My First Loco Recommendations Please

[FWLR]

HGLW, PFD Models, IP engineering and Phil Sharples are all excellent producers of nice inexpensive kits and are all really well produced. There are also smaller producers for rolling stock that are also very good.

You really get want you pay for, though with care, all of the sellers kits can be a model to be proud of.

Good luck in your journey in garden railways. It's a fantastic hobby and you won't go wrong with all the valuable knowledge and expertise on the forum. And there are some excellent Blogs on here, you have already perused ge_rik's Blog. I would advise reading has much as you can of his Blog, he as more or less made it easy for new and experienced 16mmillers to build and run their garden railways.

PS. There are other Bloggers on here...

[JMORG]

Hope I'm not too late!
I have experience with Swift Sixteen, IP engineering and PDF models. All 3 are good, PDF models now supply metal frames and motion with their models (I'd check before buying, it makes a difference).
Of the 3; Swift Sixteen provides the highest quality model although the kits are slightly more expensive; Robs Tin turtles are definitely comparable to a Roundhouse Little John though!
IP provide good quality wooden, plastic and pewter models at a relatively good price. Ivan is very helpful and prompt.
PDF is also a good choice, I have a Fairlie kit that's currently being made. 3D printed parts will require a lot of work though to get a good finish! Peter has a Facebook group if you have Facebook (I don't anymore but I used to be part of it, it was a good group).
If you have a slightly larger budget; Essel Engineering...

[riber3]

HGLW, PFD Models, IP engineering and Phil Sharples are all excellent producers of nice inexpensive kits and are all really well produced. There are also smaller producers for rolling stock that are also very good.

You really get want you pay for, though with care, all of the sellers kits can be a model to be proud of.

Good luck in your journey in garden railways. It's a fantastic hobby and you won't go wrong with all the valuable knowledge and expertise on the forum. And there are some excellent Blogs on here, you have already perused ge_rik's Blog. I would advise reading has much as you can of his Blog, he as more or less made it easy for new and experienced 16mmillers to build and run their garden railways.

PS. There are other Bloggers on here...

Thank you for that it is my first Garden Railway I did have a hornby 00 gauge layout many many years ago but it seems like chalk & cheese as a comparison lol so I an very grateful to everyone who has replied

[riber3]

Hope I'm not too late!
I have experience with Swift Sixteen, IP engineering and PDF models. All 3 are good, PDF models now supply metal frames and motion with their models (I'd check before buying, it makes a difference).
Of the 3; Swift Sixteen provides the highest quality model although the kits are slightly more expensive; Robs Tin turtles are definitely comparable to a Roundhouse Little John though!
IP provide good quality wooden, plastic and pewter models at a relatively good price. Ivan is very helpful and prompt.
PDF is also a good choice, I have a Fairlie kit that's currently being made. 3D printed parts will require a lot of work though to get a good finish! Peter has a Facebook group if you have Facebook (I don't anymore but I used to be part of it, it was a good group).
If you have a slightly larger budget; Essel Engineering...

Thanks for the information and advice not sure I am not getting email updates at present otherwise I would have replied sooner. So your advice is neither late and is definitely welcome. I just looked at the Essel Engineering website ( I like the shunter's on the homepage) sadly i am no where on budget at present ( dam car!!) but I will take your advice on board and use it as I re- read all the mentioned sites

[tom_tom_go]

Email alerts:

https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 33&t=11217

[GAP]

It may be way out of your budget range but I would consider an LGB Stainz in the mix.
As a first loco it would be fine, great runner, will pull a considerable load, built like a brick dunny, reliable, plenty of parts available and some are available for relative little money. https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_fro ... z&_sacat=0
The prices on the link are Australian Dollars so to get UK pounds roughly halve the value. $1AU = 50p approx.
Plus they can be bashed to Anglicise as well, have look at G-Rik's blog to see how he did his for inspiration.

[gregh]

Not sure how much they would cost in UK, but I have used the Hartland Mighty Mack locos and am more than satisfied with them. Good to start with unmodified, but if you want to move onto bashing, their motor blocks are easy to access and use.

http://www.h-l-w.com/mighty-mack.html

[ge_rik]

Picking up on Greg's theme, quite a few of my locos use LGB ToyTrain motor blocks for their motive power. Don't be put off by the label. The motor blocks aren't at all toylike. They are well engineered mechanisms. It depends on whether you want something to run off the shelf or you're prepared to do a bit of work in using the motor blocks as a reliable basis for a bash or scratchbuilt.

Here's an example of one of my bashes of a rather tatty (and cheap) eBay purchase.

Before .....

IMG_5773.JPG (61.05 KiB) Viewed 3583 times

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And after .....

IMG_6447.JPG (55.69 KiB) Viewed 3583 times

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A description of the bash here - https://riksrailway.blogspot.com/2017/0 ... rt-of.html

Rik