By way of introduction, some details which may be of interest: I am a New Zealander (A 'Kiwi' - as in the fruit), who has been involved in modelling 'New Zealand-style trains in New Zealand-style scenery' (my words) for some 30-odd years - trying to use N-scale equipment (which is based on a railway 'gauge/scale' of 4 foot 81/2 inches), to replicate the sorts of trains seen on our national (New Zealand) railway system which is of 3ft 6 in gauge, (and consequently smaller and narrower), and to do-so convincingly. As an aside, for those wishing to model our local railways, the predominant modelling scales are Nine Millimetres to the foot (aka 9-Mill), Sn31/2 and NZ120 (aka TTn31/2). N-scale is simply not used for such things. Essentially, because no-one else has been silly enough to try, what I have had to do to use 'N' in this way, has been to create a mythical 'full-size' railway, (with all that that involves), then 'down-size' it into 'N', and having done that, (because I only had a small space to use for my layout), then only model part of an equally mythical Branch line - but treat that 'branch as if it were 'real' (I think that makes sense). Then, having done that, access and modify the appropriate N-scale equipment etc, etc, etc. It took a while, but what has eventuated is what the local experts now call 'NZN-Freelance', and it sees its most public expression in the 'Tickford Valley Railway Co (London) Ltd' (TVR), a fictional, freelanced N-scale railway that uses British-N (1:148) as its ruling scale,(for reasons that I won't go into at this point) but runs British, US and Japanese N-scale locomotives and rolling-stock to give the desired effect, while using OO/HO scale trees and anything else (of any scale) which may be useful to create the effect that is intended. The TVR is supposedly a 60-mile long privately-owned Public Carrier Railway located in a very rugged part of New Zealand's North Island, and makes a connection with the national carrier - the New Zealand Government Railways (NZGR), so allowing NZGR wagons and locomotives to appear on TVR tracks and, inevitably, on my layouts. As you can appreciate almost everything is scratch-built and such locomotives and rolling stock as are used, are all 'modified' in some way to comply with TVR standards. The era? late 1960's -early 1980's, with motive power being 'transition' (steam/diesel-electric') As I said, this is by way of introduction. Trusting it hasn't been too obtuse, and that what I have written makes sense. Thanks for 'listening'. Komata "TVR - serving the Northern Taranaki . . . " PS: NZN-Freelance has also made its appearance on some gold mining tramways, but that is another story altogether.
Welcome to our little gathering. A lot of folks from your area with us, so you should find plenty of "local flavor." As for your plans, sounds a lot like what's commonly called "proto-lancing," or freelancing with a fair amount of prototype involved. Given the track gauge issues, I can see where that miht be necessary for you. But it's all in fun, so keep going and have fun!
eagle 2 Thank you for the reply, and welcome. The 'Proto-lancing' moniker is a new one on me, but yes, as there is a fair amount of prototype involved (just not of a specific railway) the classification is probably accurate. And yes, it is 'fun' (usually).
Hi Komata, Welcome to the TrainBoard, happy to have you on board. You certainly have created an interesting and delightful challenge for yourself. Your end result should be limited only by what I call "sort of close". In other words, if it looks good to me, then I'm satisfied. In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy sharing your creation with us, because we would love to see how you progress.
Hi Komata. Welcome to Trainboard! I have visited your country and enjoyed the varied scenery and friendly people of both islands. I hope to return for another visit sometime in the future.
Welcome. And by using N gauge track you can host any N scale visitors who might drop in with a train to run. Don't worry, it is unlikely that I will venture down under and intrude on your railroad any time soon.
Thank you all for the welcome. I'll try to post some photo's at some stage as I become more familiar with the site. Russell: As far as running 'other people's 'N' is concerned this can at times be a visually-interesting exercise, for the following reason: Because the TVR runs a mixture of 4-wheeled (British) and US-sourced Bogie (Truck) stock, a compromise had to be reached in respect of loading gauge, specifically in regards to wagon height. As a result the maximum height of ALL rolling stock is 14 ft (Scale). This means that all US-sourced wagons have to have their walkways (if fitted) removed and all US-sourced locomotives loose their cooling-fans etc. At times something approaching a partial rebuild becomes necessary, even for brand new stock. As a result of this, any 'foreign' roads that are invited to run, tend to have 'sole-charge of the layout while they are in attendance, since visually the contrast is quite marked; it's surprising how noticeable a (Scale) height difference of 2-3 ft can be. All good fun of course.... BTW: When making a post, I seem to be 'timed-out' after a certain period; How long am I 'allowed' before this 'restriction' kicks-in? Five minutes?
When you log in be sure to check the "Remember Me" box. It should then let you stay indefinitely without timing out.
Welcome Komata, Glad to see you here. Looking forward to your posts and maybe some of your blog entries. See ya, Ron, a friend from the n Scale world
Komata! Welcome! What took you so long to make it over here? I have been reading your postings on the other N scale board for a long time. You will need to show these guys some photos of your layout. Lake
Oh dear - 'outed' so soon :rats: I thought I recognised the names of a few other 'inmates', when I was 'lurking' but thought it was my imagination. It would seem that 'twasn't so... So, 'Hi guys' to all who know me, and I'll see what I can do....
