Garden Railway Forum

hi all

iv just been looking at the LGB website and i am currently pondering if it is possible to re-gauge LGB rolling stock to say 32mm?

plewsy2105

The rolling stock you can, I've got 3 Zilterbahn coaches on 32mm wheelsets... Back2Bay6 sell wheelsets, just simply remove old 45mm ones, and stick the 32mm ones in. Or Matt (Endless, Nameless) just bodges the wheelsets and makes his 45mm ones into 32mm ones.

Don't think it'll be anywhere near as simple for the locomotives!

But that would make them the wrong gauge! Obviously you should just regauge the railway instead

mhlr wrote:T Or Matt (Endless, Nameless) just bodges the wheelsets and makes his 45mm ones into 32mm ones.

Don't think it'll be anywhere near as simple for the locomotives!

No he doesn't... well, he does, but the flanges are too deep for Peco 32mm track.

Better idea: Accucraft 32mm wagon wheelsets- the L&B ones are good for the LGB Feldbahn stock, the W&L ones for the standard wagons. You'll also need some rubber fuel hose of a suitable inner diameter to be a push fit on the axles. I cut the hose to length to reduce the sideways "slop" to an acceptable level and drop 'em in- sorted. I find that the axle ends poke into the cosmetic "axleboxes" and prevent the bogies (4 wheel stock being fitted with a bogie at each end) twisting too far- without the standard LGB couplers to keep them in check they twist too far otherwise and don't self- centre very well.

As for locos, someone on the continent did a conversion kit for the Stainz and for the Otto, other than that I'm not sure it would be possible.

Brandbright actually sell conversion wheelsets for Bachmann stock which might be suitable..................

RSA43/0 30mm, plain disc wheelset with especially long hard steel axles for fitting to Bachmann rolling stock, converting to gauge 0 - not insulated.

£7.60 a set of 2

hummm i might look into getting some LGB coaches and re-gauging them then for when one does not want 2 get the wooden kits out

on the other hand i wonder how easy it would be to get spare bogies
for the LGB coaches with bogies.....something to look into i guess?

Don't think it'll be anywhere near as simple for the locomotives!

That would need alot of work me thinks

plewsy2105

MDLR wrote:Brandbright actually sell conversion wheelsets for Bachmann stock which might be suitable..................

RSA43/0 30mm, plain disc wheelset with especially long hard steel axles for fitting to Bachmann rolling stock, converting to gauge 0 - not insulated.

£7.60 a set of 2

Yeahbut, I got the Accy wheels for nowt (and the silicon hose I used for that matter)- and anyway, where would the fun in that be?

Spare bogies are easy to get- dragon -gscale sells 'em for starters! Under "accessories" on the homepage then LGB.

ahh ok thanks guys im off to do some thinking

plewsy2105

Most of the LGB loco's I have looked at in the 2nd hand piles have not been able to regauge to the correct gauge. This being due the chassis being flush with the wheels. Same with the Bachman stuff.

As for rolling stock, yeah Accy wheels & I use springs either side of the axle (Axlebox inner to wheel) to centre the axle. I ditch the massive LGB couplings & fit centre buffers & superglue the pivoting axleboxes solid as I donlt have any radius as sharp as what LGB stuff is so it works fine.

Never say never I remember seeing an article years ago where someone had succesfully regauged a Bachmann "Lyn", so all things are possible.

Certainly when I stripped an Otto chassis to re-motor it for 3v battery power, I pondered the chassis for a while (as you do) and idly thought "a cut there and a cut there, then throw away the middle bit and stick the two side bits together........."

Keith, one of those carriages would fill your average 16mm station, they are huge great things!

The smaller Austrian coaches look pretty good on 32mm though.

MuzTrem wrote:But that would make them the wrong gauge!

Only if LGB items were built to a scale in the first place. LGB were famous for their "rubber ruler" .