This Blog describes the ongoing development of a 16mm scale 45mm gauge garden railway situated in the North West of England, UK from 2004 to the present day.
In Part 1, I explored various forms of kit-building while in Part 2 we examined ways in which toys could be modified or track powered locos could be converted to run on battery power. In this part we shall explore ways of scratch-building your own body-shells to be mounted on commercially available powered chassis, motor bogies or motor blocks.
I will cover:
Choosing a prototype
Sourcing a powered chassis or motor block
Constructing the body shell
Wiring everything up
Finishing touches
Choosing a prototype
Of course, your loco doesn't need to be based on any particular prototype, it can be purely imaginary. However even so, your loco might well be influenced by one or more real life locomotives, to make sure it looks reasonably realistic or plausible.
Over the years, I have scratchbuilt several loco body-shells to be mounted on various commercial motor blocks and chassis. All but two of them have been based on prototypes, though none of them has been an accurate scale model. I like to say my locos have been inspired by the original.
You may have a particular loco which you have always hankered about owning. Maybe it's one which no one has yet made available commercially, or maybe your finances are such that, although it could be bought off the shelf, you don't have the resources to purchase it.
My choices of prototype have been influenced by:
a) The Southwold Railway - which I have always loved and had hoped would one day be restored. At least I can enjoy seeing locos and rolling stock which once ran on the Southwold running on my railway. I have so far constructed a Southwold Railway Sharp Stewart and an SR Manning Wardle.
Semi-scratchbuilt Southwold Railway Manning Wardle 0-6-2T loco on an LGB motor block
A semi-scratchbuilt Black Hawthorn loco on an LGB motor block
Once the prototype has been selected, I then set about finding scale drawings for them. Mostly, these were available in books about the railway in question. Sometimes, however, I had to scour the internet either for drawings and/or photos which would help in the loco's construction.
Assuming I have been able to track down a drawing, I then photocopy it and work out how each dimension can be re-scaled to 15mm scale. This is easily achieved by identifying one known key dimension (eg the gauge of the track), measuring it on the plan and then working out by how much that dimension needs to be multiplied to make it appropriate for 15mm scale. For example, the gauge of the track in this drawing of a Southwold Sharp Stewart loco measures 21mm (ie 3' in 7mm scale). In 15mm scale, the track gauge should measure 45mm, so if I divide 45/21 I get a value of around 2.14. So, if I multiply any measurement on the drawing by 2.14, then I will have its equivalent in 15mm scale.
Sourcing a powered chassis or motor block
My next job is then to calculate the diameter of the driving wheels and the distance between them (ie the wheelbase). Sometimes these dimensions are also given in books or on websites which can save a bit of work.
Armed with this information, I then have to track down a chassis or motor block which is as near to those dimensions as possible. I've found online forums to be useful for this. There's usually someone out there who can suggest a suitable motor block. In the case of the Sharp Stewart loco above, the nearest motor block I could find was made by Playmobil - provided I modelled the loco in 16mm scale. I eventually tracked one down on the German eBay site.
A Playmobil motor block - the basis for the Sharp Stewart loco build
For locos in category c) above, the process as the reverse. I started with the motor block and had to scan the internet and my library for a suitable prototype. In many ways, this was easier though, for the Schull and Skibbereen loco, I merged the body of one loco with the chassis of another, basically because I preferred the shape of the body.
A semi-scratchbuilt Schull & Skibbereen might-have-been loco on a Bachmann motor block
For me, that's one of the joys of creating your own rolling stock - anything goes!
An outside framed 0-6-0 chassis from Essel Engineering
Constructing the body shell
For me, this is the fun part - figuring out how to break down the drawing and photos of the loco into a series of parts which can then be put back together again as a finished loco.
The choice of material for constructing the body is entirely up to you - card, wood, plastic, metal or any combination of those is entirely acceptable. In the main, I have used plasticard, usually combined with metal parts such as handrails, spectacle rings and small whitemetal fittings. More recently, I have been using 3D printing for most of the component parts (more of that in Part 5 - pending).
My first semi-scratchbuilt loco was a diesel. There was a simple reason for that - I figured that the shape of a diesel loco is basically a couple of boxes glued together - one for the bonnet and another for the cab. It turned out to be slightly more sophisticated than that, but the basic concept is correct.
My first semi-scratchbuild - a Fowler diesel mechanical loco
I learned a lot by constructing this model, but the construction process I followed is more or less the same as I have used for all my semi- and scratchbuilds. I start with the running plate.
The running plate is, in effect, the interface between the motor block or chassis and the body shell. The outer dimensions of the plate are dictated by the measurements shown on the plan while the hole in its middle is determined by carefully measuring the motor block, I find this needs to be tweaked as the model takes shape to either allow for or give clearance to the rest of the model's superstructure.
I've found that making the cab is generally a good next step as it is a firm fixture on the running plate and its dimensions are usually fairly easy to identify. Although I may assemble its sides, I don't usually fix it to the running plate immediately as some tweaking my be required.
I like to make my cab roofs removable so I can more easily paint the interior and fix the driver in place and so i make sure the ribs for the roof are short enough to fit between the sides and are glued to the roof to fit inside the front and rear of the cab.
When making the bonnet (for a diesel loco) or boiler and tanks (for a steam loco), some thought needs to be given as to where the batteries and radio control equipment will be located. It's advisable to create as much uninterrupted inside space as possible so, if the boiler can be sliced off where it joins the tanks and the insides of the tanks can similarly be curtailed, then bear this in mind when putting them together as a unit.
I tend to do a lot of test-fitting as I progress with the build and try not to fit parts together until I'm more or less certain how and where they will go.
Incidentally, boilers can be formed from pieces of plastic pipe, plastic bottles or card or plastic tubing or, if you are unable to find anything of the right diameter, created by wrapping 1.5mm thick plasticard around a suitable wooden or plastic former, held in place with cable ties, and plunged into near boiling water. The coffee stirrers were used to help avoid corrugations at the ends of the sheet of plasticard, though I've since discovered it's better just to overlap the plasticard by a couple of centimetres and then trim off the excess.
An interesting problem which needs to be solved at some point during the construction of the body-shell is how it will be fixed to the motor block or chassis. Ideally, the two should be easily removable - but not so easily removed that the loco comes apart each time it is lifted off the track.
Over the years, I have tended to try keeping the number of mounting screws to a minimum. This can sometimes be achieved by allowing one end of the block to slot in under a bracket. The other end should then require only a single self-tapping screw (sometimes two) - to hold it in place.
If your body-shell is made from plastic, then you will need to add weight to the loco to improve its adhesion. I use strips of lead flashing which I bought in a roll from my local builders' merchant.
Strips of lead flashing sandwiched to make loco ballast
I now use clear silicone sealant to hold such ballast in place, having discovered that EvoStik has a nasty tendency to dissolve styrene or HIPS plasticard. Tailored strips can be squeezed into empty spaces......
..... or simply glued into cavities on the base of the loco.
Once the body shell is finished it needs a couple of coats of primer. I generally use Halford's car paint primer from a rattle can as I also use their range of car colours for my loco livery (Rover Brooklands Green and Satin Black). From experience, I know it is inadvisable to try using different brands of paint for priming and top-coating as they can react badly to each other.
Inevitably, there will be some filling, rubbing-down and smoothing before the top coats are applied, but it's important to iron out any blemishes if you want a decent finish.
Wiring-up your loco
If you are uncertain about which batteries to use, I would advise you to do your homework before committing yourself. A lot has been written about the dangers of using lithium-ion cells and LIPO battery packs but, if you are careful and follow guidance, they are a lot less dangerous than, for example, filling a loco's fuel tank with butane, setting fire to it and heating water in a pressurised boiler. For more information on batteries see A Quick Introduction toBatteries for Model Trains and Getting Started with Battery Power and Radio Control.
Your loco could have very basic manual control comprising an on/off switch or a direction switch with a centre-off position.
Alternatively, it might have an additional simple manual speed controller built into the circuitry. These can be bought very cheaply on eBay. They are wired into the input for the reversing switch - two wires in and two wires out.
Or, you may opt for a radio control system.
If you decide not to use rechargeable batteries then the wiring can be made even simpler.
Finding somewhere inside the loco for the batteries is probably the greatest challenge, together with trying to decide where to put the switches and charge socket. They can either be positioned beneath the running plate or put in unobtrusive places on the loco body shell.
The on/off switch can just be seen below the saddle tank on my Black Hawthorn loco
Finishing Touches
For finishing touches such as safety valves, domes, whistles, tank fillers, backhead details, smokebox door handles, clack valves, handrail knobs, etc., you can either buy these are brass or whitemetal castings from suppliers such as GRS, ......
.... or make them yourself from offcuts, chunks of plastic filed to shape or 'found' objects such as the cap of a sun tan lotion bottle for a dome ......
..... or the side of a plastic castor for a smokebox door.
I was very anxious about constructing my first semi-scratchbuilt loco but after it was completed I couldn't figure out what I was so scared about.
My first semi-scratchbuilt loco - a Fowler diesel mechanical
Sure, I encountered a few problems, but I found ways of overcoming them. I know it isn't perfect, but when it's running on my railway I hardly notice its slight imperfections.
Over the years, I have slowly and systematically acquired new skills - mostly by learning from my successes and failures. I mentioned above that I had learned not to use EvoStik to fix lead weights in place - here's why ....
I can remember being very calm and philosophical about it at the time. It was just another setback which I needed to overcome. I dismantled that part of the loco (which by then was more or less finished), rubbed-down the offending surfaces, applied a fair bit of filler, rubbed down some more and then repainted it. If I look very closely at the loco, I can still see the slight undulations but I doubt anyone else would be aware of them - unless I pointed them out. After all, like motor cars, most locos which have had a good working life have a few dints, dents and scratches!
OK, there is some effort involved in making your own locos - but I believe that effort is more than repaid in watching a unique loco, which you have constructed largely from scratch, chuffing around your railway.
Here's that pockmarked an dented loco shown above in action .......
This is part 2 of a series of posts exploring the construction of battery powered locos for garden railways. It is unashamedly UK focused, mainly because I am based in the UK and prefer to write from first hand experience. The other parts of the series are:
Modifying and converting commercially available track-powered locomotives
Modifying and converting live steam and clockwork locomotives
Making modifications to pre-existing locomotives can be a very cost-effective and rewarding way of extending your fleet of locomotives - particularly if you want something different or unique running on your railway but don't have the skills or confidence to scratchbuild a loco.
Modifying kits
You will have seen in Part 1 of this series, that there is a range of kits available in the UK (and beyond) which can be quite modestly priced and fairly easy to construct. Once you have built a basic loco following the instructions, opportunities arise to make changes or add enhancements. If you are feeling confident, you might even consider changing the appearance more drastically during the construction process.
Enhancing a kit
Suppliers of kits usually acknowledge that the constructor will want to further detail their kits and some of them (eg Garden Railway Specialists) supply a range of additional detailing parts for locos. Some suppliers specialise in providing detailing parts such as Cambrian Models, SLR Modelsand LocoWorks.
Enhancements can include adding exterior details such as the buffers, louvres, handrails and exhaust pipe on my HGLW diesel loco kit.
The buffers came from Binnie Engineering, the louvres are from a fly-screen sent to me by my mate in Australia, while the handrails and exhaust pipe were made from scratch. For more information see How I detailed my HGLW diesel loco.
Further details such as a toolbox, re-railing jacks, a horn or whistle, pipework, vacuum pipe connectors, a driver and cab interior details can further improve the appearance of a basic loco kit. These can be purchased from the above suppliers, made from scratch or modified from 'found' items, such as this safety valve for a steam loco which I made from the handlebars of a 50p model motorbike, a self-tapping screw and a small piece of brass.
Modifications
Modifications involve changing the appearance of a kit, either subtly or in a more substantial way. For example, when I constructed the model of a plate frame Simplex loco from IP Engineering, I decided to remove the non-prototypical mounting for the on/off switch on the side of the loco,
.....with some detailing made from plasticard and Cambrian Models bolt heads, based on photos I'd taken of a real Simplex loco at the Devon Railway Centre,
In addition, I added a cab and a toolbox, also made primarily from plasticard.
..... was cutting-down its cab to give more clearance when entering the crushing shed. This modification also required the addition of some cab detailing parts which were obtained from Cambrian Models.
Of course, modification might include a complete make-over from the kit's original appearance such as this transformation of one of Phil Sharples basic kits, from this .....
There are quite a few toys available for modest prices which could be motorised and battery-powered. Unlike conversions of track-powered locos (see below), toys sometimes provide you with a suitable body shell but no appropriate mechanism.
Requiring no conversion but maybe some modification, Playmobil trains are a good candidate for extending your battery loco fleet. They are (at the time of writing) no longer available but have come in various styles over the years and can be bought secondhand on eBay and similar online platforms.
An easy toy modification is to find a cheap model train which is designed to run on 32mm or 45mm gauge track. These are sometimes sold as Christmas themed train sets.
They are often fairly cheaply constructed and so their mechanisms won't withstand a great deal of heavy usage, but they do provide a cost effective entry-point for your battery loco collection. You may need to do some work on the loco body to make it look a little less toy-like. At the time of writing, this was available on AliExpress for around £40GBP plus £8GBP postage to the UK.
Another possible source for easily adaptable locos is Lego-compatible trains, such as these (also available from AliExpress).
They vary in price from around £25GBP (including shipping) to £140GBP.
If you are prepared to do some work by using a cheap motorised chassis from, say IP Engineering, Phil Sharples, HGLW or Essel Engineering or even make your own chassis, then you might be tempted by toys such as this Postman Pat Greendale Rocket train.
The model is approximately the right scale for 16mm and G Scale garden railways and has been converted by several modellers to run on their tracks. For example:
Or if you are feeling a bit more adventurous ......
My own experience with converting a toy to run on my railway is the modification of a Sylvanian Families wedding car.....
Tony Bird is probably the most accomplished and extensive converter of toy models for his garden railway and I can recommend browsing through his YouTube Channel for inspiration.
Conversions
My idea of a conversion is to start with a finished loco such as one which has been manufactured by a company such as Bachmann or LGB and converting it from track power to battery power. Less common, but certainly feasible, would be a conversion from live steam or clockwork to battery power. In addition, such conversions could also include enhancements and modifications.
Straight conversions
Over the years, I have converted a range of locomotives to battery power; either for my own use or for fellow modellers. A very common conversion is the LGB Stainz locomotive which is included in their various Starter Sets or can be bought separately in various guises.
They often turn up on eBay, though sometimes sell for ridiculously large sums as some variations are quite collectible.
At the time of writing, I wouldn't be prepared to buy one for more than £70 or £80GBP for a secondhand Stainz loco.
The loco is very easy to convert to battery power as it has a power socket at the back of the cab which can be used to provide lighting for coaches but which can alternatively be used to feed power to the motor.
A very basic conversion can easily be achieved by connecting the socket to a battery pack carried in a wagon, van or coach coupled to the rear of the loco.
As well as the batteries, the trail-car could include a basic manual or a radio control system - See How I converted a Stainz loco to battery power. Apart from the ease with which the conversion can be carried out, a key advantage of using a trail-car is that one could be used to power and control a range of locomotives by simply unplugging it from one loco and plugging it into another. However, there are drawbacks. Firstly, if you want to run the loco into a terminus and then run around its train for the return journey the loco will end up between trail-car and the rest of the train. More importantly, if the electrical pick-ups aren't removed from the wheels, the power supplied to the loco's motor will also be sent through the wheels to the track - which might cause some interesting and unexpected problems when other locos try to use the same stretch of track.
To overcome these problems, somewhere needs to be found in the loco body to house the batteries so the trail-car can be discarded. I found there is plenty of room on the cab floor of the Stainz loco for a small lithium-ion battery pack.
The second problem is relatively easily solved by removing the pick-up wipers. On most track-powered locos, this is accomplished by removing the bottom plate on the base of the loco and extracting the pick-ups and connectors which are usually a push-fit.
The process of converting track-powered locos to battery power is virtually the same regardless of the loco:
Dismantle the loco
Remove the track pick-ups
Find somewhere to install the batteries
Wire-up the batteries to the motor through a switch and either a manual speed controller or a radio controlled electronic speed controller (ESC)
Re-assemble the loco.
From my experience, the main difficulties are working out how to dismantle the loco (sometimes there are hidden screws or lugs which need to be sprung open) and finding sufficient room for the batteries. I now make my own lithium-ion battery packs as I can configure them to fit into the available space(s). Lithium-ion packs are much smaller than other battery packs because each cell holds 3.7v rather than the 1.2v or 1.5v other cells hold. However, you must do your homework before attempting to construct your own battery packs as you might not only ruin your model, you could burn down your house if you handle them incorrectly. For more information see - An introduction to batteries for model trains.
As discussed above, a straight conversion does not need to be the end of the process. Once a loco has been converted to track power it can be further enhanced or modified to personalise the loco or, in my case, to make it more suitable for a 1930s UK-based railway.
Some examples of my own conversion-modifications include:
See - How I Anglicised an LGB ToyTrain diesel loco (pending)
In reality, the only limitation to such conversions is your imagination, your expertise and your confidence. In reality I have found it's far more related to confidence than anything else - any expertise which I have gained over the years has been developed simply by having a go, making mistakes (many many mistakes!) and learning from them.
Converting live steam and clockwork locos
To be honest, this is something I have not (as yet) tried. The main reason has been the lack of availability of donor locomotives. Live steamers tend to be very expensive. Even the lowest priced secondhand live steamers (eg Mamod) can fetch around £200GBP in even tatty condition.
In an ideal world, I would find one with a dodgy boiler in a car-boot or garage sale at a knock-down price. I have seen such models converted to battery power and then modified to enhance their appearance.
Similarly, old clockwork locos can be converted to battery power, particularly if the clockwork mechanism has failed. It is possible to buy commercially produced electrically powered chassis for some old clockwork locos......
..... but it should be quite easy to make your own.
Conclusion
Converting and/or modifying (aka 'bashing') an existing model to run on your railway can be a cost-effective way of extending your fleet of battery locos. It can save you a fair amount of effort compared with building a loco from scratch though I have found from experience that, sometimes, it can be easier to start from scratch than trying to adapt something - as was the case with the LGB Otto conversion mentioned above. A lot depends on the level of realism you want to create. If you are happy for something like Postman Pat's Greendale Rocket to run on your railway in it's original form, then the conversion could be quite quick and easy.
As has been said many times - it's your railway and you set the rules.
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