Steve Cook
Flying Squad
We haven't had much G3 content on here recently, so as I've just got back from my first G3 get-together, I'd thought I'd chuck some photos up.
As garden layouts go, this one is pretty big
Just over a scale mile in G3, it measures out at about 84 yards a circuit - its a lot of walking
The triangle at the bottom left of the photo leads down the garden to a terminus / storage / fire up area that the owner plans to scenic.
It was a fairly low key affair today which was why I went, without anything to run I didn't want to be getting in the way with lots of runners and with a small group its easier to remember names and chat as I'd not met anybody other than the owner before.
Loco wise, the oldest was this Bassett-Lowke'Enterprise''Experiment' , tipping in at 96 years old Meths fired, two inside cylinders and sitting just right, she ran very nicely right up until one of the rubber pipes split and a small thermal event occurred. Nothing major was damaged, but the roof will require a spot of touching up.
Coming in second place was Sir Nigel Gresley with a chassis and boiler that was built around 1926 and thought to be for an A3. The A4 body was an addition in the 50's but it never ran in that state until the current owner got hold of it a couple of years ago, converting it to gas fired (access for coal firing was virtually impossible) and sorting out the niggles. It was a bit fruity to start with, but settled down with a decent load on the back.
I didn't get to talk to the owner of this one much, he was busy getting his steam certificate and getting it running nicely. I know it took five years to build, is gas powered and the coaches it is pulling are scratchbuilt, almost entirely from wood....including the wheels
As you can see, size wise, they are not what you would call 'small' - but they are manageable (and big enough to shovel coal in at a fair old rate).
This coal-fired 4F is a baby at 7 years old, the same as the Atlantic above. Modelled on the full size loco that the builder used to repair for a living, it ran beautifully with a rake of wagons on the back.
And to finish off, another shot of the Atlantic, just because I broke my G3 live steam duck and ran this one for 20 minutes or so
The best bit about these engines? They have pulled their owners around various tracks I don't doubt that there is some elasticity in some of the dimensions, but they were all imbued with a certain amount of character and charm so that the odd slight stretch here or there didn't matter to me. It was a good day out, everybody was very friendly and encouraging and I have invites to more meets, I'm looking forward to the next one already...
Steve
As garden layouts go, this one is pretty big
Just over a scale mile in G3, it measures out at about 84 yards a circuit - its a lot of walking
The triangle at the bottom left of the photo leads down the garden to a terminus / storage / fire up area that the owner plans to scenic.
It was a fairly low key affair today which was why I went, without anything to run I didn't want to be getting in the way with lots of runners and with a small group its easier to remember names and chat as I'd not met anybody other than the owner before.
Loco wise, the oldest was this Bassett-Lowke
Coming in second place was Sir Nigel Gresley with a chassis and boiler that was built around 1926 and thought to be for an A3. The A4 body was an addition in the 50's but it never ran in that state until the current owner got hold of it a couple of years ago, converting it to gas fired (access for coal firing was virtually impossible) and sorting out the niggles. It was a bit fruity to start with, but settled down with a decent load on the back.
I didn't get to talk to the owner of this one much, he was busy getting his steam certificate and getting it running nicely. I know it took five years to build, is gas powered and the coaches it is pulling are scratchbuilt, almost entirely from wood....including the wheels
As you can see, size wise, they are not what you would call 'small' - but they are manageable (and big enough to shovel coal in at a fair old rate).
This coal-fired 4F is a baby at 7 years old, the same as the Atlantic above. Modelled on the full size loco that the builder used to repair for a living, it ran beautifully with a rake of wagons on the back.
And to finish off, another shot of the Atlantic, just because I broke my G3 live steam duck and ran this one for 20 minutes or so
The best bit about these engines? They have pulled their owners around various tracks I don't doubt that there is some elasticity in some of the dimensions, but they were all imbued with a certain amount of character and charm so that the odd slight stretch here or there didn't matter to me. It was a good day out, everybody was very friendly and encouraging and I have invites to more meets, I'm looking forward to the next one already...
Steve