Well William, I'm not sure I'd consider a 3.5" Britannia a beginners engine exactly

You also mentioned Gauge 1, saying you'd like a reverser and coal firing etc – and then promptly jumped straight up to 3.5" gauge.

Why not consider 2.5" gauge? Plenty of locos to choose from as listed here:

2.5" Gauge Locomotive Designs

And this list doesn't include some of the newer designs (like Dick Allan's Gauge 3 'Dee' )

A fairly straightforward 2.5" 'tender' loco to build is Martin Evans 'Eagle' . There is at least one example I can think of that runs very nicely at our GTGs. It's a GNR (Ireland) prototype and looks very good in blue. It wouldn't bring the chimney breast down either if you plonked one on the mantelpiece.

Nor will a 2.5" loco damage your back or bank balance as much as a larger gauge loco either!

I am a bit biased of course!

Regards,

IanT

PS One of these would look good on display… (Dicks G3 "Dee" at a GTG in 2018)

I do know that the Locomotive Asia on your list has a reputation for many errors in the drawings, I belonged to a club that had an experienced builder constructing one and he had many problems. I don't think it ever got finished as a result. David Scott who posts here occasionally is I think using CAD to try and sort out the one he is constructing. You are doing the right thing in asking for opinions, building a loco is a long and sometimes frustrating process, and mistakes on drawings don't help, I think it's appalling that there are well known errors on many of the popular drawings that the suppliers are aware of, but they have never been addressed . Some of these designs have been around since the 1940's.

I would agree with Ian T that 2 1/2" gauge is worth a look, but I am biased as well! These smaller loco's are very easy to transport too, I know from experience that a large 5" gauge engine can be awkward to move about on your own.

The range of loco's by Polly engineering always seem good to me, and having done some machining on a few of the larger parts for a friend I thought the casting quality was excellent, something that can't be said for all suppliers. I don't believe he found any significant errors in the drawings.

I'm not sure if there is a supplier of castings still but LBSC's Princess Marina in 3 1/2 always seems a good runner and is a fairly compact tender engine and not too complex. I've seen a few around at rallies over the years, there is a black one around with lot's of added detail that looks good and goes well.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

Dave

Maid of Kent gets my vote. As already suggested, not Britannia.

Martin Evans 'Green Arrow' ticks all the boxes except 'size' but at least you will have 'done everything', boiler and all without a huge outlay.

Then do the big stuff.

I went with a 5" gauge BR Standard 2. Castings from Reeves and also a good build guide from Reeves.

There are still quite a few MES 2.5" tracks around Nick – and there are also of course Gauge '3' Garden railways too. Something rarely mentioned is that most G3 Society "Live Steamers" are also members of the National 2.5 Gauge Association and so run their larger (e.g. tender) locos both in driver-hauling (MES mode) at Rallies and in a Garden setting with carriage and wagon stock (Scenic mode) at GTGs.

I am a member of both organisations. The N2.5GA has a very good range of castings at reasonable prices by the way…

There has been a clear move to larger engines over the years, because folk have access to better & larger equipment and are generally more affluent. Of course, many MESs are reliant on 'Public Open Days' where the ability to haul heavier loads of (fee-paying) passengers is often a key part of the Clubs continued existence, something which I am sure is causing many great concern at the moment.

But there were (and still are) good reasons that folk used to build in the smaller gauges at one time – including the smaller equipment required, much lower material costs and ease of handling, transport and storage. I made the decision to 'down-gauge' a long time ago and I don't regret it. Things change (you get older for a start) and so do your priorities. Martin Evans made a comment once that 2.5" was too big to run "uncontrolled" and too small to pull passengers. That was before the advent of radio control and assumed that passenger hauling was an important criteria for everybody.

One other thought, whilst I attend (or at least used to) a number of GTGs every year and enjoy the social side of these events (meeting old friends, drinking tea and eating far too much cake ) the majority of my hobby time (99%) is spent alone in my Shed. Just me, the radio and my ageing machinery for company.

Fortunately, that's one thing that hasn't had to change much this year

Regards,

IanT

Edited By IanT on 07/11/2020 10:01:27

Your first four points seem very sensible, but number 5 (Apologies I numbered them to make them easier to identify) is harder. A great many designs have errors and even having the magazines does not help as a fault discovered a couple of years after a design was published may not be in the plans you buy or mentioned in the original edition of the magazine!

If in doubt ask here or there are other websites as well, or if you are a member of a club ask there.

Many successful locos have been built from drawings with errors in them with support from the model engineering community.

From what I understand there are quite a few LBSC Virginia's running around the world, that should indicate a relatively straightforward project with easy access to build logs, corrected drawings etc.

This is the build book.

I'm also building a Britannia at the moment, it is more complex but you only build it one piece at a time, and you can keep going until you get it right. That being said, its years of work.

Also this website lists lots of different steam locomotives you can build, its a wiki site so the info is better for some than others. Full Disclosure; I started the site so again am biased.

https://smalllivesteamengines.fandom.com/wiki/SmallLiveSteamEngines_Wiki

Edited By Jon Lawes on 07/11/2020 23:37:44

As Ian T has mentioned there are a number of options in 2 1/2 gauge, Many will pull the driver with ease but very few that will " pull a few people. This is as much due to the additional weight and friction of passenger trolleys and adhesive weight as anything. Also part of the reason why 3 1/2 gauge is less popular I personally believe.

If you want to just enjoy driving and pull yourself 2 1/2 is cheaper and lighter than 3 1/2. with the added ability to run on G3 rails if made to the correct specification.

If you want to pull passengers, then people tend to go for 5" as there is relatively speaking little difference in time, materials or costing between 3 1/2 and 5" and the latter will pull significantly more. I feel that is more the case rather than any particular decline in 3 1/2 Gauge

The majority of 2 1/2 gauge designs have construction notes available from the Association http://www.n25ga.org and you also have a wealth of experience in members of both the Gauge 3 Association and the 2 1/2 gauge Association.

With regard to Silver soldering the boiler, it does need some reasonable investment in the right equipment propane or oxy propane with the relevant torches, regulators and hoses/ blowback arrestors. Also a decent hearth or insulated working area. which ideally needs to be separate from your indoor workshop. It also needs a good deal of practice to get right and puts many people off because of the high cost of material for a copper boiler which has an element of total write off if you get it wrong. That said once you understand the principles of silver soldering and position the heat correctly to promote the necessary capillary action it is a straightforward process.

At a rough estimate, any tender engine in any gauge has say 800 to 1000 individual parts in it not including nuts bolts and rivets. If you make a part a day, every day of the year that's still over two years work. So getting your choice right at this stage is a very wise move. Also the workshop equipment needed for 2 1/2 or G3 is significantly smaller/ lighter than required for 5" or a larger 3 1/2 Gauge engine.

As both a member of G3A and the National 2 /12 gauge Association I have always found help and information in this gauge as plentiful as in any other.

Hope this helps your decision making