Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Railway Wargaming => Topic started by: Gundamentalist 5.56 on December 12, 2012, 07:54:44 PM
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With more than several posts about cheap, suitable locomotives for old West gaming, which often only seem to approximate what was wanted only with further hard work, or On30 substitutes which sort of look alright, I was wondering if there was an opportunity for organising an Old West Fundholder project much like the BR-52 project that is stickied at the top of this forum.
The Dixon and Redoubt Old West locos are in the £100 region (especially if you get rolling stock as well), but I believe that the BR-52 came in less than this (though that was one engine only)?
So how about we set up an Old West loco project - maybe an engine, tender, two carriages, a cattle/goods car and a caboose sized for OO or S guage? The BR-52 project started with only 6 members, surely there are more than six of us here that want a decent, well priced Old West loco? I cenrtainly do.
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Good idea, but I am already stacked with what I need.
Although I could probably be persuaded to build masters for making moulds and casts.
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I for one would be keen to join in, especially for freight cars, passenger wagons, caboosses etc. Whilst I already have a cheap locomotive, I might be persuaded to ante up for another.
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Roll up! Roll up! Another 5 interestees needed...
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Are you looking at something compatible with 28mm Old West minis? If so, depending on price, I could be interested.....
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Are you looking at something compatible with 28mm Old West minis? If so, depending on price, I could be interested.....
+1
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Are you looking at something compatible with 28mm Old West minis? If so, depending on price, I could be interested.....
That's the idea...
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I could be interested -- Ideally I'd be after something suitable for both the ACW and WW eras if there's any choices in the designs.
I've been looking at the Redoubt one, but I'm a bit unsure of making the leap given the cost and whether I could get accessories to suit it (like track).
If we could make one which fits on a regular gauge of track -- HO, say -- then we can just stock up from the local model store.
There's a scale called 55n3 which is 5.5mm to the foot scale which is about ~1/56 and is designed to model 3' narrow gauge on HO -- and 3' was a pretty common gauge for even mainline railways in the late 1800s in the US. Rolling stock for it is not widely available, but there are commercially sold chassis, wheels and so on. (Meaning that scratchbuilding wagons is less of a chore).
Apparently a lot of Bachmann On30 stuff is usable with a bogie/wheel swap. This is an On30 loco converted to be 55n3 and it looks exactly the sort of thing; http://55n3.org/image/left_three_quarter.jpg
(Before you get excited and rush off to buy one, they're 240 quid!!).
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If it fits for HO scale track I could be persuaded.
cheers
James
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The Dixon and Redoubt Old West locos are in the £100 region (especially if you get rolling stock as well), but I believe that the BR-52 came in less than this (though that was one engine only)?
it was an expensive luxury bit of kit, we budgeted for around a £1200 for making the master, moulding & casting one copy each (for the 12 Fundholders). We could of got it cheaper but there seemed little point in scrimping on cost, and if you see a version of it you'll see why. Also it's a huge bit resin, about 2-3 times larger than a train you'll be wanting.
Track size- I'd go for S scale which is about 1/60th, it looks 'right' for 28mm, 1/48 (USA 'O' scale looks too big, and HO/OO looks way too small- S scale it's readily available in the USA and fairly easy to get in the UK.
If you can get the funds together I can put in contact with the model maker we used (who did an outstanding job).
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Thanks for the info Redzed, we're going need some more intrestees if this is going to leave the station...
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As others have said, if the price is right then I'd be interested.
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Not trying to hijack this train thread, but does anyone know if there are floorplans anywhere for train cars (boxcars, freight/baggage car, caboose, etc.)?
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Floorplans or scale drawings?
Also, for what period? 1870s/1880s, 1890s-WWI, or pulp. As better engines were built the cars got longer and heavier.
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If the carriages were suitable for colonial - perhaps India with Kenneth More to drive the train?
Not sure about the engine though.
But depending on price, if there was track available I'm in.
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3D printing perhaps, and MDF laser cut for the cars? The MDF cars could be very cheap.
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I would be interested in this. I have been slowly acquiring old American Flyer S Scale equipment including a 4-4-0 American. Box cars (or goods cars) would be excellent candidates for a laser cut kit as would cattle cars and flat cars. Refrigerated box cars would not come into general usage until 1878 so much to late for the ACW, but would be available for the Wild West period. Passenger cars, combination cars and baggage cars would be a must, otherwise how are we going to rob the passengers?
Personally I'm a big proponent of S Scale being the best choice. The track has the right look to it when compared to most western miniatures. Here is a shot with a ruler underneath to give you a dimension. I know a miniature would have been a better choice for scale but this is what I have immediately available. (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4z3ZMBD1m3E/UQBP-j3iZNI/AAAAAAAAFxs/05ZWlF_akcE/s512/Track%2520Size.jpg)
This track is from Tomalco another US supplier is GarGraves. This track is made for model railroaders so turnouts (switches) tend to be expensive and probably unnecessary for our purposes.
Here is the extent of my railway empire for Calamity
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0GgXVB56A7Q/UQBHcEtuwJI/AAAAAAAAFwc/O-TGn_10xXk/s640/Calamity%2520Train.1a.jpg)
The building behind the train is Battle Flag's Undertakers kit. It all has the right feel to it although that 4-4-0 is pretty beefy.
During the ACW the standard freight car length was 30' but as we move forward to the 1870s the length increases first to 36' then to 40'. Passenger equipment goes from 40' to 50' and then to 60' during this time. You can certainly mix both the sizes but the 30' would be phased out of standard gauge service pretty quickly (30' would continue to be the standard length for narrow gauge railroads for a long time like to 1960).
For locomotives, during the ACW the 4-4-0 American is the standard locomotive and would remain in use into the next century. As car sizes got bigger more power was required and the 2-6-0 Mogul would be introduced and again would serve into the 20th Century. Demands for more powerful locomotives never really stop which would see the introduction 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler and the 2-8-0 Consolidation. There were other larger locomotives that would be introduced around the turn of the century but for gaming purposes these would be the four I would be most interested in.
Wheel sets (known as trucks) are available from American Models http://www.americanmodels.com/misc/wheels.html (http://www.americanmodels.com/misc/wheels.html) these are the wrong trucks for the period but they will do the job just fine. Really how many gamers know the difference between an Arch Bar truck and a Bettendorf truck?
Ye Olde Huff n Puff makes Andrews trucks as well as passenger trucks (and kits that are somewhat reasonably priced) http://www.yeoldehuffnpuff.com/SFreightBack.HTM (http://www.yeoldehuffnpuff.com/SFreightBack.HTM)
This is a lot of stuff and I don't know what is really practical to make. Bachman On30 equipment will do the trick but it is expensive. I can probably provide detailed plans of freight and passenger cars for the period from my collection of railroad books. Locomotives are a bit more difficult, although the wheel arrangements may be the same the engines can look radically different from each other as each railroad tended to have their own designs and different wheel sizes were used for different purposes depending on the job the locomotive was going to perform.
Anyway that's my contribution to this discussion.