I'm new and this is my project

[kimp]

Hi All,

It's been abot 35years since I last had anything to do withmodel or miniature trains. Hence, I think it's time I got back into it! My 7 year old daughter has her 8th birthday coming up this May. She really loved our local miniature railway, so I've decided I'm going to building a 5" & 7.25" guage railway around our house in time for her birthday party in May.

I started a 5" live steam loco 35 years ago, but there's no way that would be finished by May, so I'm aiming to have the first 100metres of track laid by then with perhaps a couple of either electric/battery-powered loco-things or even better - muscle-powered carts with a truck or two towed behind.

What I'm thinking of is something akin to what used to be on the "Hard Yakka" TV commercial about 35-40years ago. My long term goal (i.e. some time in the next 10 years) is to build a WAGR "W" Class Steam Loco.

I would really appreciate any advice or guidance you could give me in the following:

- Track construction & pointing
- Links to plans for some sort of hand/muscle-powered cart/loco that I could make within a coupe of months, suitable for my daughter and her friends to get around the track on
- rolling stock/trucks/carriages etc

I have an arc welder, a milling machine, and a lathe - plus the usual hand-tools. I am currently unemployed, which is a blessing time-wise and a curse financially.

I'm more than happy to post photos of progress etc and would really appreciate any guidance you could offer.

Many thanks.

Kim.

[Dannypenguin]

Welcome!

If you are looking for battery power, I found the cheapest place for a 5" and 7 1/4 inch electric wheelset and trailing wheelsets is Maidstone Engineering:

http://www.maidstone-engineering.com/in ... ommon/home

I am unsure about whether they ship overseas but they are owned by Maxitrack who do. They also do electric supplies and metals if needed. Hope this helps.

[laalratty]

Welcome to the forum, I'd guess what you would want to do when it comes to track laying in the ride on scales is start with getting a plan of the area you want to put the line, principally any slopes that would require gradients. Anything steeper then 1 in 40 starts to seriously affect what you can pull. Also, with your plan for a steam loco in the future make sure your line can actually cope with it, curves of sufficient radius etc.
A basic guide to building a 5 inch garden line is here http://www.rideonrailways.co.uk/paul/bu ... index.html I would guess that since you are planning on making it dual gauge you might want to beef things up a bit, deeper foundations, heavier section rail and greater cross section sleepers.

[Dr. Bond of the DVLR]

Hello and welcome!

Ask around at your local model engineering society for help and advice. I did and got a bag of creosoted sleepers donated!

There are a few 5 inch gauge railway posts on the forum if you search for them but a lot can be taken from the 5 inch gauge websites. www.5inchrail.co.uk I am sure you will have found for example.

As for rolling stock, I would keep an eye on the second hand market - there are some real bargains to be had (and some barge-pole type bodged up stuff). I run with second hand Compass House bogies under a freelance angle iron frame under a wood bodied carriage and am currently working on a driving truck.

Looking forward to seeing pictures.