O Gauge Gresley A4 Seagull on Running in Turn - May 2018

[@McMetro]

Now that is a mighty locomotive in O gauge! 👍 very nice running indeed! 😀 hope to see more from you in the future!

[@nightfall7234]

Is this a finescale or coarse scale? I wonder how to avoid derail for a finescale outdoor layout?

[@GBRailways]

Hi. Yes, this is a finescale layout. Derailments are in fact very rare. The secret, I suppose, is good track cleaning and watch for falling leaves, etc.

[@nightfall7234]

GBRailways Hi there! I’m from China, and really new to model locos. So please bear with me if I’m asking stupid questions or my poor English skill. Thanks! I’m planning to build a backyard railway as well. It not started yet only planning. Are the locomotive RTR or kit build? About fine scale locos, any brands to recommend or where can I get them? I’ve noticed that almost all fine scale locos are not built by large company, they’re were produced by some “workshops” with limited amount, also not always available to find a desired model. Like I’m trying to find a A3 flying scotsman 60103 in BR green, it’s very hard to find! Where can I find them? I tried Ellisclark but no current stock. Also any suggestions for a new hobby fan to build a outdoor railroad? I basically knows nothing about construction & gardening.

[@GBRailways]

@@nightfall7234 I have both RTR and kit/scratch built engines. Most of the carriages are kit built from Ian Kirk kits and some excellent Sparmac kits, but these are no longer in production, so only rarely pop up for sale. Some are RTR MTH| coaches and there is a rake of old Limas that have been slightly modified - re-wheeled for better running. Perhaps it may be worth you joining the Gauge O Guild as there is a whole host of information within the Guild that has proved very helpful to me over the last 20 years. There are also articles that can be accessed from their archives. RTR engines can be very expensive - £2500-£3200 each. It may be worth looking out for second hand RTR Bachmann A3s that were produced by SanCheng in China a few years back. They were very robust and ran straight out of the box. There are other old Sancheng models available - LNER V2s, J39, J50s, LMS Black 5s, Scots, 8Fs, and some Great Western ones too. All are good value for money. Regards building the garden layout, the decision has to be made whether to build it at ground level or waist height. Mine is the latter as it is more accessible, built on solid brick piers and 100mm x 50mm beams with 18mm ply boards plus torch-on roofing felt applied for weather protection. Whatever you decide, it is worth spending time to make the base of the layout really strong and rigid - it will pay off with years of use without troubles. Also take a look at "Busy Day at Sutterby" to see the railway as it was a few years back. Hope this helps. GB

[@nightfall7234]

GBRailways . thank you so much

[@nightfall7234]

GBRailways what about the curves of your tack? I would like to have a u turn inside my garage to make a loop of my layout, and I find DJH tender locos has a rather large radius of 1800mm 72inch, that was too large for my garage. Do you have any experience on reducing the turning circle of locos? I was thinking of modifying the middle axle of driving wheels, is it possible?

[@nickelplatenerd6989]

It was a great run, since you have Seagull do you also have the Mallard? Sorry for so many questions.

[@GBRailways]

In the works being built at the moment along with SNG. Will be a while as there are so many other things being done around the railway ......!

[@nickelplatenerd6989]

On the Seagull.

[@nickelplatenerd6989]

What's with the glitchy chuffing no offense.

[@GBRailways]

Hi. No offenced taken. It's down to a very early ESU sound chip - V3.5 - and the sound is controlled through the BEMF of the motor and the early chip (now 10 years old) doesn't handle this very well. It's going to be upgraded to the latest V4.xx chip soon. GB

[@nickelplatenerd6989]

GBRailways Great, anyways it just had me concerned.