Garden Railway Forum

I have a railway running un PECO G45 track. My locos are live steam or R/C battery. Last year I bought a Bachmann Thomas set (solely for my grandchildren of course) with the intention of converting Thomas to battery power. I couldn't bring myself to take him apart and perform invasive surgery (somet...

Purely for the pleasure of my grandchildren, a Bachmann G Scale Thomas is on its way. He was running at the recent Ally Pally model Railway show. A big success with the kids (and their dads!).
I'll probably do a battery conversion. I assume it's 12v, but does anyone know the typical running current?

This is interesting. Some time ago I posted a request for info on 'hydraulic' transmissions. The eddy current units seem to be what I was looking for. There have been many posts about the problems with nylon worm/gear combos. I believe most of the problem is due to the train trying to back drive the...

Hi all, Several years ago I built a couple of GRS L&B coaches. My first attempt at kit building in 40 years, so quite a learning experience. After years of happily running them I now feel to need to re-paint them. Anyone familiar with these coaches will know that the window glazing is a fundamen...

Sorry, a long time has passed since the last few posts. I've been involved with family stuff including the arrival of our first grandchild. A lovely little girl. I suggested Lady Anne as a name but it didn't go down well! I have a question regarding the MFA Como geared motors : Is it possible to bac...

Thanks for that Roy.

Mercifully I don't have the plastic chassis problem - mine are constructed from steel side and end plates with self-tapping screws, and have outlasted several nylon worm & gear sets

Which MFA Como motor/ gearbox did you use?

Martin

I've recently modified a couple of IP chassis by replacing the nylon worm and gear with steel and brass parts from Cambrian. The ratio is 20:1 rather than the original 16:1 which is OK. It looks like I've solved the worm stripping problem which was driving crazy. I now want to improve the running by...

Greetings from sunny Horley, Surrey. Interesting comments about R/C and batteries. I've just replaced the 4 recently installed rechargeables with with good old Duracell AAs which have served me well for years. The radius bar is travelling further across the expansion link now, so off to give it a tr...

Clear silicone adhesive and cardboard jigs worked a treat.

Thanks for your help everyone.

Can anyone help with this? I have a 9 year old Lady Anne which has been only run a few times a year. Yesterday we had some good weather so I ran her a few times on my garden railway. At first she ran really well - easily pulling a load of 9 Bachmann Big Hauler wagons. On the third run she seemed to ...

Hello, Has anyone tried and/or succeeded in making a hydraulic transmission / fluid flywheel for garden railway locos? I've built a double bogie battery electric loco for my 16mm:ft, 45mm gauge railway using worm gearboxes. I have real problems with the inertia of the trains attempting to graunch th...

I shall definitely poach the cardboard jig idea. Am I alone in being frightened of doing stuff to my Lady Anne? A good bit of my retirement savings were spent on her, but it's not just the money. I suppose I have a lack of confidence in my ability to not make a mistake. At the moment the cardboard j...

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

That sounds pretty good to me. Something which enables me to change my mind is an attractive proposition.

Hi, I'm very new to all this so apologies if this has been asked before. I have a Roundhouse Laddy Anne, and have recently acquired some nice etched brass nameplates. What's the best way of fixing them? Does the fix have to be permanent? Do I have to remove some paint for adhesive to bond? Any sugge...