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.
I've just noticed that the last time I updated the blog post about my
loco roster was in 2015. A lot has happened since then and so, it's now time to report on progress.
Loco No. 1
Name: PECKFORTON
Manufacturer: Peckett 0-4-0T
Photo:
Date constructed:
2008
Materials used:
Plasticard
Chassis:
LGB ToyTrain 0-4-0
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
Phoenix 2k2
Notes:
Constructed
from an early Garden Railway Specialists kit. Originally track-powered.
Converted
to battery power in 2015. Programmed its Deltang Rx65b for auto-station-stop in 2018
Video:
Loco No. 2
Name: BEESTON
Manufacturer: Barclay 2-4-0T
Photo:
Date acquired:
2010
Materials used:
Plasticard
Chassis:
LGB 0-4-0 motor block
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
MyLocoSound soundcard
Notes:
Bought secondhand
from Garden Railway Specialists. It is a very early GRS kit based on a
loco which ran on Jersey. Originally track powered, it was
converted
to battery power in 2014
Video:
Loco No. 3
Name: BICKERTON
Manufacturer: Hunslet 0-4-0T
Photo:
Date constructed:
2008
Materials used:
Plasticard
Chassis:
LGB ToyTrain 0-4-0
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
MLS soundcard
Notes:
Constructed
from an early Garden Railway Specialists resin kit. Originally
track-powered.
Converted
to battery power in 2015.
Video:
Loco No. 4
Name: BULKELEY
Manufacturer: Manning Wardle 0-6-2T (ex Southwold Railway)
Photo:
Date constructed:
2013
Materials used:
Plasticard
Chassis:
LGB U Class motor block
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells (originally 12v li-ion CCTV battery)
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver (originally Deltang Rx61b)
Sound:
MLS Mk3 soundcard
Notes:
Based on Southwold Railway loco No. 4 Wenhaston. My first steam
outline
scratchbuild and was also one of my first purpose-built battery locos.
Video:
Loco No. 5
Name: TARPORLEY
Manufacturer: Sharp Stewart 2-4-2T
Photo:
Date constructed:
2013
Materials used:
Plasticard
Chassis:
Playmobil 0-4-0 motor block
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells (Originally li-ion 12v CCTV battery)
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
MLS Soundcard
Notes:
My second
scratchbuilt
Southwold loco and designed to be battery powered. It had to be a
Sharpie. The 2-4-2 was chosen rather than one of the Southwold's 2-4-0s
to provide a little more room for the batteries and RC.
Video:
Loco No. 6
Name: Harthill
Manufacturer: Manning Wardle 0-6-0T
Photo:
Date constructed:
2014
Materials used:
Plasticard
Chassis:
Piko 0-6-0 motor block
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
MLS Soundcard
Notes:
Another
scratchbuildbased on one of the Davington Light Railway 0-6-0s. Probably my
favourite loco. The motor block is so reliable and controllable.
Video:
Loco No. 7
Name: TOLLEMACHE
Manufacturer: Fowler 0-4-0DM
Photo:
Date constructed:
2011
Materials used:
Plasticard
Chassis:
LGB ToyTrain 0-4-0
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells (Originally, 6 x 1.2v NiMh cells)
Control:
Deltang Rx565b receiver + Deltang Rx102 receiver for soundcard
My first
scratchbuilt loco. A cross between a 2' gauge and a standard gauge Fowler loco as I
couldn't find drawings of a 3' gauge loco. The Alan Bond soundcard
requires a servo input but wouldn't respond to the servo output from the
Rx65b and so the Rx102 is used in tandem with the Rx65b to control the
motor.
Video:
Loco No. 8
Name: WYNFORD
Manufacturer: IP Engineering Freelance "Jessie" 0-4-0DH
Photo:
Date constructed:
2013
Materials used:
Steel
Chassis:
USAt 0-4-0 motor block (Replacing 3 previous)
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells (Originally 6 x NiMh cells)
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver (originally Rx102 and Brian Jones Mac5 ESC)
Bought secondhand as a partially completed kit is was stripped down and
rebuilt, this loco has had four
gearboxes; the final being a USAt motor bogie with extended axles for the
fly-cranks.
Video:
Loco No. 9
Name: LOLLY
Manufacturer: Freelance IP Engineering Lollypop Railcar kit
Photo:
Date constructed:
2013
Materials used:
Laser cut plywood kit
Chassis:
IP Engineering
Power:
3 x NiMh cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver (Originally Rx60a)
Sound:
Alan Bond FE101 soundcard
Notes:
My first battery RC loco.
Constructed
to explore the potential of
Deltang
RC equipment (since when I have never looked back!)
My first G Scale loco (part of a Starter set).
Converted
to battery power (twice) in 2016 and
Anglicised
in 2017.
Video:
Loco No. 11
Name: RIDLEY
Manufacturer: Bagnall 0-4-2T
Photo:
Date acquired:
2016
Materials used:
Plasticard
Chassis:
LGB ToyTrain 0-4-0
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
MyLocoSound soundcard
Notes:
Bought
secondhand in 2016. Constructed from an early GRS kit. It was
originally equipped with RCS radio control which was soon
replaced
with Deltang equipment to make it compatible with my other locos.
Constructed
from two freelance Andel resin coach kits. The sound system is a
modified MP3 music player with Model A Ford sound files triggered by the
Rx65 output pads.
Video:
Loco No. 14
Name: BURWARDSLEY
Manufacturer: Black Hawthorn 0-4-0T
Photo:
Date constructed:
2017
Materials used:
Modified LGB Otto body with plasticard additions
Chassis:
LGB ToyTrain 0-4-0
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
MyLocoSound soundcard
Notes:
Started off as a simple bash of an LGB Otto loco but I wasn't pleased
with the result and so it was further
modified
to more closely resemble Kettering Furnaces loco No. 3. One of my
favourite locos.
Initially
constructed
as an evaluation exercise for HGLW kits I quickly realised it had
potential as a shunter for the timber yard at Peckforton.
Video:
Loco No. 16
Name: ERNEST
Manufacturer: IP Engineering Freelance 0-4-0DH
Photo:
Date constructed:
2018
Materials used:
Laser-cut plywood kit
Chassis:
IP Engineering powered chassis
Power:
2 x 14500 Li-ion cells in parallel
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
None (at present)
Notes:
Constructed
as an evaluation of IP Engineering kits. It now potters about on the 2'
gauge feeder railway for the copper mine.
Video:
Loco No. 17
Name: MAISIE
Manufacturer: Freelance
Photo:
Date constructed:
2020
Materials used:
Modified Sylvanian Families Vintage Wedding Car
Chassis:
Cheap 3v worm gearbox from eBay
Power:
2 x 14500 Li-ion cells in parallel
Control:
Deltang Rx60 receiver
Sound:
None (at present)
Notes:
This was originally bought secondhand on eBay but I was dissatisfied
with how it had been converted to run on the track. I
modified
it and added additional detailing,
Video:
Loco No. 18a & 18b
Name: DOROTHY & DIANA
Manufacturer: Freelance 3D printed models downloaded from
Thingiverse,com
Photo:
Date constructed:
2022
Materials used:
PLA 3D printer filament
Chassis:
1 x IP Engineering budget chassis & 1 x 3D printed chassis
Power:
2 x 14500 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
None (at present)
Notes:
Constructed
to evaluate the potential of 3D printed locomotives, Two slight
variants of the loco were constructed and coupled together back to back.
Initially, only one loco was motorised but eventually both are now
powered.
Video:
Loco No. 19
Name: LIONEL
Manufacturer: Walker Brothers diesel railcar
Photo:
Date constructed:
2020
Materials used:
Etched brass kit
Chassis:
Modified Aristocraft 0-4-0 motor bogie
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
MyLocoSound Railcar soundcard
Notes:
Constructed from a bare-bones etched brass kit produced by John
Campbell. The missing whitemetal and resin components were replaced with
my own hand-crafted wooden and plasticard versions.
The loco was initially used unmodified as a platform for testing various
configurations of
Arduino Bluetooth control. It was then modified to vaguely resemble something which might have
run on a UK railway. To my mind it looks like some sort of loco which
might have been seen in the World War I trenches.
Video:
Loco No. 21
Name: BROXTON
Manufacturer: Nasmyth & Wilson 0-4-4T
Photo:
Date constructed:
2021
Materials used:
PLA 3D printer filament
Chassis:
Bachmann Lyn 0-4-0 motor block / Redesigned and rebuilt
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65c receiver
Sound:
MyLocoSound Universal soundcard
Notes:
This started life as a
Bachmann Lyn battery conversion. However, I wasn't happy with its appearance or its performance and so
looked for a suitable loco with outside frames which could use its motor
block. The result is an amalgamation of two Schull and Skibbereen locos
which became my first 3D printed
scratchbuild. The motor block was also completely redesigned and rebuilt to improve
its performance.
Video:
Loco No. 22
Name: LINDA
Manufacturer: HGLW freelance 0-4-0DM
Photo:
Date acquired:
2015
Materials used:
Laser cut MDF
Chassis:
HGLW 0-4-0
Power:
1 x 18650 Li-ion cell
Control:
Deltang Rx65b receiver
Sound:
None at present
Notes:
Bought secondhand and
converted
to radio control. Its Deltang receiver was
reprogrammed
for auto shuttle triggered by reed switches to trundle backwards and
forwards on the 32mm gauge Copper Mine feeder line.
Video:
Loco No. 23
Name: BUNBURY
Manufacturer: Kerr Stuart 0-4-2T
Photo:
Date constructed:
2021
Materials used:
PLA 3D printer filament
Chassis:
Bachmann Lyn 0-4-0 motor block
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Deltang Rx65c receiver
Sound:
MyLocoSound Universal soundcard
Notes:
My second 3D printed
scratchbuilt
loco. Based on one of the locos which ran on the Metropolitan Water
Board Railway near Kew. The motor block was donated by a fellow
modellers who had heard about my problems with my Bachmann Lyn
conversion.
Video:
Loco No. 24
Name: CHOLMONDELEY
Manufacturer: Beyer Peacock 0-4-2T (Ex Glyn Valley Tramway)
Photo:
Date constructed:
2022
Materials used:
PLA 3D printer filament
Chassis:
Scratchbuilt with MFA Como 918D series gearmotor
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Micron MR603a receiver
Sound:
MyLocoSound soundcard
Notes:
Adapted from a 7mm scale model this was
scratchbuilt
using drawings made in TinkerCAD. After initially using a Bachmann
motor bogie and finding it was underpowered, I have now constructed my
own 3D printed motor block from scratch
Video:
Loco No. 25
Name: TATTENHALL
Manufacturer: Hunslet 0-4-0T
Photo:
Date constructed:
2023
Materials used:
Carboard kit with 3D printed enhancements
Chassis:
LGB ToyTrain 0-4-0 motor block (modified)
Power:
3 x 18650 Li-ion cells
Control:
Micron MR603a receiver
Sound:
MyLocoSound soundcard
Notes:
Constructed
from a Rail-Road (formerly LocoLines) card kit it was
then enhanced using 3D printed parts drawn with TinkerCAD.
Video:
Loco No. 30
Name: CHALONER
Manufacturer: De Winton vertical boilered 0-4-0
Photo:
Date acquired:
2017
Materials used:
Metals
Chassis:
Regner geared loco with two oscillating cylinders
Power:
Live steam - gas powered
Control:
Manual
Sound:
Live steam sounds
Notes:
My one concession to live steam. Chosen because it is a geared loco and is hence easily controlled. One day I will equip it with radio control. It rarely makes an appearance as I prefer the predictability of my battery powered locos.
Video:
When I was planning my railway, I predicted that I would only need three
locos. That was nearly twenty years ago. I keep telling myself that I don't
need any more - until I see another attractive looking locomotive which I feel
wouldn't look out of place on the PLR!
So, who knows what will appear next? I certainly don't!
