VBCW Train Cheap Option......

[matiec]

Have been looking at the various ideas and threads on options for 28mm trains. having checked out ebay and others I didn't seem to be able to find what I was looking for. A surprise trip to Carlisle biggest local City and I had a look in one of the cheaper toy shops...look what I found. These were £4.99 each so not a bad price. They do the train with tender and a train with carriage. Perfect scale (they are quoted as 1:55) and if you weren't fussy they could be used straight from the box. My plan is to paint them to make them look a bit older. The best thing if you are still hunting is I checked out the make elsewhere and you can get them on Amazon although I am not sure of the price. There is another post of the same train painted slightly further down in Railway Wargaming.



Picture showing scale these are part finished Warlord 28mm BEF figures

[FramFramson]

They look slightly more suited to Victorian gaming, but seems they'd work for early 20th century as well.

[Tym]

Worked for me.  Have not seen the one with a tender. Thanks for the info.  I did cut the cow catcher off mine not difficult once you have dismantled the engine.  Will be interested to see how yours turns out.

[voltan]

Can I ask which toy shop it was? 

[matiec]

It is a funny shop in Carlisle called I think Home Plus. If you are in Carlsile it is bottom end of the Main Street almost opposite poundland and the main street entrance to TK max.

[voltan]

Cheers, never heard of it but I know where you're on about, might go have a look assuming you've not bought the supply up 

[Yankeepedlar01]

You often see them in the toy sections of Garden Centres like Dobbies. I've also seen them in Charity Shops of Save the Children.

[voltan]

Got the green ones, made the mistake of pressing the button on top.

[DrVesuvius]

I highly recommend these, having bought a load for my Victorian-era GASLIGHT games.  2 Caveats though.

1)  Buying from the likes of Amazon or eBay you can get these very cheap, however it's a bit of a crapshoot as to what exact sets you get.  There are two different sets - tank engine & carriage is one, locomotive & tender is the other.  And there are three colour options - red, blue and green.  If buying from vendors who don't let you pick your colour, you might have to buy quite a few sets to get the right mixture of loco, tender + a couple of carriages in matching livery, if you're not planning a total repaint.  Also be advised the engines are also sold on their own, without the tender or carriage, so make sure you know exactly what you're ordering.

2) Railway purists will grimace at the locomotive.  It has a generally European appearance, but with an American-style cow-catcher on the front.  I'm no rail expert, but that just looks plumb wrong to me, and if you want something that looks more at home on British railways, some remodelling work will be required.

But that said, I love these little trains.  I think the carriage sizes are much more wargames friendly than those in the Poundland trainset.

Dr V

[matiec]

Glad you got some voltan, I couldn't resist getting two carriages though so I have ended up with three trains which is a bit excessive. Hunt now for some trucks to match.

[voltan]

You can just say your station has a loco depot, as for trucks, i think I'll have to scratchbuild some flatbeds at some point.

[Yankeepedlar01]

Sets in a local Garden Centre at £5.99 each today ~

Three sets gives you this configuration and a second engine, an 0-4-0 tank engine ~

More over on the Blog.
David

[matiec]

Anybody got any thoughts on track or trucks for these I was thinking I might scratch build the track ?

[Heisler]

I think I would go ahead and hand lay the track to match the stock trucks. I think that will be easier in the long run. Otherwise you might see what's available in S-scale. As long as you don't want/need turnouts laying your own track won't take long.

[Doug ex-em4]

Does the track in the Poundland set work for these?

Doug