Maybe I’m being naive here, but to my eyes this is astonishing: I was searching for Garratts and came across a man named Bill Allen who is literally scratchbuilding a Garratt from brass parts he is machining himself, the whole thing. It seems to be a working steam-powered model, and the skill involved is unbelievable.
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/46450-streamlined-garratt-build-log-2.html
Yes it’s true. He has built several locos quickly and with jewel like quality.
They are works of art and he is mostly self taught.
John
Yeah, That man is a genius and one of my biggest inspirations. One thing I really miss about the other site. Just not near enough to start hanging there again!
John Passaro said:
Maybe I’m being naive here, but to my eyes this is astonishing: I was searching for Garratts and came across a man named Bill Allen who is literally scratchbuilding a Garratt from brass parts he is machining himself, the whole thing. It seems to be a working steam-powered model, and the skill involved is unbelievable.
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/46450-streamlined-garratt-build-log-2.html
In the old days, that’s how you made a steam engine. Full size or model, it’s all machine ship skills. There are still a few guys building their own from scratch - especially in the ride-on scales. Steam-in-the-Garden magazine often has articles on similar (usually smaller!) models. There was a brass CP Huntington 4-2-4 in 1/32nd scale live steam a couple of years ago.
Bill Allen is a Master Craftsman - definitely on the top of the heap.
Not wishing to spoil the fun, but here in UK and Europe there are literally HUNDREDS if not thousand of what you would call scratch-builders of live-steam models in ALL scales.
Sure, if you are rich you can pay the likes of Station Road Steam or RMS to build you a ride on/in/or behind live steamer, but 99% of everything else you see in the larger scales is built by people like you and me, using lathes, mills, sometimes CAD and so on. Go to Train Mountain in Oregon on a steaming day and I bet you’ll not see a single ‘store-bought’ loco there - there are none that make and sell a Challenger or a Big Boy, although there are plenty of diesel builders.
In Gauge 1, f it ain’t Aster [they make kits remember] then its down to getting plans and a few castings from one of the many suppliers of raw materials and getting on with it. Look up Barratt Engineering, Keith Cousins and others of their ilk.
tac
Ottawa Valley GRS
There’s a guy out here in CA who kit-bashes Garrets in Large Scale using Bachmann Big Hauler parts. Well, a few of them. I’ve got pix of them, and they are beautiful.
Guys, please. I have 2 Aristo pacifics that are supposed to end being a Garrett someday. Yes, they are sucking dust and waiting for me to get to my “someday” list.