Large Scale Central

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General Discussion
#21

Ralph Berg said:

I think if I had to start over, I would seriously consider “O” outdoors.
The large selection of rolling stock and accessories would be nice.
I think the major stumbling point in my case would be the ties.
I wouldn’t want to hand lay the track, and I’m guessing the commercial track ties wouldn’t hold up outdoors.
Ralph

Ralph, AtlasO produces track that is outdoor friendly. Their ties are made of UV resistant plastic, and you can add the protection of a coat of paint, like many of us do, anyway. They make both 2 and 3 rail track. The downside is that the rolling stock and most of the structures are designed for indoor use, only.

I’ve often thought about building a 0 gauge outdoor layout to run my collection on.

Sigh. Maybe someday.

#22

Shawn Viggiano said:

Ralph Berg said:

I think if I had to start over, I would seriously consider “O” outdoors.
The large selection of rolling stock and accessories would be nice.
I think the major stumbling point in my case would be the ties.
I wouldn’t want to hand lay the track, and I’m guessing the commercial track ties wouldn’t hold up outdoors.
Ralph

Ralph I think you can get o gauge track for outdoors. They do it over in the UK with the 16mm. If I were to start over I would have considered the 16mm scale. It looks like a fun scale with live steam.

Ralph, Shawn is correct in that you can buy track suitable for outdoors, Atlas O make UV track and ties.

Nicky

#23

Steve Featherkile said:

The downside is that the rolling stock and most of the structures are designed for indoor use, only.

Well,
So far I’ve found that much of the G-Scale structures and rolling stock don’t hold up to weather either :wink:
The exception being the Korber and Aristocraft buildings.
Most of my Colorado Model Structures have warped.
I only have one Piko. Haven’t had the nerve to leave it out and see what happens.
Ralph

#24

The plastic gets brittle and starts to crumble.

:frowning:

Did I say that out loud? I certainly didn’t mean to.

I’ve started painting mine, hoping that would help.

Film at eleven…

#25

I’m always amazed how easily long established scales are ignored! OK lets reinvent the wheel once more, it has been a long time since the last crack at it. :stuck_out_tongue: :frowning:

#26

Has anyone tried Krylon’s clear UV blocking coating? It’s advertised as indoor/outdoor and has sealing qualities. It’s available in gloss or matt finish.

Walt

#27

SVRR makes O gauge track/ties for outdoors. Has dual gauge also.

MTH just brought out a repaint of a streamliner engine, so they are still going some. I like the 1/32nd stuff, since it’s a bit smaller. I even run MDC cars quite a bit with my Aristo stuff and they look okay to me.

Just have fun with the hobby, do what you want and don’t worry about it.

#28

Trying to start a “new” scale that requires new track too, just not possible in this economy in my opinion.

It’s hard enough for manufacturers to hang on.

Track is something that few people really want to build themselves, and switches even less.

Greg

#29

I know, I know! We could try Proto 29! Whacha think, Craig?

It should be easy to re-gauge the 1:29 fleet.

#30

Steve Featherkile said:

I know, I know! We could try Proto 29! Whacha think, Craig?

It should be easy to re-gauge the 1:29 fleet.

Did I hear my name… :wink: Yep. Hopefully in the next year or two I can have room for a layout again. :frowning: I’m having layout withdrawals since I started grad school.

P:87 is gaining in popularity… So P:29 should too right? :wink:

#31

Hi Guys:

Todd mentioned:
I know if I had to buy all new stuff I couldn’t afford this hobby.

Exactly. I guess this goes for almost all of us. Definitely applies to myself.

The Aristo Craft Santa Fe heavy weights were at 90.00 each car when I bought my first set.

The second Aristo Craft heavy weight set were at 220.00 each car .

So exactly to whom does Bachmann expect to sell their latest batch of 1:20.3 locos to regardless of how nice their latest Forney and C-19 are ?

Ray and Vic mentioned the gauge error is perfectly acceptable to them. Myself included. I really think Bachmann went down the wrong road when they switched over from 1:22.5 to 1:20.3 .

The 1:20.3 Bachmann Shay was a huge success and that convinced Bachmann to continue with 1:20.3 . Would not a 1:22.5 Bachmann Shay have been an equal, if not greater, success? Was not the reason for the Bachmann 1:20.3 Shay success was that many folks really wanted a logging Shay locomotive?

For those interested in running O Gauge outdoors

http://www.peco-uk.com/contact.asp

E-mail - [email protected]

I believe that the PECO O Gauge sleepers are UV stabilized.

An O Gauge:

  • BigBoy hauling a long string of coal hoppers

  • NYC Hudson with passenger consist

would both make a very nice outdoor layout.

As for the UV stability of outdoor structures, I would never leave a station outside as the squirrels will crew on it !

The pre 2012 era were the days of affordable large scale product.

Lewis Polk receives a lot of criticism on both forums. Lewis Polk is far more astute than we give him credit for. I am going with Lewis’s observation that the future of outdoor layouts may lie in
O Gauge. Lewis Polk also mentioned that the draw back with 1:20.3 product is that folks, regardless of price, can buy far less 1:20.3 than 1:22.5 product due to storage space requirements. Lewis Polk definitely knows the model train business regardless of the tapered axle error which has now been corrected with the D profile thanks I believe to the efforts of Greg.

Norman

#32

My. 02, as a long time model railroader that has been trying to get started in large scale in the last few years the problem comes down to one thing, track…

I have picked up a couple Bachmann 4-4-0s and have found a smallish spot in the backyard for a simple 20x30 folded dogbone. But even using the now seemingly unavailable Aristo aluminum track I am looking at $600.00/$700.00 (depending on how many switches I go with). And now that the AC track is gone(?) I am looking at probably double that…that is just brutal for someone tryingbto get started.

(The fact the rolling stock kits and/or scratch building plans are gone too doesn’t help me either)

#33

Cost of track keeps coming up over and over… That’s why I handlay. Or one of the reasons. Yes it may take me longer to handlay track, but I get much more ‘play’ value per dollar. Plus spending a $100 on rail verses a $100 on track, I can get much more layout for a $100 of rail (okay some might say but you spent $20 on cedar for ties… Okay, but I’m still getting more rail per foot per dollar spent including spikes, tie plates).

Lets see $100 of track comes in the mail, 10 minutes later I can have a train running and 20 minutes later be looking for something else to do. Or $100 of rail comes in the mail. 10 minutes later I can have a 6’ section of track spiked. 20 minutes later I’m still spiking track and enjoying the process but now I’ve got 12’ of track gauged correctly, tie spacing correct, and satisfaction that I did a job well done.

Handlaying doesn’t take much to learn.

#34

Craig you forgot to add the $200 bucks for a Train-Li rail bender. Brass track even Code 250, is a PITA to curve correctly without a bender. One might get lucky enough to borrow one thru a club but not everyone is going to be able to do that. For most folks RTR sectional track is their only choice

GR published drawings for a DIY bender but that was in '04. It would help if this drawings were more widely available again.

#35

Vic Smith said:
Craig you forgot to add the $200 bucks for a Train-Li rail bender. Brass track even Code 250, is a PITA to curve correctly without a bender. One might get lucky enough to borrow one thru a club but not everyone is going to be able to do that. For most folks RTR sectional track is their only choice GR published drawings for a DIY bender but that was in '04. It would help if this drawings were more widely available again.

If your hand laying you don’t need a dual rail bender… Okay, a Llagas Creek rail bender is $86 plus a track gauge of $17. One time cost of $103. Okay so the initial tooling might be a bit more.

But I still feel that handlaying is a much better deal. Just like scratch building… Spend that saem amount of money and get little to no ‘play time’ or spend the same amount and get lots of ‘play time per dollar’. But then I get my enjoyment in this hobby from building things. Other people like to sit and watch the train go round and round. I personally think RTR stuff (in all scales and hobbies) is what is causing the people to move away from building type hobbies (RC cars, trains, airplanes).

#36

Also check out AMS Code 250 flex track…about $3.82 per foot. I have 200 feet on the ground and I like it.

#37

The problem I see with hand-laying track is that it won’t last. I have hand-laid track on my bridges and have to periodically push all the spikes back down because they work themselves up out of the wood. Also the Western red cedar ties are beginning to show some wear, and eventually will have to be replaced. I’ve also had to replace some of the “stainless steel” spikes that have rusted.

At least the bridges never get stepped on. If this was track on the ground, where it occasionally gets stepped on, it would be even worse.

#38

Ray Dunakin said:

The problem I see with hand-laying track is that it won’t last. I have hand-laid track on my bridges and have to periodically push all the spikes back down because they work themselves up out of the wood. Also the Western red cedar ties are beginning to show some wear, and eventually will have to be replaced. I’ve also had to replace some of the “stainless steel” spikes that have rusted.

At least the bridges never get stepped on. If this was track on the ground, where it occasionally gets stepped on, it would be even worse.

Ray, the problem is that you used the stainless steel spikes. If you had used the steel spikes, they would have rusted to the wood, and the rust would have held the spikes in place. The spikes would still be in place long after you had any care about the railroad.

#39

Hi,

Just joined and found this thread interesting. I recently saw this on the Narrow Gauge Discussion Forum http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php?1,247250 and wanted to share. I think there are some advantages to this scale/gauge combination such as the availability of details, figures and vehicles. If I ever build a layout, I plan on hand-laying all my track, so hand-laying to a unique gauge would not be an issue.

Patrick

#40

Patrick Kramer said:

Hi,

Just joined and found this thread interesting. I recently saw this on the Narrow Gauge Discussion Forum http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php?1,247250 and wanted to share. I think there are some advantages to this scale/gauge combination such as the availability of details, figures and vehicles. If I ever build a layout, I plan on hand-laying all my track, so hand-laying to a unique gauge would not be an issue.

Patrick

First of all, welcome aboard, Patrick. You will find this an eclectic bunch. This is a great place to get your answers questioned. Don’t be shy about asking questions. If we don’t know the answers, we’ll pretend that we do, until someone sets us straight.

While handlaying track is something that most anyone can do, re-gauging a locomotive, or scratch building a drive is not to be approached lightly. Keep us informed of your progress, we like lots of photos, too. Again, Welcome.

Bart has coffee going down in the Goat Locker, and the 10:27 will be along soon, if she’s not late.