Garden Railway Forum

I recently displayed some of my modified Mamod engines at the L&B Autumn Gala. It was a wonderful weekend as it also marked the new build 762 LYN entering into service.

I have modified some of my engines with a WD theme. My 0-6-0 IRENE is modeled after another of the L&B resident loco's AXE. For this years display I purchased some of the excellent soldier figures from Motley Miniatures. I saw them advertised in the August edition of 16mm Today so ordered a set in time for the L&B Gala.

I must say they really are excellent figures. I ordered them ready painted and they arrived in good time and I am very happy with the quality and the great value they represent. Here are some pictures from my display.

Great Display

Very nice display... I do many local exhibitions and try to put related items together to set the scene. I think visitors can relate better to the scale and hope it encourages more to try for themselves.

The figures do look good and the overall display. Is the stubby black loco built from a Mamod stationary engine or are my eyes deceiving me? It does look cute, if model trains are ever cute...

They look good together. The slightly cheesed off Tommy is fantastic.

bazzer42 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2017 7:53 am The figures do look good and the overall display. Is the stubby black loco built from a Mamod stationary engine or are my eyes deceiving me? It does look cute, if model trains are ever cute...

Apologies for rather late response I haven't checked into this forum for some time. Yes it is built from a MM1 stationary engine. Here are some more pictures. It's on the list for some re-work as the gearing isn't right at the moment

A fantastic display love the locos figures and diorama. Thank you for sharing.

steamer68 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:33 am A fantastic display love the locos figures and diorama. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks Kevin - here are a few more images from the display:

Amazing.
What is a the collective noun for a group of Mamods then?

More stunning pieces an amazing collection thanks for sharing the other pictures.

Superb collection. Brilliant paintwork on them too. Do you have a special technique for painting? Is that the charming little black saddle tank Rebecca I see in one of the pix? I remember seeing that loco before and being impressed.

Thanks for more pictures. I still love the stationary engine conversion. I will confess that ( for no real good reason) I've never been a Mamod fan but after seeing some of these I really think I ought to get one to share with the grandson when he's older. Some of these must have been fun to build and I have enjoyed adding bits to my Regner.

If you were buying one what would you recommend?

invicta280 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:19 pm Superb collection. Brilliant paintwork on them too. Do you have a special technique for painting? Is that the charming little black saddle tank Rebecca I see in one of the pix? I remember seeing that loco before and being impressed.

Hi Invicta280. When I first started building these Mamodifications I used wet paint process with a high solids spray (Rust-Oleum typically satin black) over acid etch primer (U-POL Acid #8 Etch Primer). This was the method used on numerous models and also the base colour for the first of my numbered engines PJLW 01 MARGARET and PJLW 02 RONALD. I had been a motorcyle restorer prior to my interest in steam engines and decided to ask the company who did my bike parts if they could do my loco parts. Since then I now get all my steel parts powder coated. My favourite colour is still satin black but now its power coat not wet spray paint.

Having said that, REBECCA was actually spray painted using the gloss black version of the Rust-Oleum paint. The tanks are lined with ceramic sheet and copper tape to protect the paint from the heat a little. I did try running it at the L&B Gala but it failed miserably due to a blocked gas jet It is a nice looking engine though:

bazzer42 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:03 am Thanks for more pictures. I still love the stationary engine conversion. I will confess that ( for no real good reason) I've never been a Mamod fan but after seeing some of these I really think I ought to get one to share with the grandson when he's older. Some of these must have been fun to build and I have enjoyed adding bits to my Regner.

If you were buying one what would you recommend?

Hi Bazzer42 - I never thought I would 'get into' Mamod loco's but then became rather hooked on buying them and modifying them. That's mainly because it is relatively easy to do. I do not have a lathe and if I had one would not know how to use it I have a number of basic bench mounted tools and you really don't need much knowledge of steam engines or model engineering to have fun with a Mamod.

I would suggest watching for ebay auctions of Mamod loco's and getting one as 'cheap' as you can to have a play with. They have started to get a bit pricey but there are still some bargains to be had. The MSS variants are also OK but I have heard reports of poor quality control in some areas and have had issues with wheels myself. If you can get a half decent old Mamod SL, I'm sure you will have great fun with it!

Hello,
I'm a new member of this great forum. I just read this thread from A to Z. Wonderful collection ! Thanks for the pics. Is there a thread about building this nice loco ? I'm very interested. Thanks.

Stonecold wrote: ↑Sun Dec 17, 2017 5:44 pm Hello,
I'm a new member of this great forum. I just read this thread from A to Z. Wonderful collection ! Thanks for the pics. Is there a thread about building this nice loco ? I'm very interested. Thanks.

Hi Stonecold, I havn't posted a build thread about this one. I can tell you it is made using a Mamod flat car with a specially designed base and a Mamod Minor (MM1) stationary engine. It also incorporates the Mamod SL1 cab front, roof and rear. I made the other parts myself.

The loco is meths fired.

Peter thanks for explaining and showing the items needed to build this super little loco.

Hi you have some really nice Mamod and MSS locos you have upgraded and transformed they all look brilliant and its food for thought.