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Just thought I'd post a picture of my narrow gauge freelance layout. It's set on a fictitous island off the coast of the UK. The authorities chose 4 ft 1½ in gauge to make it more difficult for the British should they choose to invade. British trains have to be regauged to use the tunnel from the mainland. Due to cost and local objections, modern privitised rail stock cannot run onto the island and services are stuck in a kind of 1980's timewarp. With an eye for the tourism market the local government have also preserved and regauged some British steam and diesel locos for the line...

I like the concept - gives you lots of leeway What gauge/scale/track are you working with ?

SouthernBoy wrote:I like the concept - gives you lots of leeway What gauge/scale/track are you working with ?

1:76 with 16.5 mm gauge which rather fortunately seems to come out at 4 ft 1½ in

Another rather freelance loco - looks a little like a USA tank...

Hey GeraldH. Thats an awesome layout! Cant wait to see more pics. I also have an N Scale layout on a fictitous island in the Caribbean. Keep up the good work!

Esteban

A Lima/Mainline cross-breed. I did it quite a few years ago, but I think I need to tweak it a bit as the lack of cab footsteps and the cludgy rear end keeps catching my eye.

esteban wrote:Hey GeraldH. Thats an awesome layout! Cant wait to see more pics. I also have an N Scale layout on a fictitous island in the Caribbean. Keep up the good work!

Thanks. It's quite nice to escape from the shackles of prototypical fidelity sometimes and let your mind wander...

I do like the old shorter Triang coaches they look much better going round sharp curves and you can run 5 coach trains in the same space that would be used by 4 scale length coaches. The deep windows are a bit jarring, but if you paint the sides of the window frames black they are much less obvious.

I put the camera on the tracks to get an eye level view. Station pilot awaiting duties (Mainline/Lima hybrid) shunter on the right.

You could have some through running of specially adapted stock, using the methods used at the Spanish/French border. They have/had wheel sets where the wheels could be slid in and out on the axle by removing a pin and running them through rails which forced the wheels in or out. The alternative was quick change bogies, where the train was pulled over a lift on which one bogie was dropped and another lifted into place. In either case a loco pushed the train onto the gauge change pit and another pulled them out the other side.

I've been adapting some old Triang coaches into push pull carriages. This one has a plasticard front, a couple of new windows cut into the side and some details made from old bits of sprue etc. The deep window frames have been disguised with black paint. It also rides on new hornby bogies as do most of my other Triang coaches. I find that a I prefer trains made up of more shorter coaches rather than fewer longer ones. They also look better going around my tight curves.

Talking of short coaches it turns out that we've been getting it right all along. Real railways do run three coach trains with little short coaches and a loco on each end. They also have no difficulty getting round first radius curves, as this photo shamelessly lifted from the "Railway Magazine*" shows

*Creep creep "fine magazine chaps, highly recommended, would have got your permission but no one's answering the phone" ah it's Sunday

i love that photo bufferstop see them a lot as im in shrewsbury every saturday. loving the layout geraldh, the freelance 0-4-0t really does looks like an old USA tank.

Bufferstop wrote:Talking of short coaches it turns out that we've been getting it right all along. Real railways do run three coach trains with little short coaches and a loco on each end. They also have no difficulty getting round first radius curves, as this photo shamelessly lifted from the "Railway Magazine*" shows

Short coaches? They're 23 metres in length which is longer than a standard Mark 1 which is either 17.3 metres or 19 metres depending on the type. I think you're a victim of perspective of the shot here! These carriages are long with alot of end throw. The curves are by far 1st radius!

Nice try though

tom92240 wrote:

Bufferstop wrote:Talking of short coaches it turns out that we've been getting it right all along. Real railways do run three coach trains with little short coaches and a loco on each end. They also have no difficulty getting round first radius curves, as this photo shamelessly lifted from the "Railway Magazine*" shows

Short coaches? They're 23 metres in length which is longer than a standard Mark 1 which is either 17.3 metres or 19 metres depending on the type. I think you're a victim of perspective of the shot here! These carriages are long with alot of end throw. The curves are by far 1st radius!

Nice try though

Unusual to see 2 locos on that service, usually they have a DVT or 'Driving Van Trailer' at one end.