Large Scale Central

Howdy

General Discussion
#1

Hi all. I’ve been a lurking member of this site for a few months. Thought I’d say howdy today.

My short bio is that my name is Dwayne, I’m married (second rodeo), I drive a truck around the US & Canada so I can see the sites… and I’m a model railroader.

The scale I work in is 1:17n30. Thirty inch gauge on 45mm track. The reason for this is that I use to play with On30. I thought I’d take that idea outside. I’ve been playing with 17n30 for about six months now. As far as I know I’m the only person in the world working in this scale/gauge combo.

Currently my layout is nothing but an idea in my head until a few hurdles are passed hopefully within a few months. I have a blog (http://17n30daze.blogspot.com/) that outlines my ideas as well as an Updates page (http://17n30daze2.blogspot.com/) that I use to share the latest news. In the meanwhile I’m working on building up my engine roster and soon my freight car roster. My work is usually done in the sleeper of the Kenworth T600 I drive whenever I have some idle time.

The project I’m currently working on is the conversion of a 1:20n3 Bachmann 0-4-0 Porter into a freelanced 0-4-0 critter. Aside from the fact that I’m using about 80% of the Bachmann’s original frame, the motor/gearbox assembly and a few minor salvaged parts… the bulk of the lokie is scratchbuilt. This happens to be my first build. The lokie will be battery powered and controlled by RC.

Since starting in this large scale adventure I’ve also purchased two live steamers. An Accucraft Ruby in kit form (still waiting for assembly) and an Ida (ready to run). As of now I haven’t had any time to fire up the Ida.

Anyways, I’ll wrap this up for now.

#2

Welcome Dwayne, you will find lots of newcomers like us here but more important you will find many more ‘veterans’ here that will offer a ton of knowledge about this hobby.

#3

Welcome aboard Dwayne. We thrive on pic here so we can see what you’re doing :slight_smile:

#4

Dave Marconi said:
Welcome aboard Dwayne. We thrive on pic here so we can see what you’re doing :slight_smile:

Thank you for the welcome. Here is a recent photo of my conversion lokie beside a second, new Bachmann Porter I have that is destined for eventual conversion too (anyone have a spare driver set or non-working Porter that you want to part out?). Although 17n30 is about 17% larger than 20n3… my lokie is a bit shorter than the original. It is wider and a tad taller. I’ve come to see that 20n3 engines make good starting points for 17n30 conversions. The drivers tend to remain realistic in size unlike what I’ve seen with SE (7/8ths scale). Of course other items tend to be too small such as the cylinders. I learned it isn’t difficult to make larger cylinders from pvc pipe.

(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p320/dw64/photo-1593.jpg)

As my approach is to build freelanced lokies instead of actual replicas of a particular prototype I’ve derived a lot of fun in building my engine. I adhere to the ‘10 foot’ rule.

#5

Thanks for the pics Dwayne. Work looks good. Might want to look into plantation rail lines for inspiration

#6

Welcome Dwayne
:wink:

#7

Welcome aboard! Nice to see someone else who’s into scratchbuilding and unusual scale/gauge combinations. That loco looks pretty good so far.

#8
Dwayne Weyrich said:
Hi all. I've been a lurking member of this site for a few months. Thought I'd say howdy today.
I'm happy you decided to stick around and join us. The more the merrier ;) Ralph
#9

@ Dave… Inspiration for me come from various sources. Plantation lines, mining, logging, industrial. Mostly dinky, backwoods and offbeat rail operations.

@ David & Ralph… thank you.

@ Ray… I sorta noticed that most large scalers play with big engines and long trains. I’ve always been into shortline stuff with tiny equipment. That’s why On30 appealled to me for some time. I simply carried On30 outside and pumped some growth hormones into it to reach this oddball scale. What I find puzzling is that nobody else has thought to use g-gauge track for large scale thirty-inch modeling especially since On30 is so popular.

#10

Welcome aboard Dwayne…have ya looked at the 7/8ths scale stuff? its a !:13 ish ratio and has a moderate base of support that you might find useful for inspiration, parts and supplies…

#11
Bart Salmons said:
Welcome aboard Dwayne.........have ya looked at the 7/8ths scale stuff? its a !:13 ish ratio and has a moderate base of support that you might find useful for inspiration, parts and supplies....
I have Bart. I started in SE very briefly until the idea of 17n30 came to me. Occasionally I'll take a look at the SE forum for ideas.
#12

Hey there Dwayne,

Welcome aboard!! If you’ve been lurkin for a while, you know the routine.

#13
Ric Golding said:
Hey there Dwayne,

Welcome aboard!! If you’ve been lurkin for a while, you know the routine.


Thanks Ric, that I do. Admittedly I’m more of a watcher/reader on forums than an active participant as I view the work and ideas of others. :slight_smile:

#14

Pleased to meet you.

Don’t be quiet :wink:

#15
Dwayne Weyrich said:
Admittedly I'm more of a watcher/reader on forums than an active participant as I view the work and ideas of others. :)
Quid pro quo.................................we'd love to see your work and hear your ideas ;) Ralph
#16

Thanks Ralph. Just posted in the Rolling Stock section a couple of pics of my lokie to date. It ain’t much but it gives me something to do while sitting in a truckstop.

#17

Welcome, fellow trucker and Model railroader…:wink:

#18

Thanks Ken. I’ve only been messing around with this trucking gig for a short eight years. Gives me something to do even though it interferes with my model railroading. :slight_smile:

I’ve been playing with trains since I discovered my dad’s Marklin stash when I was five and was happy with that until I discovered girls which sidelined my train interests for awhile. Just got back into models a couple of years back and surprised to find out that trains could be played with outside. I don’t think I could ever go back to table top scales.

#19

Dwayne Weyrich said:
… I don’t think I could ever go back to table top scales.

but large scale is a tabletop scale! just buy a big table… and welcome! look, it really is tabletop material:

(http://kormsen.ko.funpic.de/bahn/track/track09.JPG)

#20

I think I’ll stick to the outdoors and view my five acres as BIG table. :slight_smile: