Garden Railway Forum

Could anyone advise if upgraded pistons are worth the money? I was thinking about ordering some from RWM. At £85 for a pair, I'd rather not bother unless I can expect a decent boost!

IMG_20190405_162422.jpg My IP coach rake. I used thin ply for the roof in place of the plastic card provided. I used 3 or 4 elastic bands with some thin planks between the roof and rubber bands to hold everything till the glue went off. The van is also an IP WD van which I altered to a curved roof ...

After building a MSS loco (thread over here http://www.gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=13056&sid=dd557fd63d095f243ac142428450de36 ) I picked up a rather sad looking Mamod loco on Ebay. IMG_7478.jpeg IMG_7477.jpeg I neglected to take any photos once it arrived but I set about strip...

I put the body + chimney stack back on to help stop the boiler wobbling while testing. Please ignore the shoddy slot cut + priming for the regulator! IMG_9589.jpeg Testing went well, I'm hoping with a bit more running in the performance will keep improving. https://youtu.be/xkfHg6xj8eY Still doesn't...

Chris - thank you for your detailed reply. Since my last post I gave in and ordered a couple of RWM reverser blocks which arrived this morning. They come with some gasket material on the sides and are obviously are made to a far superior quality. I'm going to fit these over the weekend and see how I...

After several steam tests later I feel like I'm back to square one! It still fails to pull anything and it's quite erratic in terms of control. I've stripped it down again today and noticed a few things. Firstly, on the reversing block - is there a trick to help line up the block with the rotating p...

I received some autosol and a sheet of glass in the post in the last couple of days so thought I'd take a look at lapping. Before: IMG_9474.jpeg IMG_9473.jpeg After initial attempt: IMG_9475.jpeg IMG_9476.jpeg IMG_9477.jpeg IMG_9478.jpeg The port faces are quite pitted on the rear side. I'm not sure...

I built one of those IP balcony carriages too, modifying it to look something like a (short) Ffestiniog example - I created new balcony rails with coat hanger wire and large split pins, and that's pretty durable. As you've said, the original wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes... Great idea. I was wonde...

I built one of those IP balcony carriages too, modifying it to look something like a (short) Ffestiniog example - I created new balcony rails with coat hanger wire and large split pins, and that's pretty durable. As you've said, the original wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes... Great idea. I was wonde...

I'd be inclined to try something less aggressive than grinding paste, which is after all meant for steel. Autosol or liquid metal polish might be better, even cheap toothpaste, all of which should be easier to remove after a lapping process. For small non ferrous items any surface will do as long a...

If that last picture is what you describe as the IP Engineering roof former, there is no way that could give equal support along the whole length. The ripple effect is guaranteed with such a system but possibly improved by sticking a sheet of thin ply to the formers along the whole length? This sou...

Do the cylinders move in and out easily? Yes, they feel pretty smooth overall. I have an old Mamod I'm working on, the well run in cylinders on that loco feel pretty similar. Do the loco wheels turn freely with the conrods off? Yes, no issues there either from what I can see. If the answer to above...

Thank all you for the kind words! The roof assembly is best done by forming a ribbed framework, whether in wood or HIP. I found that a cradle is best to lay all the pieces on while the glue is drying, once set you can either have it fixed or removable...... Thanks Peter - that looks like a much bett...

I wanted to share a few photos of some carriages I've built over the last few months. I went for a GWR inspired chocolate & cream finish with indian red window frames. New to 16mm modelling these are my first carriages, I'm pretty happy overall with the finish. The 'first class' balcony carriage...

I built a kit MSS loco earlier this year and have recently fitted some upgrades including a RWM Steam regulator, displacement lubricator and ceramic gas burner. It will plod around the track on it's own but fails to pull anything of note. I was hoping that the gas burner, regulator and lubricator wo...