Reptilian Feline

I just got my posts approved at the lner.info forum, but googling the subject turns up information that seem to say both yes and no, so I'm still a bit confused. I need to dig deeper. My problem, I think, is that most coaches were replaced by newer models before WW2. If so, then it becomes a less plausible coach, and not worth the trouble trying to make... unless it might have been kept in use in low traffic areas or by companies that wanted something simple for their workers... or maybe for some train crews working on improving the track or something. I will read up on the GER website.

You wouldn't happen to know where I could find some pictures or more info about them? From what I understand, the look was distinctive between pre-grouping companies.

I have some old coaches in German outline that I wish to convert to LNER, but they have six wheels instead of the 4 + 4 boogies, so I'm wondering if LNER ever had coaches with six wheels. If NER never made any, would LNER in the same area run some on a smaller line during WW2?

I'm sorry if I'm not "fine" enough, but I'm hoping for some help anyway... even if it's just to point me to a different part of the forum. I'm modelling N gauge, and being in Sweden, the lack of clubs etc. to help with finescale is non existent. I have to stick with RTR for the locos, and have already built a few Metcalf buildings, so I guess my scale is stuck on 1:148. None the less, I was advised to use finescale tracks, and have pulled up the Peco range in my software. I'm curious to know if there is any known problems with any of the tracks or points from Peco, or if I can just pick any of them and they will all be fine. Then there is the question of radius and gradients and the inside size of tunnels and bridges. I've been told to not using anything less than the R3 Peco curves. Is that only for the visual bit, or for running as well? How high does a bridge need to be to accommodate the track and the train that goes under? How wide need the tunnels be in the curves? The model will be fictional branch line northern Yorkshire, 1942-45, mostly rural. Lots of freight, no fancy Flying Scotsman, local passenger train, maybe a passing express. I need the gradient for letting the track pass over the other track for more length of running track. I like the visual bit of trains passing over each other, and I'd like all my tracks to be accessible by the same train. My space is limited, and finescale might give me more, just a tad, but it would be a lot more difficult to get the engines (I think), and I think that maybe the Spitfires in 1:144 might be just a bit too large as well. I thank you for your help in advance.

If I can paint the J94 in war department livery, then I can get away with it. At this point I don't have any interest in DCC. I figure that if I wire properly for block control running, then if I switch to DCC later, any non-DCC might still be able to run. I haven't really read up on DCC, since I can't afford it at this point, and wish to run my trains on my own. The LNER info website is now my go-to list of very useful websites. Any loco suggested, I look up there before checking the Hatton website. Rails of Sheffield... I know those ads from the RM magazine. I'll check them out on ebay,

I was hoping life had gotten easier when it comes to N gauge but I guess it's hard no matter what. I was hoping for some chassis, like Rocuhan makes for Z. Is it possible to find used models with a reputable ebayer? I know brexit is putting a damper on things when buying from the UK, but with the right seller, I'm sure we can figure out how best to do it.

My first thought when getting back to plan my model railway was to do it in Z. I'd say N is a lot easier!

Background: N gauge, rural north Yorkshire, LNER steam, WW2 era. Fictional. I can buy a few locos that fit the setting of my layout as RTR. They number of locos are limited though. If I go for kits, would I be able to find other locos, or are they the same, but you need to put them together on your own? If I buy a kit, where do I find the bottom part with the motor and wheels? Are kits cheaper or more expensive than RTR? Would 3D printed kits be better, or do people still go for the brass kits?

Thanks for the wonderful videos. So... try to avoid gradients... but if need be, then let one track half down, the other half up. Use Peco 55 and R3 curves if possible. Do open baseboard for better realism. I set up the parallell track in the software using the Peco scissor crossover as a template. It helps me when connecting points and sidings in the software. Wider gap in curves is a given, even when banking. I have to set up engines, carriages and wagons to see how long my sidings need to be. I just hope that the ones I want to use have their measurements posted somewhere. I have plenty of square tubing in aluminium and corner joints to make the "table"-legs, so I don't think that should be much of a problem with making the open baseboard. It should still be pretty stable. I'm used to working in papier maché, so the landscaping shouldn't be much of a problem once I get started. BTW... I didn't know you put points on a gradient.

Lots of interesting replies and points. So, first, I'm planning the layout in XTrackCad and the Peco libraries. My plan is to use the Peco points with Peco flextrack. It will be a DC setup, no DCC, mostly because of the cost. Xtrackcad is a bit fiddly when it comes to nice changes for sidings and so on. I want to set it up with a realistic number for the tightest radius, because this is also what it uses when connecting tracks to points. The software has a parallell track button. Very useful when making up stations, and it was set at 50 mm spacing. I tried to match the very impressive crossover from Peco, but wasn't sure I got it right. The software also has a feature so I can check gradients, but I need to know the spacing between levels to set it up properly. I have a general area for where I can put the layout, but the size is somewhat flexible, but on the smaller side, and I'm trying to figure out the smallest size I need for the station and its sidings, where it will still be useful. The layout will probably be O shaped, so I might not need the tightest radii for the main curves. It will be single track in and out of the station, but hopefully with a way to chose between two routs once the train leaves the station. I don't want the layout to be too flat, so some elevation and hopefully a viaduct will be part of the layout as well. I probably won't have the luxury of testing gradients before hand, so I'd rather play it safe.

I did some checking on minimum radius and steepest elevation in Z scale when I though that was what I was going to model. Now that I'm back to N, I know I can get some experience input, and not just crunch some numbers. I think that I read that elevation shouldn't be steeper than 4%. I assume that it doesn't matter what scale that is. However, I also need to know the clearance of engines and coaches and wagons, so that I can calculate the elevation. For steam LNER, what would be the best number to go by? Also, the radius. With proper banking, and short engines and wagons, the radius can be pretty small, but how small? Setting up XtrCad for the track laying isn't that hard when you have the numbers. BTW what is the space between parallell tracks? I'm thinking that the double crossover switch could work as a template for that, but the software refuses to the list the space between the tracks.

You're absolutely right. I think the problem with the Settle & Carlisle suggestion back when I got it, was that it's well documented, but I never really looked at the landscape, just buildings and locos and the area around the track in the pictures. LNER is the way to go if that is what would be proper for the landscape I have in my mind. It would still be miles more easy to make than a Z-scale version of fictional Yorkshire. BTW... I like the LNER Y1 shunter (it's Y1 and Y3 on the LNER site). It's small, appropriate, right in the time as well as for the usage I plan for it... and cute too. BTW... I'm a woman ;-) but I know that's unusual, so I don't mind being called a "he" when nobody knows any better. :-D I didn't know there were small steam shunters. The railway book I read spoke about diesel shunters being popular a lot earlier than I thought diesel was used for engines. If steam could do the job, then I don't need to put up diesel refuelling spots on the layout.

After coming across a LNER forum thread from 2008, it seems that LMS lent some engines to LNER during WW2, and they were only renumbered, not relivered (sp?), so still had LMS on the side. I could make a military train with an LMS engine and it would still be OK for the area... at least that's what the post I read sounded like.

One thing I'm thinking about is the type of shunter I can use. When I read about it, I found that small early diesel locos were used to replace the horses. LNER had very few, but the Z6 is a nice little thing. The question is, is there some way I can make one based on a donor chassi? The LNER J26 looks like a possible engine for my layout. It seems to fit, historically. Looks short enough for some tighter curves too, but I need to read up on some reviews for that first.

Such a wealth of information! Thank you all. I wish to point out that I'm planning an N-gauge layout, so RTR for N might be more limited. As for Yorkshire... did you know it's old viking land? I'm reclaiming my property! I think that if I choose carefully, I can make something work. I'll look through the list of possibilities, and figure out what scene would be possible and make sense. I know the war office (I think that's what it was called) had their own trains, and that could be used as an excuse for some locos, but I'd rather go with what might be found in the area, rather than rely on the war effort.

All very interesting! Plenty for me to read up on. I will have a larger station that is single line passing through with plenty of sidings and a turntable and so on. No terminus. I hope to fit a smaller station (small stop, sheep pen) and a brewery if space permits it. It will be strictly 1942-1945. Dad's Army, spitfires, etc. Paper crosses on the windows, no lights (I'll fit some but want to run without as well). War time feel. I've searched the internet for shop fronts that will fit into the timeline. Question - the RTR LMS locos, would some fit LNER with a bit of adaptations? I don't need any fancy long express engines. They wouldn't work properly on gradients and curves.

Actually, the early part of the series is pre WW2, and then they put the paper crosses on the windows to prevent them from breaking, and then they get drafted for service. I got the whole series in a DVD box. I'll look into the Sheffield-Leeds-Skipton area, and see what it looks like.

I thought that my fictional Yorkshire layout would be LMS in colours and standards. Now I just learned that LNER might be there as well. A while back someone suggested I look at the Settle & Carlyle line as inspiration. I like the LMS look, but maybe I should reconsider? The landscape I want to model will be grass, stonewalls, hedges, and plenty of trees in the background. I draw much of my inspiration from the original "All creatures great and small" TV-series. With that in mind, what would be most likely; LMS or LNER?

Thanks Ben A! My time and place will be fictional Yorkshire 1942-1945. LMS territory if I'm not mistaken. I'm thinking of a couple of early diesel shunters and a couple of fairly small steam engines. Nothing fancy. Rolling stock of all kinds and regions, but a simple passenger train for the local commute and a regional train that passes through.

Thank you all for your replies. My biggest concern with Z-scale is the lack of British outline rolling stock and locos. Some have kindly offered to do some 3D printing for me, but it would still be hard to make that work on donor chassis from Märklin or Rokuhan. When I first started planning my original layout, I designed it in British N (at the time described as 1:148) and I bought several packs of Metcalf N buildings (some that I built at the time) and some Peco flextrack. I have some German styled locos and rolling stock that I can use to check if the track is properly connected, but was planning for British RTR locos and rolling stock. There seem to be little difference between 1:148 and 1:152, or will it will glaringly obvious that I might have accidentally mixed scales when making the buildings or getting my hands on some used rolling stock? As to card stock, as Royal42 asked about... paper and card is measured by weight in square meter (in Sweden). Standard thin printer paper is 80 gram (metric). A little thicker but still standard is 100 gram. If you have paper or card without any info, I'd use my own method for checking stiffness... hold the paper/card between your fingers at on end, and see if it slumps down or stay straight. I would say that cereal boxes are thin card. If that is all you have (like me) then double up for thick card, but do it at a 90 degree angle for better stiffness when gluing the two pieces together.

I was set on somehow managing to build a model railway in Z-scale, but I still kept my N-scale Peco flex-track, the Metcalf buildings and so on, in case I might have use for them later. Thankfully I haven't bought anything for Z yet, just worked on digital card kits, not printed yet, and collecting useful images for the scratch building it would have involved. Now it looks like I will have room for an N-scale (1:148) layout anyway, and that will make things a lot easier, since there will be plenty of tracks that fit, and locos and rolling stock to boot. So, I happily went back here, looking for the scale specific forum area for N, and I'm a bit confused. Is N considered 9mm because if the width of the tracks, or is it 2mm? Please advice! I'm going to remake the layout in XtrCad using the Peco line of tracks and turnouts, and could use some advice on what to use and what to avoid.

Scan, and then make it from the scanned image, not the original.

There's always a problem in hobbies that are creative. I don't mind signing up for a place to find good downloads, or good enough freeware. I don't mind fixing things that's not OK within free stuff. I do mind having to fix things that's supposed to be good for my needs, and I pay for it, and I still need to fix it because the seller didn't tell the truth. I have downloaded a few free card kits that I then spend time rescaling to fit Z-scale. I have done so, to find out if it's working. I might have to buy some kits and scale those down as well, if I find something I like, and I'm OK with that too. For 3D printing there are several options, but I know that making a model is very time consuming. If you then offer it for free, you want a hands off approach to that download. You want to spend your time on things you want, not to have to answer emails from people who "don't get it" or can't follow directions. They don't want to sign up? Fine. Their loss. Move on. Plenty of people don't appreciate the time it takes to make things; be it 3D models, digital artwork, or knitted sweaters. They want it free or dirt cheap and then complain. We need to blank that out of our lives somehow, but it's hard when we try to be nice.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. I'm planning a model railway, British, fictional Yorkshire, 1942-1945, in Z. Z scale isn't big in British outline, as I have found out. It means I have to print my own buildings (not a problem), make my own rolling stock (mostly in card) and 3D-print the locos and put on donor locos. So, the things I can't change are track, Z-scale 6.5 mm, the wheels from mostly Märklin and their Z-scale, and the donor locos, also from Märklin. I'm not rich and live in Sweden, so finding used locos and rolling stock, means that Märklin is what I can find the easiest. However... Z-scale is 1:220 internationally. Should I stick with that, or try to find the British equivalent based on track size and wheel size and do what N scale did? N is 1:160 internationally, but 1:148 in British settings. After all, scaling the buildings is done on my computer, and the kits for the rolling stock can be done the same way, and a 3D-printer file that needs scaling can be scaled to whatever is most suite so the donor chassi can fit inside. Potentially, there is no need for me to stick to 1:220, is there? There really isn't anything ready made that would fit into the British setup, except a few people. I have to make the rest... or am I missing something?

I want WW2 with all the quirks of no road signs, taped up windows, and so on. The number of different wagons I can run, and the setups of the trains, I just love the idea of it. I know it's bonkers to want to model something like that in a scale that doesn't really exist, but I love to make things and solve problems, so I'm not put off by the difficulties. Boogies and wheels can be bought separately as well (they are spare parts I guess) and then finding an 0-6-0 steam engine and putting a British shell on it (unless only a little need to change from the German version) should probably help a lot. I think I can get away with a lot of adaptations... as you say, PatB, it's Z, and on a branch line anything old goes. No need for a fancy Flying Scotsman.