Rundle: An oval in a bedroom in Gauge 3

Ian_T

Western Thunderer
Good to hear Geoff. There's dearth of small live steam designs for G3. Unfortunately (in some ways) the focus of 2.5" live steam 'designers' has been on the passenger hauling side - starting back with LBSC. The only really small G3 live steam engine I can think of is 'Sugar' - a design by Rex Tingley (he of Unimat fame). It was also a 'valveless' engine - although it works on a different principle to a Bowman. I've never seen one in the flesh but dug out the articles last night to remind me how it worked. It's an 0-4-0 freelance tank and he says the minimum track radius is 2ft 6" - so it would certainly run on Rundle. Not sure it's any easier to build than a conventional engine though...

Look forward to seeing Rundle at the AGM - not too long now - hope the weather improves a bit by then.

Regards,

IanT
 

geoff_nicholls

Western Thunderer
I was pleased with and flattered by the response to Rundle at the AGM. Thank you all for your encouragement. A lot more to do before its next outing. When trains were running, most people were surprised the radius was only 4 feet. I had Roger Salisbury's GRS 13XX GWR pannier pulling a couple of wagons. It coped well with the curves, but at 26' long with 7'6" from the outer axle to the buffer heads, stretched the couplings and credibility to the limit. So probably no 03 or 04 shunters.
Good to meet up with the usual denizens of WT G3, and really nice finally meet Jon Nazerath. Now we've got you this far, Jon, only a small step for you to bring along a wagon or two. But allow for the strong possibility of having to carry the Peter Stroud cup back with you as well.
 

geoff_nicholls

Western Thunderer
Finally started using a Silhouette Cutter I bought from another WTer a while back. I think this will save quite a bit in laser cutting bills.

20191007_092400.jpg

The same may apply to this labour saving method of producing brickwork from the Dolls House fraternity. Actually 1/24th scale, but near enough.
20191003_105122.jpg
 

geoff_nicholls

Western Thunderer
First attempts to use the Bromley Craft Products flemish bond stencil. The neat bit is where I started, with thick paste and the stencil sticking to the surface as it should. The splodgy areas are where the paste was a bit too runny and the stencil was losing its tackiness The instructions say that once it's dried you can sand down any bumps, and I can scribe areas where the definition is poor. I think I've got the corners right, and with a bit more patience I can get quite good at this. Even with the extra cleaning up it's a lot quicker than applying individual bricks.

20191205_144313.jpg 20191205_144303.jpg

My driver and assistant operator, Roy, suggested adding a straight section with a turnout, so we'd have a proper layout, not just a circular diorama. The photos show progress so far. Still a bit to do before it's first outing at the G3 Society Annual Show on the 29th February.

20191205_144116.jpg 20191205_144046.jpg
 

geoff_nicholls

Western Thunderer
This morning I discovered the leftover compound was still workable. Then checked the instructions and found it's supposed to be, so you don't have to do the rush job I did yesterday. I sanded off the area I wasn't happy with and tried again. Much better.
They also do stone pattern stencils, which will be useful when I get bored with the Essex version of Rundle and re-imagine it in Northamptonshire or Derbyshire.

20191206_104149.jpg
 

GrahameH

Western Thunderer
I have only recently discovered your thread Geoff and finding it most enlightening, especially the brick stencils. So much so that I have ordered a few and will have a "play" as they seem to be very useful.
May I ask did you use the stencil for the cobbles too ? Extremely effective.

Grahame
 

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
Mrs D used the Bromley brickwork stencils with great aplomb on her dolls house. In fact I suggested to the company that model railways may give them the opportunity for expansion in to a new market, although clearly there is a physical limit to the sizes of the stencils, and the compound would be quite coarse for anything below 7mm or so. Here's the product in use for the market as intended. The random brickwork colours were created using water based paints following railway modeling tried and tested methods. The lady dun good, didn't she?

(Just for info, the carcass was built by me, many years ago, for our daughter. Mrs D took it over fifteen or so years ago, stripped everything back to the bare framework and started all over again. Everything is from scratch but with help from a few kits for the furniture. On the basis of no previous experience it's a thing of great beauty. She's also found antique miniatures for the decorative items but prefers to build the furniture herself).

IMG_20191208_094355969.jpg IMG_20191208_094413524.jpg

There are a couple of manufacturers who've made the jump to model railways. One is Severn Models Dolls House Miniatures Kits and also Petite Properties Dolls Houses & Accessories both of which had the Dale conversation when we were buying parts for the dolls house. As both Petite Properties and Severn Models now attend model railway events I can only assume that this branch in to a new business has been successful.

Brian
 

Mike W

Western Thunderer
Very nice Brian. I assume its 1/12 scale? Most dolls houses are, but there are some 1/24 fittings which are very suitable for Gauge 3.

Mike
 

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
Actually, Mike, this is a bastard size which works out to about 1/18 which is one of the reasons that so much is scratch built. It's not entirely unknown but, rather like 3mm scale, is rarely supported by the trade. However, with careful choice some available items are found to be a bit under scale for 1/12 and others a bit over scale for 1/24. That's one of the reasons for the build having taken so long.

Brian
 

geoff_nicholls

Western Thunderer
IKB on holiday in Essex, admires the freshly caught fish, as an Eastern Counties Railway Bury loco rumbles past. The layout is looking quite presentable now and should be ready for the G3 exhibition in Flitwick on 29th Feb. Unfortunately neither the loco nor IKB will be ready, but I might just bring them as conversation pieces.

20200114_190129.jpg
 

Mike W

Western Thunderer
The whole layout is looking good Geoff. I like the foreground detail, the fish and the boat hook, which you look past to see the trains. very nice.

Mike
 

Ian_T

Western Thunderer
Good to see 'Rundle' at the AGM yesterday Geoff - it really has developed in to a very nice layout.

Enjoyed seeing one of your Sentinels running there too - it seemed to 'fit' into the scenery very well (although I'm sure it came as a bit of a shock to Isambard). :)

Regards,

IanT
 

Mike W

Western Thunderer
Sorry if you've told us before Geoff, but you now have a lovely and useable exhibition layout that can keep the interest of operator and public alike, and show off some of your lovely models. People assume Gauge 3 must be massive, but how big is it overall?

Mike
 
Top