To the scratchbuilders

[Anonymous]

I have great fun scratchbuilding trams for my railway.However,apart from Phil in Assieland and Vic,does everyone accept what they are given by the manufacturers or do they try and make their railway more unique.I hear a lot on this forum about trains people would like to have but do nothing about it.
I'm not being critical here,but I am interested in solutions on what people want to model
In my garden ,on a sunny day,my boys will be running European and American trains with no regard to prototype or era.In the evening ,the trains will be removed and I will run a tram service.
My question is "how particular are you? "
Troy

[Anonymous]

Troy, I more or less prefer Us prototypes of the narrow gauge steam era. I look at the offering in rolling stock and just prefer to build my own to get a nicer model, but I can't say for less cost unless less is an offering from AMS or Hartford. After researching a bit and asking questions here and at MLS I find motive power wise I must bash a 4-6-0 into a 2-6-0 to get the prototype to fit bill.
I'm not going to sit around and wait for someone to build what I want, It most likely would not happen.

[kstrong]

If you look on page 72 of the February Garden Railways, that may give you some indication of where I stand. [;)]

(How's that for a tease, Rene???)

I'm very particular about what I run on my railroad. Not out of disdain for anything else, just as a reflection of how I choose to enjoy the hobby. Anyone's welcome to run anything they want on my railroad, but anything that I put on my rails will be very specificly tailored to my vision. I model a prototype that is largely unsupported by the manufacturers. And the pieces that are available are (a) in the wrong scale, and (b) too modern for the era I'm modeling. That leaves me with the option of either compromising on what I want to achieve in the garden by running things that are "close enough,'" or building exactly what I want. For me, I get a lot of enjoyment out of building, so "close" isn't "enough." I'd rather build it myself, and get it as exact as possible. Half of the fun for me comes from finding a prototype piece of equipment, digging for as much information as possible, and recreating it in miniature. It's really a history lesson as much as a modeling project. To be perfectly honest, the fact that the models actually run on the rails is gravy. The result is a railroad with not a lot of equipment, but what equipment there is is historically accurate.

You can also click on the banner below to get to my home page, with more examples of my projects.

My latest can be found here:
http://www.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21420


More on the passenger car covered in GR can be found here:
http://www.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20913


I think the increasing pallate of r-t-r equipment makes it far easier for today's enthusiast to accept what's available, largely because what's available covers a far wider spectrum than it did even 5 years ago. In the past, many built things because they had to. Now, those of us who do build things ourselves do because we want to. It makes the hobby far more appealing to have such options available. Ya gotta love that.

Later,

K

[Anonymous]

Yikes!!! I am dumbfounded and in awe of the detail, Kstrong!!! Kudos!

As to the original message, at this point my scratch-building skills are to minimal to attempt locomotives and the leve of detail necessary yo make all but the most simple well guided projects. But, in time I think my confidence will kick me into it. I have mostly Bachmann rolling stock and locos and am, for the afore mentioned reasons, confined to the manufacturers constraints.

Capt Carrales

[grandpopswalt]

I agree with Cappy. Kevin's work is absolutely magnificent! But unlike Kevin, I have neither the patience nor the talent to attempt that level of modeling. Also, since I have no strong affiliation with any particular prototype railroad, there’s nothing that I need to recreate. I guess that puts me in the “close enough” category and I suspect that that is where the majority of LS modelers are.

However, at this time I’m pretty much committed to narrow gauge steam trains in 1:24 scale. So I wind up bashing a lot of the available models to fit more closely to 1:24 proportions. For example, a B’mann consolidation really does look way too big to be paired up with most of B’mann’s cars which are closer to 1:24/1:22 scale. So I use B’manns industrial Mogul to which I add a larger cab and tender and wind up with an engine that looks pleasing and plausible to me.

I’m now looking into what it might take to ba***he 1:24/1:22 rolling stock up to 1:20 proportions to look plausible with the B’mann consolidation, shay, heisler, climax and 4-6-0 annie. If I find that it can be done without too much work and time I just might switch scales.

Walt

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by troybetts

apart from Phil in Assieland and Vic,does everyone accept what they are given by the manufacturers or do they try and make their railway more unique.

I would gladly accept anything I was given. However to date I haven't been give anything, they want me to buy it all[:D][:D]

And seeing I can't afford most of it, I have to build my own. So I build NZ trains, because there is no point building trains from the other side of the world, that I have never seen, when others already have a much better version complete with sound courtesy of the manufactures.
I do buy the motor blocks though. The first loco was a wooden top on an Aristo motor block. My next one is a cheap 2nd hand bachmann porter that’s had the top removed and will have the chassis altered and a new top built.

The worst thing about scratch building trains from a different country, is you have to build a whole set of wagons too, before you have a decent train you can run. Trams are more forgiving in that respect; A tram on it's own looks OK. Run an engine on it's own, and you get told you've left the wagons behind!

My results are no-where near as good as kstrong or the manufactures, but I still like them and get them out for a run occasionally.

Glen.

[Kiwi Down Under]

Glen

I dissagree with you in that your own stuff is not as good as a kit stuff, yours must be better as it is unique. Most of the brought stuff is too "sterile".

From experience in many cases people are put off making their own rolling stock, buildings etc by the marvoulous models they see, and so are afraid to give it a go.
You have to admire so much work put into the detail of inside a carraige, and buildings, but I spent months putting the detail into inside a building, put it outside, stood up to admire my handy work and what can you see of the inside, actually nothing.
Absolutely zip, so I put a light inside it, which looked good for 1 or 2 days then the a tiny spider found the inside of the plastic window so the light illuminated the web more than the interior.
The time and effort put into the interior was wasted and a good learning curve.
I find now that I try to make something on every model move, even if its just a person on a swing, as this takes a persns eyes away from any faults ( and my models have plenty of them)
So, if anyone out there gives it a go, remember its garden railways, designed to be amongst the shrubs and weeds. Not like the inside stuff where you peek in the doors etc.

Give it a go.

Tony

[Marty Cozad]

As to the Q. I'm slowing getting into scratch building, if its simple and something I want to spend the time on. I'm more into kitbashing cause the details are usually there for you. If it takes me longer than 10 to 12 hours to build a car then its no fun for me.
As far as running i let any thing run on my RR. But I personally have stuck with the 1:29 scale more modern era stuff. I'm a tonage hound. (thats what they called me in HO)

[Tom The Brat]

I started kindof early with scratchbuilding. I had 2 steam locos with coal bunkers, so I removed the bunkers and built 2 tenders. It grows on you.

[van buren s l]

I scratch build because I enjoy doing it and I can create interesting equipment that isn't on the market. Although my modeling skills are at a pretty elementary level, I get a real thrill from watching a loco I built pulling a short consist of store bought and scratch built cars around my layout.
Bob

[cacole]

I purchase only 1:20.3 scale steam locomotives and rolling stock, and save the plans out of Garden Railways magazine so I can begin scratch building additional rolling stock after I get all of my track in place, because their plans are 1:20.3 scale.

[Anonymous]

Hi Troy
at the moment I am still very much a beginer at the scratch building lark.
more failures than successes at the moment.
But do not see any way it is possable to get the railway i want without learning how too..
I am thouroghly P##### off with the manufactures they don't make a full set of anything.
You can get a locomotive a wagon a coach maybe then you find you cannot get a guards van or something else you want for your railway..
So not scratch building is not really an option regardless of scale if you want a complete railway.
sooner or later you will have no choice but to build something.if for no other reason than cost.
But scratch building and or kit bashing is what makes each railway individual
regards John