EasternO

I'm planning on buying 3 or 4 DMUs (already bought one) and the same number of locos (already bought two) and sticking with that for a while. A station would be good, either through or terminus, I'd like to keep all the trains on the layout. I don't need freight infrastructure but I'd like a couple short crawling trains trying their best to interrupt the passenger traffic. Shunting is not my thing so these will be semi-permanent trains. I'd like to try as best as possible to have a continuous loop, but I am very aware of the tight area around the hatch. I think 2nd rad could be OK, but I've not tested it as I don't yet have any track.

Ah, very good questions and a reminder that I haven't included all the details. I can comfortably stand up in there. This space is a sort of 'room' in the loft. Outside these walls are storage eves and there are two doors to access these. One is pretty much at the 178 measurement and the other is to the right of the 244 measurement. The tops of the doors are approx half the height of the loft and at this height the slope of the roof breaks into the room. Therefore, the usable space would be inside these measurements to allow for the slope of the roof, and I can't lower the baseboard height without somehow accounting for the storage doors which both open into the room.

I had some time this afternoon to add in the hatch location and dimensions. As you can see, the area above the hatch needs to be looked at carefully to avoid cutting off access.

That's the big one! An idea I have is to come up with a temporary design in OO, so I can play with it for a while and change it as necessary, and then switch over to P4 when I'm happy with it. Tangibly playing and testing before committing to a permanent design really appeals to my uncertain, swing with the wind nature. I've been watching a few YouTube channels on automation and something about that really appeals also, and that led me to a Minories style terminus with a loop. I'm not wedded to that idea, but it's interesting to explore.

I did, thanks, but it didn't float my boat unfortunately. There are two eras that do, however. One is Edwardian tank engines and the other is early 60s DMUs and Bo-Bo diesels. If I was going to pursue 7mm / 5.5mm / S I would have chosen the earlier era for sure as I don't mind making stuff. Now that I've chosen 4mm (definitely this time!) I may as well follow my other boat floater as pretty much everything I want is available to buy. So now the test track is more of a layout.

Looking ahead, the track layout would be broadly similar to that in my first post, except I could fit in one more track on the right side as seen. This would be handy for storing longer trains. I'm still a bit stuck for the area in the alcove - is this is the best use I can make of it?

I've thrown in the towel. 7mm is too big, 5.5mm doesn't exist and S would take too long. I've chosen 4mm and made some purchases. All I need to do now is spend another 5 months choosing the gauge.

They are very compact gearmotors. Where did you get them and what ratio is the motor unit on its own? I like the size of them very much.

28mm is a pretty loose term and accounts for a range of ratios. I model to 1:56. I do a bit of machining anyway, so producing a limited range of wheels isn't as big of a problem as producing a draw tool and profiling rail. That requires a machine I don't have and would be too expensive for me to buy for only one specific task. Making wheels in contrast is much simpler. Casting a centre and fixing a turned tyre is reasonably simple and I've done something similar previously.

Your models are very nice and I'm sure there's a market for them. Many of the GE wagons and coaches are types that I'd like to model myself, but 7mm is too big for my space. Would it be easy to rescale them? Are they O gauge or S7?

Thank you all for your input, very interesting information. Yes I am looking at different scales to start railway modelling. I looked at 7mm scale and bought a couple kits to build, which I have started, but looking at the space I have available 7mm is possibly a stretch too far. I know that 4mm is going to be too small for what I need so I've been looking at what is available between 4mm and 7mm. Only S scale exists in that space. I happen to have another hobby modelling in 28mm scale (or 1:56) so while I've been looking at what scale to model my railway in, the answer really has been staring me in the face all along. I may as well choose 28mm where I can easily combine them if I want to. My only real stumbling block is finding appropriate rail as I can't draw it myself, but as I will model the Edwardian era I could possibly use S rail and get away with it. That's where I'm at currently.

I've spent four days on and off reading through this fabulous thread and marvelling at the pictures that remain. Stunning work. It such a sad loss to this topic that so many pictures are missing, but the workmanship on those that are still present is brilliant.

If anyone is able, could you photograph a side by side comparison of Code 100 00 track and S track please? I'd have to join the S Scale Soc. to buy even a sample of rail to do this myself. Thanks in advance.

Hello Ray. Nothing has changed except for the general lack of enthusiasm for the available radius on my corners. I would prefer 7mm scale but 4mm is too small for me. I'm pretty sure I mentioned making my own track previously, but it will be functional rather than for display. What I enjoy about this hobby is designing and building wagons, rather than running a layout, but as I'm building them it would be a good idea to test that they are fit for purpose by running them on track and turnouts. If 7mm is going to be more trouble than a smaller scale - but larger than 4mm - then I'd be content to choose that. I can repurpose my designs for this new scale. Possibly, my first loco design would be an early R24 shunting tank where no off-the-shelf wheels exist anyway in 7mm, so I'd have to make my own. All along I've accounted for having making my own wheels to some extent, so it doesn't worry me too much. If I was going to choose 7mm I would much prefer S7, but as mentioned before there are serious doubts about my radii. I can't change this - unless I get a bigger house, which is unlikely. What I'll probably do is design to a scale I can accommodate and use 1:64 track with exact scale wheels is 5.5mm scale. If I absolutely have to I'll use check rails on my corners.

S would be between what I'm looking for and 4mm, so for me still a bit too small, but thanks. I was thinking of using their rail and chairs though, even if somewhat under scale. The supply of scale rail is my biggest issue at the moment. I've ordered some wagon drawings from the NRM so I'll virtually mock up a scale wheel against S rail head and see what happens.

I've been thinking a fair amount over my chosen scale and reluctantly decided to drop it. I don't have the space for what I'd like to achieve. Having already decided against 4mm as being too small for me, I looked at S scale. It's only marginally larger than 4mm so decided against that too. What I'd like is something closer between 4mm and 7mm. The problem with that is there are no supplies - rail and wheels in particular - that are ready off the shelf. Are there any small businesses that can produce custom drawn rail? Failing that, is any rail currently available that would be approx 5.5mm scale?

This is a fantastic thread by an exceptional craftsman. I'm looking forward to more content.

Great news. I keep missing these events you put on. One question that has always troubled me when I see these lists; what is the difference between a trader and manufacturer in your list? A lot of the traders actually manufacture products, not just trade other manufacturers' items. There's probably only 4 or 5 'traders' in your traders list. The rest are manufacturers of their own products. Not a criticism, a genuine enquiry. Cheers.

I was thinking of starting with the three versions of the 3 plank opens: fixed sides, drop sides and drop sides and ends, all on steel 15' chassis. Eventually working my way through the steel framed opens. Also, I'd like to see details of the wooden and steel 15' chassis. There was a 5 plank body that was fitted to both.

Cheers. I've been scouring the GER Soc website. I've found a few drawings I'm going to buy to see what they offer in way of detail.

Where do you get your source material, specifically accurate drawings, to produce your models?

Thanks all. I may have over-egged what this 'layout' is. It's primarily a test track to build wagons on, plus the occasional 0-6-0. The loop is simply something to run locos and trains on while I work for entertainment. The locos will be GE, so only coupling rods to consider, but I agree I will need to look carefully at how I include some sideways movement on at least one of the axles of an 0-6-0. I'm not worried about pick-up as I'm planning on battery power with lever turnouts. It's not a decorative layout in any way, so hand-laid track soldered to PCB or similar. Thanks again, I'll look more depth into S7 and see what I can achieve, otherwise I'll stick with O.

Thanks all, I didn't expect this many responses. I haven't made my mind up on S7 or O gauge yet, but my 'layout' will be a fairly simple oval in the loft with one or two turnouts to storage lanes. The min radii will be fairly tight, maybe 3' 6" to 4' but I'll put the turnouts on straights. The modelled era will be Victorian, so mostly 4 wheel wagons and coaches and mostly 6 wheeled locos.

If I laid track (and turnouts) that is perfectly level and at a gauge that suits the wheel standard, would I need to compensate or spring my axles on, for example, a 2 axle wagon? I can't see why I would need to, but I've never built a layout before.

I really like your thread. I'm drawing up some GER and LNER Standard wagons over Christmas. I'm planning on getting them etched.