Garden Railway Forum

Hi,

With all the time spent at home I found that our old video player still works so I have been looking at the videos I made over very many years. One of the earliest filmed was in 1987 using a very heavy Ferguson camera which fitted on the shoulder and was carried with several huge batteries in a flight case. I worked for a short time repairing clocks for a client in Orinda California. As well as working we did quite a lot of travelling which included railways large and small. This video was made by the owner of one of the garden railways visited. It is very poor quality but does show how well Mamod locomotives could be made to work in the dim and distant past.

https://youtu.be/frZQt4hl3GY

Take care stay safe.

Tony.

I am surprised at how realistically the loco is travelling and how much it's hauling. I tend to think of Mamods dashing madly about.

Thank goodness background music has generally improved since the 1980s....

Rik

Hi Rik,

I am surprised at how realistically the loco is travelling and how much it's hauling. I tend to think of Mamods dashing madly about.

A lot of Mamod modifications were going on in the 1980's and some would possibly out perform many of the modern versions
Attached is a short video; I wish it were longer and I think I might have posted it before. Our son was operating the model and I think showing off to his mates, you might see other Mamods in the steaming area. The model usually pulled only three of the carriages but the track must have been clean and I expect after only a few laps it would start to slip. This model would always out pull other Mamods even with the same modifications as it had a secret! The rear buffer beam was ballasted, the extra weight would have improved the adhesion a bit but its main effect was too balance the weight of the cylinders which made the solid fuel and meths fired models very front heavy but with equal weight on all four wheels it had a better grip. When gas firing came along knowingly or not the gas tank balanced the model better so improved performance. The secret is out!

https://youtu.be/d5hc6ym2_ZY

Thank goodness background music has generally improved since the 1980s....

It has been copied several times but I don't think the original was a good choice

Take care.

Tony.

Hi Tony,

The first clip reminds me very much of the footage on YouTube of the Leek & Manifold. Nice to see such scale speed running with a Mamod.

Andrew

My Mamod would run nicely once you found the right setting fo the reverser/throttle. I had fitted a Tom Cooper gas burner and tank but never gave a thought to that improving the weight distribution. Mind you when I fitted it I was testing it with a bit of track on a plank. It was let it go and dash to the far end to catch it.

Don