Some of my Gauge 3 rolling stock

[Mike W]

Seeing so many people post on here things they are making or have made, perhaps I have been remiss in not blowing the trumpet for Gauge 3. So, over time I aim to post a few pictures of random wagons!

First off, the very first Gauge 3 wagon I built. Its a long story, but I had a Christmas break with nothing to do, so shut myself away and on the spur of the moment made the body pattern for a very simple LNWR D1 single plank open, the plan being to have it cast in resin, keep a couple and sell the remainder of the batch to cover my costs. The transfers were made for me by Peter Chatham. The W irons are laser cut 20g steel, the axleboxes cast brass from a pattern made by Tim Hughes, and the whitemetal dummy leaf springs were cast by Adrian Swain. I think Adrian thought that the demand for Gauge 3 was very small, but to date I've had 5,000 of them cast! Did someone say Gauge 3 was a minority interest?

 

[john lewsey]

Looks good to me Mike, any more.

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Keep them coming,Mike. It would be nice to see your stock with a bit of a story attached.

Jon

 

[Jordan]

Did someone say Gauge 3 was a minority interest?

I remember a Gauge 3 layout at the old Wolverhampton show, a Light Railway terminus in minimum space (for the scale!! It looked like 8ft or so) that was very simple but fascinating viewing, the models had presence that even U.S. O Scale would be jealous of, and it had plenty of atmosphere.
No idea what it's name was, & never seen any photos of it. It would've been around 1985 or thereabouts.

 

[Mike W]

That's interesting Jordan. That would be way before my time in Gauge 3 and I've not heard of any portable layouts around then. The Gauge 3 Society was formed in 1990 in order to keep the scale alive, so perhaps one of the founder members had a portable track.
Mike

 

[Neil]

I may be able to help, was it this layout Jordan?



Ivydale (All Hallows) by Fraser Cantrill featured in the December 1996 Railway Modeller. I thought it was brilliant at the time and I still do. Never seen it in the flesh though.

 

[Mike W]

Ah yes! I never saw it either, but it was 16mm scale. Close to Gauge 3 which is 13.5mm, but not quite close enough!
Mike

 

[Ian_T]

I'm not so sure Mike.

It looks like standard gauge (Light Railway) and I've seen that little loco before. It may even be the one that Cliff has these days...

Regards,

IanT

 

[Jordan]

was it this layout Jordan?

No, sorry. I'll have to draw a rough track plan. Rough because it will be purely based on memory!!
Ok, this is the gist of it - rural scenery, sector plate hidden siding, goods facility in front. Platform on the loop - took a single coach which was left in place at the platform as the loco ran round it. There was a road on the left but I can't recall if there was a level crossing or not.

Given the size of the stock, even that simple run round move was fascinating to watch!!
I can't recall but they might have run a mixed train at times as well.

 

[Mike W]

Next wagon is another LNWR, chosen because it uses most of the same fittings at the D1 open wagon. Cast by CMA in one piece but without a floor, so the roof, roof door and roof to side joints can be as perfect as I can make them on the pattern, rather than expect the builder to do his best. I chose the 15ft 6in D32 thinking that one day I would do the later 16ft D33 as well, but somehow the years fly past and I will never do that now.
The cast leaf springs have a spigot in the centre pointing downwards and this locates a small stainless steel coil spring, the lower end of which fits into a pocket in the top of the axlebox, providing springing. I enjoy making one-off patterns like this, especially poring over photographs looking for the odd rivet or nut that's hidden away but can easily be added and then replicated on every casting, like the square bolt heads on the edges of the framing.

 

[Mike W]

I should add that so far these have been pictures of my display models, so pristine condition with no weathering.
Mike

 

[Mike W]

Something completely different this time. This model is probably over 110 years old, being made in wood by Bassett Lowke before the Great War. One of the things that struck me during my early days in Gauge 3 is how accurate some of the vintage models were in our scale and not at all like the crude approximations offered in the smaller scales at that time. I acquired it just as you see it here from the late Mike May, whose garden line based on Holyhead was a real inspiration to me.

Around the late 1930s Gauge 3 changed from half inch to the foot to 17/32in, which is correct scale. This van pre-dates that by a long way, but commercial models were often a little on the large size back then, so the difference is not always noticeable. I suspect it was repainted and lettered for Mike May by Brian Badger. It is one of the few models I have which is not sprung. It has not derailed any more than other wagons but does bump up and down a bit on turnouts. The most obvious difference when running is the noise - sprung wagons are far quieter and from several feet one can identify the unsprung wagon by the noise!

Its a but crude by today's standards, but gave me a much needed brake van until I could build some of my own.

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Mike
I’m really liking this walk through your rolling stock.
I do like the look of the brake van, it shows a lot of detail and so early, pre WW1!

Jon

 

[john lewsey]

That brake van is really nice Mike , a lovely model.

 

[timbowales]

I agree with the comment above!
That brake van has a real presence about it

 

[Mike W]

Made to RCH 1907 drawings, the Plastikard body pattern is again cast in resin in one piece by CMA and I supply them with a batch of steel rods cut to length which they clip into the mould and cast the resin around them to represent the end door hinge bar. I have several of these wagons now, but it was the most common wagon design before the Grouping and with different colours and lettering they do look rather nice. The transfers for this one were from my own drawings, whilst some others have been hand lettered.

One of my memories of Adrian Swain was sitting as he leafed through my folder of wagon pictures "that's a GNR buffer ... that's a 1907 brake block because ... that's an interesting one because it has an LNWR spring hanger but" .. and then, after what seemed like a long time, the penny dropped "... that's one of your models!". I'd fooled him for about half a minute which I still feel chuffed about!

Mike
Yes, the bottom door catch on Thrutchley (which was painted by Tim Hughes) is on the wrong end. I mis-read the drawing and put two each side instead of one on this, the test build.

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Mike
That’s a very nice paint job. If I could paint strapping like that and not get wiggly lines and overpaint on the body then, all of my wagons would have a proper paint job.

Jon

 

[Mike W]

RTR in Gauge 3? Well, almost! One can never have too many Private Owner wagons, but this one is a commercial product from Bachmann - a troublesome truck in G Scale. The face has been prised from the end and then I had a decision to make. The body moulding is very nice and pretty accurate for Gauge 3 except for the unusual 9ft 6in wheelbase and the body being 3in too narrow. I console myself that P.O. wagons were all different and I'm happy with it as a one off. The Bachmann underframe details were more crude, so although some people have managed to salvage a lot of it, after careful consideration I discarded everything below the solebar and fitted my own running gear, brakes, buffers and couplings. Even secondhand or discounted trucks are rarely cheap, so the final model is hardly any saving on the price of one of my normal kits, but it does add variety and was done really to show that (almost) RTR Gauge 3 is possible. The transfers are from my own artwork and done on CAD, I never use modern "fonts".

 

[Mike W]

Another coal wagon, but of different construction. This has a Scottish Wagon Works solid printed body, buffer guides and part-brakes, and my usual running gear and couplings. There were several reasons I wanted this kit. I try to encourage all manufacturers of quality kits to try out Gauge 3 and to support them by buying at least one. But more than that, it is well researched, very nicely printed and the chaps at SWW went out of their way to help. I doubt whether these wagons often ventured south of the border, but the odd one in a coal train makes for variety. It was again lettered for me by Liz Marsden. Probably needs toning down a little now.

 

[Mike W]

Just to be clear, the axleboxes and running gear supplied by SWW are superb, but I didn't use them because 1) the wagon I chose had Ellis boxes, 2) On a wagon which could suffer a hard ride in the garden I prefer some metal in these areas, and springing.

Mike