Dauntsey Lock - T Gauge GWR - Locos and Passenger Trains

[@cwillpiko1994]

If the trains weren't shaking like a Harley-Davidson chopper, one could suspect that this video featured N-scale (1:160) models and they were having us on. Incredible!

[@modelrailmusings5981]

Thank you. The wobble is less noticeable in real life, and my later designs also improve things a bit. Conveying the tiny size is difficult in a video, so they tend to look crude in closeup but OK at normal viewing distance. I do try to add a scene with a coin for scale, but sometimes leave it out if there are other issues with the shot.

[@khajiitkitten5679]

Love the music! And the Butterflies in Love on the newest vid of the locks!

[@pjcastanho]

Amazing work. Congratulations

[@mysticrailroad]

is the rolling stock vintage? love the greig!

[@modelrailmusings5981]

The chosen period is the 1930s, so the models are all of prototypes built between about 1890 and 1930. Most of my videos have been silent (better that than inappropriate music), but I felt Hall of the Mountain King was a good fit for this one.

[@urmad378]

What is used for coupling at this scale?

[@modelrailmusings5981]

They aren't actually coupled together. Each vehicle is self-propelled, so a train is just a lot of independent vehicles moving in close formation. To uncouple, the train is stopped over a section break and the power to one half is turned off. Vice versa for coupling.

[@StaxRail]

How do these locomotives operate? They seem far smoother than other T gauge engines

[@modelrailmusings5981]

A linear motor (totally different system). The track has the coils, while the trains just have magnets. As each coil is driven in sequence, the magnets get dragged along. Still jerky, but predictably so, and there are no problems with stalling or bad pickups, even at dead slow speeds. Plus allowing for unlimited length trains.

[@StaxRail]

@@modelrailmusings5981 oh wow, that's amazing!

[@joelharris1335]

Is T gauge smaller than N gauge?

[@modelrailmusings5981]

Three times smaller.

[@joelharris1335]

I bet it's more fiddley to assemble, right?

[@modelrailmusings5981]

@@joelharris1335 These layouts use my own design of linear motor track where the pieces have to be soldered together, comparable in difficulty to working with conventional flexi track. OTOH, standard commercial T gauge track is much the same as the larger scales.

[@joelharris1335]

So it has same amount of difficulty when being assembled?

[@modelrailmusings5981]

@@joelharris1335 Pretty much. Track in all scales needs about the same degree of accuracy, and there are basically three levels of difficulty: sectional track, flexi track and hand-made track. The problems with T Gauge lie more with keeping the track and wheels clean enough, plus the lack of decent points, plus everything else you need to do for reliable running. That is where things become challenging and/or irritating.