would be 1:48 on S track. It being - famously! - a scratch builder's scale I though the options for kits would be limited but thought I'd ask :)

 

Trackwork looks pretty doable in kit form, there being a couple of American suppliers for #4-#10 turnouts, including 3-way and crossings, but would still leave me with a large expense of time or money to get something to run on it! So the middle way is probably not the path I'll be choosing. Although these things seem to be changing pretty rapidly atm, so I'll be keeping an eye on the S market.

 

Cheers all,

 

Schooner

[ColinK]

Would HO work?  3.5 mm to the foot with 12mm gauge track.  Track, loco mechanisms, buildings and people readily available.

[Flying Fox 34F]

Just remembered, there was an Importer of American S scale track and materials based in Belfast.  No idea, if they are still in operation.

 

Paul

[Rosedale]

This looks to be a really interesting and absorbing project. Now, I'm biased as a long-term S-Scaler, but I agree with Timber that 1:64 S-Scale using OO track would be a great idea and would give you more railway for your space than using 7mm/O. The tender locos and longish trains would be better reproduced in S as well. There is a good range of figures and other scenic items available in S and instead of OO track you could use O-16.5 track from Peco for that Narrow-Gauge look? 

[Schooner]

Thanks @Rosedale, I think you and @Timber have the answer! Once the 4mm and 7mm projects are complete (both c.5' x 2' tabletop shunting layouts, one reasonably complete, one in build), I'll be in a position to decide on what to aim for with a 'proper model railway' layout, and have a better idea about available space, but 1:64 on PecoO 16.5 looks good all round. Glad to have a viable way forward with the scheme :)

 

Cheers all, much appreciated. Hopefully back with updates before too many years have passed...!

 

EDIT: Note to self really. Whilst PECO's range is limited (short Y, medium L/R and flex), Marcway do reasonably priced 2' and 3' points, inc 3-way, and curved as well. This opens up the trackplan options significantly without breaking the bank...and improves the odds of sneaking in some custom geometry when the Domestic Finanical Officer isn't looking :)

Edited January 9 by Schooner

[ianmianmianm]

Hello - having tried various scale and gauge combinations for modelling Spanish and Portuguese Metre gauge, I kept coming back to the chassis and mechanisms being the driver. I did opt for HOm in these cases due to the availability of scenics but this has left me with a real cost issue in terms of mechanisms as some of the prototypes are quite long and a lot of the less complex TT mechs come out too small.  In hindsight I could have gone for TTn3 instead which would have allowed me to use japanese mechs, bodies from TT scale 3D prints, and some wargaming buildings.