Large Scale Central

comparing cheap small rolling stock

Modeling Rolling stock
#21

Well if I go to making my own trucks they will be cast metal. But that’s if I go that route. This was a feeler thread so that I can start to pick up stuff as I find it and have some extra. I won’t be running anything for awhile. I have talked it over with the boss and she agrees that our small basement is all mine, but I have to make it look nice. I have a usable space of roughly 12.5’ by 11.5 feet and that area has to serve all my needs. Two of those needs being a work area for my hobby’s and a lot of book shelf/storage space for my library and various collections of stuff. Before I an build the layout I must first tear out the flooring that is in there and get down to concrete. Then build and install the base cabinets that will serve as the book shelves and storage area and the top wil be the layout. The entire underside of the layout will be nice crafted cabinets. and then I will tile the rest of the floor. Then I can concentrate on building. It might happen in pieces so I can have some track.

Any so for now I just want to now what peoples thoughts are and then pick up deals as they come.

#22

John Caughey said:

Vic,

Is it my eyes or are the truck frames on upside down on the Grande box?

John

No, they are based on German train trucks, near as I can figure, They came off a cheap China no name battery set they had at Big Lots one year, I picked up three sets and got three pairs of trucks out of each set. They’re not perfect but they work.

#23

Those trucks could look like some things tried in U.S. in 1840s, 1850s, 1860s. There were some interesting things tried during those decades.

#24

You got “My First Build” done yet, Grasshopper? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#25

Steve its so close I can taste it lol but the MIK challenge came a bit to early. I have to remount the headlight after a repair and revision and narrow the valve gear levers to clear the side rods and it will be a ready. Just as soon as the MIK challenge is done I will finish it and I am bringing it you your house for the first run (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif). All of the electronics are on board, but I haven’t fired it up because of the side rods issue but its all but done. And it will be done before I start this project for sure.

#26

One thing I need to do is stop building or acquiring anything. I just had to face the reality that Large Scale is. . . well . . . large. And I don’t have anywhere to store stuff and stuff is getting broken. I am filling dressers and all sorts of stuff trying to “put it away”. Another reason to start the micro and get storage.

#27

Devon Sinsley said:

One thing I need to do is stop building or acquiring anything. I just had to face the reality that Large Scale is. . . well . . . large. And I don’t have anywhere to store stuff and stuff is getting broken. I am filling dressers and all sorts of stuff trying to “put it away”. Another reason to start the micro and get storage.

LMAO, Devon, if I had a dollar for each time I have said that…

#28

A nice big shed come in real handy for storing stuff.

#29

To run my short cars I added body mounted Kadees on the HLW kit cars and run them on my 29 inch loop.

I made the loop with 2 pieces of 8 foot brass rail and 8 ties. Only one clamp per rail!!

Next I used 4 of the 8 foot rails and 4 clamps and now have a 5 foot circle. The train li bender is great for doing this!!.

#30

Ken, I neither have a big shed nor really a place to put one so I am jealous. When the outdoor comes to fruition there will be a small train shed that will be basically nothing but shelves for car and locomotive storage. I do hope to tackle that this summer. It will be built off and existing homemade play set I built when the kids were little. The posts are concreted in and instead of trying to get rid of it I will re purpose it for the shed. My outdoor layout is/will be designed around its existence. But train storage is also not my only issue. I collect stamps, I reload my own ammunition, I have all my local history stuff, and I am developing a decent professional resource library. In other words I am borderline a hoarder. Space is an issue. That doesn’t even count what out in the shop (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-innocent.gif)

#31

I really like Hartland rolling stock…both small and large.

Small:

Link to large image

Large: (the idler flats are bashed Hartland flats)

Link to large image

#32

You could always build your own as well. Thats what I did. I made a simple jig that allowed me to make a bunch of frames. Then I built a caboose, boxcar Gondola and flat cars from those frames.

Yo can buy cheap bolsters and link and pin from here http://www.ebay.com/itm/150802873448 http://www.ebay.com/itm/151893336868

he makes cars as well

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151723157344

Dont forget the UK market has alot as well.

(http://oi44.tinypic.com/2vsj1fp.jpg)

Here are a few good links for building simple cheap rolling stock

http://www.summerlands-chuffer.co.uk/78ths-simple-stock/4577588112

https://sites.google.com/a/gardenrailwayclub.com/club/carriage-wagon/bamboo-7-8ths-gp-wagon

Whenever I can get a good deal on the Accucraft or LGB Ill pick them up as well.

These Gondolas were built from the Hartland Mini flats

#33

Those mini gon builds look like they were born that way. Nice.

#34

I like the New Bright tank cars. You can even use their trucks, with some modifications to fit in metal wheels. I use body mount Kadees on the tank cars, the real small ones.

I have about a dozen of the tank cars. I think their smaller 1/32 size fits in better with the 1940’s era tank cars.

#35

20 Sesame Street ore cars

Howdy. It’s been a while since I’ve been on this site. I’m back into setting up and running trains again. Looking around I found this post about small cheaper rolling stock. I’ve been using these Sesame Street ore cars, and love them. The side tank Porter is a Bachmann 2-4-2 shortened to a 0-4-0, and battery powered with a 6v gel cell mounted onto the frame. It will haul this consist just fine.

#36

I’ve use Hartland shorties for all kinds of thing, including ore cars, small load flat cars, and I’m working on a weed-killer tank car based on a Hartland tank. I generally put three gons in a set and use draw bars between the first-second-third car with body mounted kadees on the ends of the lash up. And I now use Bachmann’s 24mm wheels under these little cars. They fit in the Hartland side frames very well.

#37

In a way I’m wishing (even though the past isn’t going to change) that I had done more earlier with the small stuff - decades earlier.

I began falling in love with small stuff in large scale upon seeing photo of someone’s “Heathersfield Light Railway” in a UK published 1970s book at the library here in US. In 1985 Octopus books released in in US, so I bought one; on page 95, “The Encyclopedia of Model Railroads” - which is pretty much a 224 page coffee table book.

But, wanting to fit in and be part of the group of local modelers led to me not doing what I really wanted to do. I could either be a hermit and do what my heart called me to do, or I could do US mainline style HO and belong somewhere. A sad choice to have to make.

But I was weary of going down paths alone.

Although in the 1990s I finally moved solidly in to On30, mostly bashes of my HO stuff, after beginning to tinker with it in mid 1980s, and sold or gave away most of my other HO stuff.

And here 4 decades later in the 2000s, it is still the way it was in the 70s and 80s, go with the typical or go it alone. I got back in to HO in order to participate in our rural area’s brand new as of 2010 model RR club. I am the only person among the 18 members and 30 on the mailing list, who does On30 (a lot of kitbashed small stuff (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)) and the one person who even knows what Gn15 is.

We have one other garden railroader, the instigator of the club, and he is the one of us who has a garden layout.

Now, thanks to some settlement money, I several years back got some Bachmann Big Haulers, a Hartland 4-4-0, and 4-4-2 LaPorte, and I’m building and/or bashing cars of both standard and small size.
This year’s project is to acquire several small HLW kits each, or most each month. And do them up for my little freelance road.

And I’m still giving time and energy to our club’s modular HO layout.
And I wouldn’t mind being as healthy, which was not perfect, as I was in the 1980s, so I could make the all day, any day, progress which I used to be able to make.

Jerry, and Rene, those make handsome consists.

#38

I never have minded going it alone. But the beauty of this site is your never alone. Always support for the fringes. I like the “little” big stuff as well. I will have both a regular outdoor layout and the fringe “toy” “shorty” “small stuff” layout indoors. Its fun to play with and I think there is a place for both.

After seeing what people have done on here with the shorty stuff I now know I have an endless cheap supply of rolling stock from ebay. At the spring train show in Spokane there were several small toy train set cars that I probably could have had for a song. But I resisted. At the fall show I will make sure I have a bit more cash on hand.

#39

I’ve been thinning out my rolling stock and decided sell these ore cars.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/272172059165

#40

Oh my! Too bad I have already collected a bunch to redo.