Budget sm32 track

[awwalker]

Hi everybody.

This is my first post here as i only joined about 10 mins ago.

Im thinking of flitting over to garden scale railway as it just looks more fun. I have been an armchair modeller in oo gauge for some years waiting for the project to commit to but then something always happens to ruin my enthusiasm ( loads of expensive rolling stock and complex trackwork being the main culprits!)

Another reason is ive become a bit jaded by the whole 4mm thing of exact detail. Ive found the other forums where 4mm scale reigns is the amount of ' rivet counters' and where the environment of the forum has been one where everybody knows best! ive simply no time for this!

Anyway... rant over! ive been thinking about garden scale (sm32) for a bit now as i would really like to flex creative muscles and make a railway that is mine. I dont want to get hung up on prototype detail. The first loco ive looked at is the AnDel FFion which seems a great starter loco ( anybody any thoughts on this?) which i can build, run, learn from, add R/C... then build up to live steam ( maybe!)

My main question for starters is ... Can anyone reccommend a decent track for this thats quite cheap ( I dont wish to invest a lot of money just yet) Will all plastic construction suffice with this? All im after is perhaps an oval or a run of track to get me started then i can build up.

Thanks in advance all! Hopefully i can get a profile up soon and better introduce myself.

All the best
Andrew

[Enginehouse]

Two of the most difficult questions to actually answer. However SM32 covers in itself a very wide spectrum. Using 32mm gauge ready made track in quantity is never going to be cheap. Of course much depending on what you call cheap. In my experience, "Cheap" and "Budget" are two words that mean all things to all men when it comes to garden railways.

Various questions - like do you want/intend to use ready built proprietary points. Do you prefer brass or N/S track. How are you going to fix track down and what to. Have you the patience to build your own track from scratch etc. The answers to these questions will in part dictate and narrow down the choices that you have. Probably the most important question is of course (relative to your "Rivet Counter" remark) how realistic to your scale do you want your track to be. One extremely important question relates greatly the users age and ability. Do you want to kneel and bend to the ground to do anything useful or are you considering a completely raised track. A raised steam up bay is a very useful adjunct to any garden layout, but sensible inclines need a lot of space. A completely raised layout such as mine is very easy to work but not cheap to construct.

Sensible planning from day one will definitely save you money. Decent track base will possibly cost you more to construct than the mere rail and sleeper assembly in any case.

[Narrow Minded]

Hi and welcome to the forum
You mention "All plastic construction" - the only all plastic track I can think of is either the bright red, flexible (as in bendy) Triang / Novo Big Big train track in 32mm or the rigid Nequida stuff in 45mm.

Both 'would do' to try your hand in the garden scales with a battery loco, but neither wiould be suitable for live steam, and everyone will advise against it on the grounds of false economy.

Try searching SM32 on eBay regularly and you could come up with enough to suite a modest budget. Track does tend to hold its second-hand value (contrary to the 4mm scale stuff), so if you decide not to persue the hobby, or change your mind about rail profile / sleeper spacing (or even gauge! ), you should get a decent return on your investment

I know you're going to put up a profile, but I'll ask anyway - where are you based?
The best advice would be to get along to a few existing garden railways and have a look and a chat with some of the owners / operators

Don't forget, there's no such thing as a "stupid question". (but you can half expect at least some stupid answers! )

[steamie1]

Hello Andrew welcome, I think a complex track system that has to be cleaned is wearing in the 4mm zone...The charm of GR is fun and a daisy floating past helps keep one from rivet counting. Live steam is easy for beginners with Accucraft and roundhouse showing the way. Mamod Ltd too do a cheap intro. Andel kits are good for a quick result. Peco Sm32 looks good and performs well in the long term. Suggest a simple dog bone and lots of scenery. A test line in the garage adds a long term use at any time feature. I have a shelf all the way round the garage with flaps to cover the doors. I use this at night and when it rains. Whatever you do make sure it is fun. The 16mm org does run groups which always are welcoming and you could buy a steam loco to drive on the local groups lines..Whatever you do we all wish you happiness... [/list]

[laurence703]

Welcome!
just to throw a spanner in the works... I used Mamod track which is all metal so is useless for track powered stuff but its great for beginners as its a set track system. If you search mamod on ebay theres usually loads of it

I started with a mamod steam loco... cheap way to get into the hobby and can be personalised to the Nth degree!

Best bit of advice someone gave me when I started in this is,
If it looks right to you... then it is right! Although there are those that like to model very accurate locos etc we are a friendly bunch and there's certainly no rivet counting!

I hope you find what you're looking for and if you have any questions then no doubt someone will have an answer

[jay1976]

best advice (and thats from a newish person to garden railway myself) look at qhat other people have done.. I bought my first loco(small industrial loco off ebay) a bit of track as and when i can afford it and 6 months later I have 50foot of track and 1 point all ready to lay when i move house soon..
I am doing out and back with a loop at 1 end of the garden.
There is a few budget places which do mdf locos and rolling stock (my latest a hgwl diesel loco)

[METHSSNIFFER]

Believe me, they're rivet counters in 16mm scale too. Im one of them. Best thing is in this scale you can actually see them to count them!

[LnBmad]

Take a look at the mamod/ mss starter kits. You get a live steam loco, some rolling stock and track to have a go with.

[METHSSNIFFER]

Mamods the way to go you can pick up a boxed set for £200 and track is always on ebay so you can extend when money allows

[HereticUK]

There doesn't seem to be a large amount of track on Ebay at the moment and buying Mamod track brand new is actually quite expensive from what I can see (if anyone knows better, please correct me!). From 'dreamsteam.co.uk', 8 x 12" straight sections will cost you £33.30. However, from 'track-shack.com', you can get 12 x 914mm Peco SM32 SL-600 Flexi-track for £87.00.

By my calculations, that's approximately 432" of track. To get the same amount of Mamod track, you would need 4.5 packs of the Mamod track (the curves are the same price as the straight track and also come in stacks of 8!) which is the equivalent of approximately £150.

Also, the Peco track gives you the flexibility to mould it with the environment and also to create shallower curves so that you can run a variety of locos. The Mamod curves give you a circle with a 2' 6" radius, which is fine for smaller locos, but for any larger ones, you need at least 3', maybe even a 4' radius!

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think I will be getting my track from Peco!

(Also these calculations do not include P&P!!)

EDIT: I should also add that you will need rail joiners for the Peco track. They come in packs of 24 at £2.89.

[Catweasel]

Just an idea.If you head across to the Gn15 info website, you will find a layout by Chris Krupa called Matthews Corner. What he did was to cut every 3 rd sleeper from standard Peco track,leaving the web intact, then adding plastic strip to the remaining sleepers to give the impression of pressed steel sleepers. I'm taking this idea on bard myself using Peco Code 124 rail. It's not flat bottom, but much better than Code 200. I won't put photo's up due to possible copyright issues.

[Narrow Minded]

Just an idea.If you head across to the Gn15 info website, you will find a layout by Chris Krupa called Matthews Corner.

http://forum.gn15.info/viewtopic.php?t= ... 325135dbb5

[MDLR]

A delightful little layout with no transport problems!

[LnBmad]

There doesn't seem to be a large amount of track on Ebay at the moment and buying Mamod track brand new is actually quite expensive from what I can see (if anyone knows better, please correct me!). From 'dreamsteam.co.uk', 8 x 12" straight sections will cost you £33.30. However, from 'track-shack.com', you can get 12 x 914mm Peco SM32 SL-600 Flexi-track for £87.00.

By my calculations, that's approximately 432" of track. To get the same amount of Mamod track, you would need 4.5 packs of the Mamod track (the curves are the same price as the straight track and also come in stacks of 8!) which is the equivalent of approximately £150.

Also, the Peco track gives you the flexibility to mould it with the environment and also to create shallower curves so that you can run a variety of locos. The Mamod curves give you a circle with a 2' 6" radius, which is fine for smaller locos, but for any larger ones, you need at least 3', maybe even a 4' radius!

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think I will be getting my track from Peco!

(Also these calculations do not include P&P!!)

EDIT: I should also add that you will need rail joiners for the Peco track. They come in packs of 24 at £2.89.

Yes it is true that if you want to create a larger layout peco track works out cheaper. However, if you are wanting a budget entry way to run steam in the garden buying a mamod starter set would be worthwhile. You can always adapt and modify to add peco track to extend your mamod track (I did).

[LnBmad]

Either of these would be a great way to start

http://www.dreamsteam.co.uk/mss-mamod-l ... t-kit.html

http://www.dreamsteam.co.uk/mss-mamod-l ... r-set.html

[HereticUK]

I think my problem is that if I start with Mamod track, I would either have to continue with Mamod track or replace it all with Peco track. I just couldn't stand having two different types of track in one layout; it would annoy the hell out of me.

Isn't that some sort of psychological condition?

[awwalker]

Thank you to everybody who has contributed to my original question. This is indeed a welcoming forum!

Ive been looking on the usual web based auction site and a company is doing g scale track ( all plastic mind) for about £30.00 for a pack including oval and a siding.

Now i realise this is only toy track and could represent false economy but at present im only after something cheap to test ideas and running ability of scratch built battery locos until i can afford better stuff.

G scale is not my intended scale of choice.. i would rather model 16mm on 32mm track but i think seeing as ive not built a single loco yet then practising on this cheap toy option may be the way to go.

[LnBmad]

I have seen the aforementioned track, but if you are planning to run sm32 I would suggest getting sm32. If your just wanting to have a go at building a loco and some rolling stock, why not pick up a few yards of peco (buy them individually) and run end to end. This gives you the ability to expand as and when your budget allows.

[LnBmad]

And heretic, I know what you mean, but my budget was small and I've gone with what I can get my hands on. It works though

[HereticUK]

Yeah that's fair enough. And I completely agree with you on the other point: if you are planning on creating a 16mm scale layout on 32mm gauge, then it doesn't make sense to buy 45mm track. It would be better to spend a little extra to buy the right gauge track, because then you don't have to re-buy it all when you decide to switch over. Plus it means that you can build your locos to the correct gauge and not have to worry about it.