The glories of 00/H0

[pete2hogs]

I currently have a N&W Y6B mallet circulating my layout on the head of an ECML empty stock train. Looks fabulous

Apologies to any hard core rivet counters who've just gone in to apoplexy.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Rule No 1, applies.

manna

[Seagull]

I'm sure if the board had voted the money Sir Nigel would have built one of his own, it would have solved the problem of getting those ECS sleepers out of KX before the morning rush hour

Alan

[Hatfield Shed]

I have long had a 'Big Boy' which occasionally works the entire ECML fast fitted evening freights as a single train for York.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

It's a pity, no one back then, thought to try the two P1's on the fast goods services, instead of the slow minerals train, might have helped with the pathing problems.

manna

[pete2hogs]

I'm sure if the board had voted the money Sir Nigel would have built one of his own, it would have solved the problem of getting those ECS sleepers out of KX before the morning rush hour

Alan

My feelings exactly.

[RayS]

Why not? A bit of fun never hurt anyone. Rock Island RDC-3 railcar occasionally replaces W&M railbus on my Leamholt branch and a Rocket liveried GP7 livens up the branch freight - but both only for private pleasure!

It's my railway/railroad.

[Hatfield Shed]

..It's a pity, no one back then, thought to try the two P1's on the fast goods services, instead of the slow minerals train, might have helped with the pathing problems...

That had to wait for the national emergency of WWII. With a blanket speed limit of 60mph the LNER's large wide firebox designs were worked as a single traction pool taking the next trainload as they became available, The P1s both got 220 psi replacement boilers and cylinders lined up to 19"during the war, so were clearly assets to be maintained.

[Pebbles]

My understanding is that to fully utilise the potential of the P1s required the general availability of fitted freight.

[Hatfield Shed]

Add to which, with high capacity wagons and regular traffic requirements for 800+ ton loads. Not ten years after their scrapping BR was of course busy introducing an equivalent power unit, which some regions decried as too expensive for the work available. They were well liked on the former LNER lines...

[Reading_Steiner]

Regarding HO scale railroad modeling, what brands would you recommend? I've never done train models, only tanks and planes, but I've always wanted to try it.
The thing is that I've always lived in a modest-sized flat, but recently, my wife and I had been planning to buy a holiday house in Greece, and I made sure to chooose one with a large, unoccupied basement; my eldest son and I have been doing some hardcore lobbying around my wife to have a place to build a large scale HO train network, so I'd like to make it great for him and I and avoid getting something that doesn't work well or needs some tinkering to function properly.

Second question, if I were to do the terrain from big styrofoam blocks (for the main bulk of the relief) covered in plaster that would be then painted, flocked etc, would it be appropriate for a large scale project with a rolling train on it? I've only used this trick for 8x8 inch (if not smaller) static modeling dioramas.

[exile]

The answer to your first question will depend heavily on what you want to model.

Manufacturers of US/North American prototypes tend to be based in the US. Those for European prototypes tend to be European companies. However almost all are actually manufactured in China.

There is also the question of how much you want to spend and even within some individual producers there is a range from basic (cheap) through standard (medium to highish prices) to ultra-detailed (rather expensive unless you have a large resource pot). Levels of detail/quality of finish generally follow the price curve - but there are exceptions.

On the second question, that is certainly one way to do it and many do. For a large project that you do not intend to move you could consider a series of wood frames picking out the basic form of the hills. These are covered with either chicken wire (hard on the hands where the wire is cut) or interlaced strips of carboard (cereal packets are good) and covered with plaster bandage. This can also be used for portable layouts but is perhaps a little more fragile than styroform blocks.

Basically there is no absolute right way to do it, just a range of different ways to achieve the same result.

[Albert Hill]

There are significant cost differences between "brands" and between the models of different countries, a holiday home basement may suit the cheaper end of the market bearing in mind you will leave your stock out there unattended and presumably will have to carry it out there.
British outline might be sourced from the Hornby Railroad range, basic reliable models.
Model Power is a cheap US source.

Modellers experiment with modern materials and there are successful uses of styrofoam etc but you need to consider its about 80% air and would need some support at intervals. The influence of ambient heat would need consideration ref expansion and possible high moisture levels.

[Reading_Steiner]

Thanks for the in-depth answers! I'll think about it thoroughly as to find how to plan for something better: now that I know what may be an issue, I know where I should do research!

[Horsetan]

....There is also the question of how much you want to spend and even within some individual producers there is a range from basic (cheap) through standard (medium to highish prices) to ultra-detailed (rather expensive unless you have a large resource pot). Levels of detail/quality of finish generally follow the price curve - but there are exceptions....

It seems pretty much a given that anything Swiss-outline will definitely be expensive

Also, the price of a German HO steam loco kit is way in excess of its 4mm scale British counterpart. I remember coming away feeling sick when I first found out that a Weinert kit for a Br.01 Pacific was equivalent to about £700. That was back in about 2004. The same kit is nearer £1000 now.

I bit the bullet recently and looked for a secondhand German loco kit in HO. There was nothing available that took my fancy under the Weinert brand, but I stumbled across an ancient Merker & Fischer kit for the Br.45 2-10-2 in its final DB form. Even this worked out at about £240, and that was without the correct 5-axle tender, also by M&F, which cost a further £108. The two kits are complete except for motor and geartrain.

M&F had an interesting demise: they had more or less stopped producing kits themselves by the early 1980s, but some of the kits reappeared under the DJH/Model Loco label, e.g. the Br.82 0-10-0. The considerable range of M&F detailing parts also partly reappeared elsewhere under the Weinert label and are still available from there.