Hi all,
This is my first post on the Model Railroader Forum and I would like to find out if there are more people here like myself who are interested in - or even working on - any African themed model railroad.
I have picked up this interest travelling that continent years ago but never gave it a thought to use it as a theme for my model railroading activities until a few years ago when I got my hands on two books: 'Steam in Africa' (E.A. Durrant) and 'Railway across the Equator' (Amin). Both had lots of pictures of the stunning landscapes Africa has to offer and of cause ... trains.
I decided that is what I wanted to make. But there was one little hurdle to overcome: no African theme without huge Garratts, and if wanted any, I would have to build them myself.
Since I narrowed my theme down to East Africa - Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - I could not choose any better model to build then the EAR Class 59. The biggest Steamer ever to ride meter gauge rails.
I am scratch building it. The chassis and valve gear is etched, the body parts are 3D prints. Allthought there are still two engines remaining, I had the time nor the funds to fly to Nairobi to measure them so I had to use photographs and drawings.
The project is still in progress, I'll show some pictures here and will - later - post a bit more about the building proces:
And a video of a short test run:
Creator of TRAX - the free layout planning web app: www.traxeditor.com
Fedor,
the pictures you intended to include in your post do not show here. If you want to share them with us, you need to upload them to a different picture hosting side as the one they are currently in.
Btw, DJH Model Loco of UK has some nice kits of African (South African, to be precise) Beyer-Garratts - you´ll find an overview here
I see where it went wrong, but I can't find a button to edit my post...
I know DJH Modelloco and the GMA/M is a very nice modell. In fact they advised me on what wheels to use since there are no 14 spoke 15.7mm wheels around...
I like Garratts! Show us more
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
What scale?
What gage (model) track?
Looking forward to seeing the above (unseen) pictures, plus later ones,
Ed
Swedish Custom painter and model maker. My Website:
My Railroad
My Youtube:
Graff´s channel
I love those Garrets! Trains had an article several years ago about a Zimbabwei railroad.
There are is no place on my layout for Garrets, after all, the LION (that's me, I'm the LION) models New York City Subway trains. : )
But I am going to make a place on my layout for a Baobab Tree. I know that "a Tree Grows in Brooklyn", but I will establish my Baobab Tree in the Bronx, just at the end of the Broadway line. I will make a little park right in the middle of Broadway with the Baobab Tree, and a LION. (BTW, that LION is ASLAN.)
New York, after all needs a Baobab Tree. Actually, I live in North Dakota, and I look out over the prairies and imagine how great they would look with Baobab Trees. And to be honest with you, Garrets would look real great out heree too.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
And I must say you have lit a small fire. I grew up in India and there during the British Raj existed a railroad called the Bengal-Nagpur Railway (established in 1887). The BNR was a prolific user of Garrats, and several are preserved in museums in India.
Of course the BNR was absorbed in what is now the gigantic network entity Indian Railways (1 million employees and 23 million passengers daily).
My layout (v2) is under construction, and while it is fictionally based in the utopian Pacific Northwest it uses a lot of British and Indian influences. (e.g., there are no depots, only stations and signage and signaling standards will follow distinctly Indian practice). Anyway, a Garratt would fit so well on a tourist train I might pay a reasonable amount for it. Esp if it was a 2-6-2+2-6-2 decorated for the BNR.
teach us!
NP
@7j43k: It's in scale 1/87 (H0) and it is meter gauge (1000mm in 1:1) - H0m we call it here. I believe it is called H0n3.5 in Anglo Saxon terms.
Let me juist post the right images here, see what you think of my efforts:
GraffenI have an HO scale GMAM garratt. Built from the DJH kit. It is a really nice locomotive.
Pictures, please, Graff!
ndbprriirc sometime in the 70s or 80s Model Railroader had plans and a fold out drawing.
Actually, that was for a New South Wales Government Railways AD60 Garratt like this one available from Eureka Models in Australia:
http://eurekamodels.com.au/Garratt.html
Well .. The Class 59 and BNR Class P were both 4-8-2+2-8-4. Here's a German 4-8-4+4-8-4 on eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fulgurex-KTM-Dampflok-Garratt-4-8-4-4-8-4-NSWGR-AD-60-RARITAT-HE974-/271995551714?hash=item3f5432bfe2
And another one from Australia:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dockyard-Models-HO-NSWGR-AD60-Beyer-Garratt-Steam-Locomotive-SG-05-/171919104740?hash=item28072d5ae4
These aren't Cheap! I can see wanting to kitbash, which really can't be the easiest kitbash!
NP.
FedorI see where it went wrong, but I can't find a button to edit my post...
Open your original post. At the botom you will see an edit button.
A short video of a 59 class in action:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9judxRz41_k
These meter gauge Garratts were actually more powerful than the New South Wales Government Railways AD60 4-8-4+4-8-4. The 59 had a tractive effort of 83,000 lbs. while the AD60 was rated at 60,000. In the video, it appears the engine is equipped with a Giesel ejector style exhaust.
Andre
This is also my first post to this forum. I joined today because I came across this thread about building an EAR Class 59 Garratt, and it intrigued me. I live in Kenya and I have recently started building my own African-profile OO/HO scale model railway layout in a forty foot shipping container, so I'm always interested in hearing about any other African model rail enthusiasts.
I'm not a scratchbuilder, so I'm not going to attempt a Class 59, but I do have a Heljan British-profile Garratt, which I will try to modify to make it look vaguely African. First problem though is to get it working - early versions of that particular Heljan model seem to be notorious for problems, and mine is no exception, with an apparent short in the wiring. I currently have it in pieces, have traced all the wires and will now need to rejoin them.
I'm particularly interested in the Class 59 as I volunteer at the Nairobi railway museum and I have had the privilege of operating 5918 'Mount Gelai' - a magnificent beast. Last time we operated her, several years ago, she failed with a blown superheater element, we believe, and hasn't yet been repaired. Coincidentally I can see the real Mount Gelai from my house on a clear day.
When I lived in South Africa I drove and fired preserved steam locomotives, and I've also had the privilege of operating the GMAM, very close to the 59 in size and power. Another magnificent beast. All in all I love Garratts!