A Shay in 1:160 scale

Tom Knapp writes from Hawaii: I’ve just completed construction of an interesting 1:160 narrow gauge locomotive kit from Showcase Miniatures. It is designed to run on 6.5mm gauge track, simulating 3-foot narrow gauge. The model is West Side Lumber Company’s three-truck Shay No. 12. West Side Lumber Company (and its predecessor the West Side Flume …read more.

Pacific Coast 111 – narrow gauge N

With the encouragement of Tim Watson, I would like to share a just-completed N-scale-narrow-gauge project (1:160 scale on 6.5mm gauge track) from my workbench here in Hawaii. It is a far cry from the scratch-built locomotive mechanisms Tim and other 2FS modelers routinely create from billets of brass, but one must work with one’s skills …read more.

Narrow Gauge Baldwin OOn3 kit

I’ve always had a bit of an interest in narrow gauge as being different and some of the layouts I’ve seen over the years. In a rash moment a few years ago I bought a kit for a loco at a model railway exhibition and this describes the build. It’s not a super detailed model, …read more.

All that glistens is not gold

The dome and chimney on Yeo are rather poor painted affairs, as supplied by Heljan. However the chimney is a brass turning, so easily improved with a few strokes of a file and some polishing. However, the dome is not so easy to remedy. I therefore chopped it out of the boiler, using my milling …read more.

Remote Control Narrow Gauge – OO8

Lynton and it’s narrow gauge engine have made quite a bit of progress over the last couple of weeks (the shed build is here). The control system for the layout will be dead rail, battery powered.  Currently (ouch) the engine has a small receiver (Rx) and a 100 mAh battery in it. I have, however, …read more.

Lynton and Barnstable – an embryonic “OO8” project

I have always had a soft spot for the Lynton & Barnstable railway: a narrow gauge railway but with standard gauge style. Over the last couple of years we have holidayed a few times in North Devon, visited the area and, of course, the preserved railway itself. A grand little line, that is becoming a …read more.

San Luis Bay – Nn3 modelling from Hawaii

On a MUCH smaller scale (Nn3) I have been binge-building here in Hawaii. Or, rather “re-building” a diorama built on a 6’8” x 2’-8” door in the late 1980’s by the late Ken Westcott and architect Andrew Merriam for the San Luis Obispo Historical Museum. It was a static diorama of the 1890’s wharf in …read more.

“Narrow Gorge” – OOn3 microlayout

“Narrow Gorge” is Tom Cunnington’s entry in the MRC’s 2015 layout challenge.

Although not his first layout,, it is a first attempt at a number of techniques, including narrow gauge (all the kit-built stock is new for the layout), modelling cliffs and water, and trying to give depth in a very small footprint. It was also a bit of a rush, having previously decided (several times) that it would be a distraction from other projects.

It’s built at 1:76 scale, the same as OO, but with narrower 3′  gauge track – normally called “OOn3”

Here’s the diary of how it was built over 18 days, mostly an hour or two later in the evening (with apologies for viewers on some mobile devices – the photos keep rotating back)