Excellent suggestion, and hopefully there will be sufficient interest, especially for L plate wearers like myself.

Perhaps I may be allowed to get the ball rolling.

Invicta, two of them, part finished,  a recent purchase on this forum.

Now all I have to do is purchase a suitable lathe , mill and drill and have a go, that is when I can work out what to buy.

Edited By Stuart Rogers on 06/03/2015 11:40:41 to say part finished.

Edited By Stuart Rogers on 06/03/2015 11:43:30

Neil – as the kiddies say "3 and a half RAWKS!"

(at least they'd use words like that over here)

1) I've got two 3-1/2" gaugers running, a European prototype 2-8-2, and my little Tich. This last one in particular is the most fun to drive; has a boiler certificate from the NL (where I was living when I finished it) and has steamed in 3 countries, so far.

2) I've got two on the go, both almost finished. (don't ask why I have two locomotives on the workbench)

3) If one cares, on my CNC blog one can see parts for my 3-1/2" gauge locomotives once in a while – the goal is to make locomotives, not CNC machines! **LINK**

4) Opinion – if one wants to drive large locomotives, go join a preserved railway. I'm (still) licensed as a "Steam Traction Operator" in my province of Canada – full size is certainly more realistic than 7-1/4" locomotives, and the societies can always do with the help.

I liked seeing your little locomotive (plus your other exhibits) at Sandown last December – too bad I got the room mixed up for your "meet and greet". C'est la vie.

Good afternoon everyone,

Well done Neil for kicking the idea into play. As you mentioned the idea of a group, association, forum etc fell by the wayside but I suspect if the idea of a 31/2" discussion group starts to move forward there may be a bit more enthusiasm for the formation of a formal association. I for one would wholeheartedly support. Looking at the two major model engineering federations there are a couple of 31/2" gauge rallys planned for this year, 13th June at the Sale area Model engineers Walton Park track and on 1st August at Southampton Society of Model engineers at the Riverside park track.

I have in the past built a number of 31/2" gauge locomotives including my first attempt, a Juliet, a GWR County, three LMS 4Fs (don't ask) all of which have been successful passenger haulers. I've had at least a couple of Maisies both of which went like the wind. I still hanker after building another 31/2" gauge locomotive, I think they are easily suited to my workshop and whilst I'm getting a bit older, they are that much easier to man handle and transport etc.

There are numerous designs in the market place, so much choice available and with todays budget constraints they allow entry into the model engineering world for a reasonable outlay and bringing a bit of fun to running.

Regards,

Bob Youldon

Hi Gents, I am an avid 3½” enthusiast with several locomotives, but not much of a forum person. I would support any efforts to form a Society. For reference the club of which I am a member is holding a 3½" gauge rally on Sunday 26th April, see website http://www.leylandsme.co.uk for details,

Best regards,

John Barr

Im a member and im pretty sure all exhibits will be welcome – you need your paperwork and a spark arrestor if you want to run. its a good turn out with a big track. Im sure one of the club officials will comment?

Ok:

1) Nick Feast's Q1. Easy fabrication, good instructions, metric dimensioned. Fairly inexpensive castings, easy valve gear. Not a lot of "jewelry" to make. Good runner, strong enough for club passenger hauling. Boiler can be farmed out, should one wish.

2) Tich. Yes, it's my first locomotive I built, but still by far my favourite. Inexpensive castings. I started mine as a very young teenager – I could afford to purchase it.

3) Some electric "diesel", created by a guy called Neil….

(as a counter-point, on another board, someone had a pilot for a USA Challenger 3D printed, something like around $4,000.00 US just for that one bit…. you can purchase a lot of bits for 3-1/2" gauge for that amount of money – I'd hate to have made a machining error on that $4,000.00 part…)

Makerbot contracted someone to make a 1:16 "Big Boy" set of drawings and created a set of STL files.

So, if your locomotive is a "Big Boy" – just download it and print it! (sorry, no URL but google it. I did download a few of the parts and tried printing the wheels for fun…)

I agree with Bob and Mike, your first loco should be one you really want to have. Forty odd years ago I said I was going to build an A4 for my first loco. The club said don't try it, you should start on Tich or Juliet. I said it might be the only loco I will ever build so it's the A4, three cylinders – conjugated motion, streamlined casing, all of which were considered to be impossible for someone with O level metalwork. I never looked back and the A4 is still running 38 years later, albeit with several new shafts and several new heads, although the main frames are OEM.

Tich, Juliet and the like are fine and I know of more than one that gave the builder a lot of fun, but these are people with good engineering skills and who are dedicated model engineers and railway enthusiasts. I also know there's a lot that stayed the course and were disappointed with the end result, (It takes a magician to keep a Tich going) and went off and did something else, lost to this hobby. And how many made the start and realised how little they were going to get for their efforts and just gave up?

Although I've moved on to 5" gauge now, I still keep two 3 1/2s running and use them regularly on raised and ground level railways. The big difference with the smaller gauge is that on the right railway you can open them up with confidence and enjoy the excitement of a loco that needs lots of skill to keep the fire and water right at speed. If I want the quiet life I bring out the 5" gauge.

Eddie

Bob – at the last MEX at Sandown, there was a very nice gentleman with a 2-1/2" gauge electric, plywood body, two batteries. Looked great! Seemingly ran very well too. (yes, two and a half inch gauge)

My computer with pictures on it is currently packed (house under renovation) so I can't put the pics on line yet.

But, with electrics running the model aeroplane world now (think of all the quadcopters running around right now) and full sized cars, and laptop computers and so on, all changed within the last decade or so, maybe it's time to revisit the 3-1/2" gauge battery driven locomotive topic again?

I'm sure Neil is sitting on his hands, waiting for Diane to print his manuscript…