Hi all. I'm Cody F. I'm 18 and I've been in N scale exclusively since I was 3. At current I have no layout as I've no place to put even a shoebox layout. I'm an active member of my local N-Trak club and am making very slow progress on a GWR themed module. My modeling/modelling interests are: The PRR between 1920s up to 1956. Mostly late '30s till 1945. Currently working on kitbashing an A5. I also have an interest in the PRSL, specifically the Penns Grove Branch, within the same time period, but also including WWI because of the significant DuPont traffic. The plan for a future layout is the Penns Grove Branch between Gibbstown and the Center Square station. The Great Western Railway throughout its life span. From its Act of Parliament till Nationalization in 1948. At current I'm focusing on 1935-1945. Mostly branchline traffic, just having finally received my Dapol 57xx. I also am making a dabble into narrow gauge. N-4mm to be exact. If I were to be modelling in 2mm Finescale, it would be exactly 2ft gauge. I'm specifically focusing on Welsh narrow gauge slate railways, with the Talyllyn Railway being my main source of inspiration. -Cody F.
Quite well developed interests, should make it easier for you to stay on track. For those without the space or resources for a layout, clubs like the NTrack organizations can be a great way to get to operate; I know for many years it was for me. While your PRR interest will find many of like mind here, I'd be interested in seeing some of the Welsh prototype modelling, as it doesn't get the same exposure as the US or even English outline does. Good luck moving ahead, and welcome aboard!
Cody- Welcome to TrainBoard! There are many, many N scalers here, myself included, with N-Trak in my background. Presentl;y doing some T-Trak . I also dabble in what we refer to as HOn30. If I were ever to travel abroad, the Welsh and any other similar narrow gauges would be very high on my "must see" list.
Welcome aboard, Cody. Sounds like you have already done a lot in modeling. I'm sure you will find plenty of friends in our N scale forum.
Thanks all. Honestly, I haven't done all that much noteworthy modeling. My only foray into N-4mm thus far is a very short length of track. About 1.5" to be exact. It's handlaid code 25 on pcb sleepers cut by eye. Because of the nature of Welsh narrow gauge equipment used in slate mining, any wagon wheels would need to be custom made. I traded a busted N scale steam tank engine for an incomplete Märklin loco. It's a V60 of the second production run. I need a way to make the work shaft thicker for a bevel-gear to fit on, and I also need at least one more regular gear so that I can make a reasonable representation of Dolgoch, an 1865-built Fletcher Jennings 0-4-0 that has spent its entire life on the Talyllyn Railway. With the parts I have now, I could cobble together a freelanced wood-bodied tram, but still need to make the worm shaft thicker for the bevel gear. As to my standard gauge UK modelling, my module isn't much at the moment, and I've no way to work on it at the moment. I'm mostly just sticking to projects that consume less space, and some of them are quite fanciful. Like making a working RPO. -Cody F.
Code 25 track would be a sight to see; is this in any kind of widespread use? The smallest I think I can recall seeing is code 40, and that requires special wheelsets and a great deal of care in modelling. A working RPO sounds like a fascinating, if quite involved, project. If I may suggest, a thread on the building of it would be wonderful to see. And any pictures you'd care to share would be a great bonus; I can only imagine what Welsh railroading looks like, but having visited a good part of Scotland, London and Northamptonshire a long time ago, I'm sure the scenery alone would be worth viewing!
That's a photo of N-4mm track as it sits now. I still need to paint the sleepers and the rails. The code 25 rail isn't in widespread use. As is, I don't know of anyone else doing N-4mm. The rail is just rectangular profile nickel-silver wire. Wagon wheels for slate wagons would be quite small, probably about 10-12" in diameter, and I would even know where to look to have such tiny wheels made. If I do anything more with the N-4mm stuff, it'll just be static addition to a module or diorama. I'm actually headed over to the UK in May with some friends, and I've booked a Driver's Experience aboard Dolgoch at the Talyllyn Railway. It's just a side-trip that I'm doing by myself, but it will be worth the £350 and the other £100 just to get to Tywyn by rail. I got a GoPro for Christmas, so I plan to mount it outside the cab to capture the view. -Cody F. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Cody, you haven't said how large is the gap between the shaft and bevel gear. If the gap is in the order of one or two thousandths of an inch, you might consider smearing epoxy on the shaft, then sliding the gear into its proper position, or use CA Gel with the same procedure. The risk is that the gap may be large enough that the bevel gear will have more wobble than can be tolerated by the normal slack between the two gears. If the gap is larger than a few thousandths of an inch, you might put a thick layer of epoxy or CA GEL on the shaft, then sand it to the proper thickness while slowly turning the shaft in an electric drill or similar device. I'm sure others have had similar problems and can their solutions...Good Luck.
I don't remember the specs of the bevel gear, but I know that it's quite a gap. The Märklin worm shaft is quite thin. What I did to put the bevel gear on the new motor was to put a piece of brass tubing on the motor shaft, but I didn't have any tubing with a hole big enough to accept the Märklin worm shaft. Been awhile since I pulled out the box that I keep all the bits in. -Cody F. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
OK, you are facing a different dimensional condition than what I had assumed. Though with the proper tubing diameter and thickness, you still will need a chemical adhesive or solder to secure gear to tubing to shaft.
Here's a sample of the few British trains I have. Dapol GWR 57xx with two old Grafar GWR suburban coaches. Photo taken tonight on my friend Konrad's layout. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
