New in railway wargaming (old west) : my first train WIP

[sundayhero]

Hi,

Today during shopping (I was searching for some aliens or bugs bits for another project), I found a cheap (13euros, around 15-18usd) toy train set :



The rail gauge is 32mm from one rail to the other one :




The train is composed of several wagons that I don't know the technical name  




Now, concerning scale : it seems quite OK with the engine I guess. The figure I use for comparison is a heroscape 28mm (from feet to eye) scale :




The other wagons seems fine too, even if passengers wagon seems a bit same thin :






A plastic front of train station is also provided in the set :





I plan to play solitaire old west gaming (using 6 gun sound ruleset...Any advice on other possible old west solo ruleset welcome), and I'll probably use Dixon minis wich are nice both on aspect and price. I will probably base them on washers as usual.

COncerning the train, I will convert it, paint it, and I'll create an old west modular board (probably 4 boards of 120cmx 60cm each, so I can make a lot of diferent tables, big and small). One board will receive the railroad (a bit of straight line + a bit of curve, with station).


So the questions are... :


do you think the Dixon figures will work with that set ? I think so since they are presented as "big 25mm" ? (I don't have any western figure for now)


What do you think about my train era/period ? I don't know anything about trains, so I don't know if it's too modern (wich I suspect, because of the metal tank wagon) ?



Thank you for your answers, and also to make me discover another new way of playing minis (that's why lead adventure is so great) !

[dwbullock]

Found an almost exact match of that train at Rite Aid here in the states.  Normally $20, it was on sale for $10.  It had the same engine, tanker car, and the 'animal' car.  However, instead of passenger cars, it comes with a red caboose and a coal tinder car.  Also, it was minus the little building. 

I bought two.  One for the tree, one for me.

[sundayhero]

Hi,

I made some research on google, it seems that wild west engines were significantly different...I don't know if that one is of the good era. 


Concerning minis, I should have post in old west forum, perhaps 

[FramFramson]

That is absolutely a European style of train rather than a Wild West one (including the wagons/carriages), but if he just needs a train to sit on the tracks in Wild West games, it'll do alright. It really depends on if you're someone looking for scrupulous accuracy in your terrain or if you're the kind that is perfectly happy with slapdash foamboard boxes and piles of household items pressed into service as "buildings".

[Cory]

As Fram said, it is an entirely European train that would make a purist shout, but painted up it can look nice. The big question is how much do you and your group care? If it appears passable to you go with it.

[sundayhero]

No group it's all about myself, solitaire gaming 

If you have any tip on how I could modify this train to make it more "wild west", please tell me


I'm not focusing on accuracy, but if some plasticard and greenstuff can do some good, why not


thanks 

[Cory]

First remove all of the mushroom shaped bumpers from the end of each car and the engine.

The engine is actually passable for a post 1900 locomotive, but some iconic changes might help. Add a taller smoke stack and then a cattleguard to the front.

The other cars are more problematic - simplest thing is to remove the yellow tank and make it into a flat car and add a raised roof to the passenger cars - google "old west pullman car" for examples.

[FramFramson]

I think the biggest problem (Other than what's mentioned above) is that the cars all have euro-style large single wheels, instead of swivel bogies with doubled wheels as they did and do in North America.

Example:



Not much you can do about that without heavy modification (which defeats the point of using just a cheap train set), so I wouldn't sweat it.

The fact that you didn't even notice and they you're gaming solo tells me that none of this really matters. The train will probably do just fine, so just enjoy the games!

[sundayhero]

Thank you all for the answers. I think I understand. I 'll probably just add a new "western" stack, and repaint/weather it "wild west" 

Concerning the tank, perhaps I'll cover it with balsa wood to make a wood tank instead. Or maybe (probably a better idea) make a special car (prison, money chest, something like that).

[sundayhero]

Hi ,

I started the customization today. As explained before, the goal is to make a "old west-ish" train, even if It will not be really accurate.

The other goal is to improve the train playability (wargaming speaking) and make it look better.


So I started by removing all electronics and other engine guts, and then with a hand driller, I slowly removed the fake windows, and the fake "wall" inside the engine (it was not in right place, because of the electric motor inside) :







Then, I cleaned and sanded the defects :





Then I started to build the new "cockpit". I simply recycled some cardboard from the toy box, and with a bit of foamboard, I made  a new hotbed (hope it's the right term...) :






I added a new floor, again recycling some thin cardboard from the toy box :





And finally I remounted some parts of the engine (glue+ screws), and I started to sand defects on the steam tank :





That's all for now. This night I'll finish the steam tank, and perhaps also the cockpit details.

I still need to build a new stack and a a cattleguard.

to be continued...

[Barbe Rouge]

Where did you find it?
Thanks

[sundayhero]

I found it in a french supermarket (Leclerc) for around 13euros.