Victoria B.C.: Vintage 1980s LGB G Scale Steeple Cab Loco & New Micro Layout (More in Description)

Описание: “Ok” you say, “What’s up? I thought you were a live steam guy!”

Well, I am. I decided early that I was not going to power my large scale track because I was only going to have live steam, and if the technology improves perhaps l’s build a live diesel (and also hope that a manufacturer will make one. Hint! Hint! And yes, I’ve converted some 0 gauge toy trains to battery as seen in some videos, but I always meant for the more realistic running to be in G).

My goal for G scale and 16 mm to the foot large scale trains was to have them power themselves just like the real thing. This is very convenient given that my first love by far as a hobbyist are my live steam locomotives.

My other model train love is realistic operation. By this I don’t mean operating live steam, but rather moving railcars around according to how real railways do so. With my Accucraft 0-6-0 live steam loco I often create a switch list and set out and pick up railcars - doing the jobs of the engineer and conductor at the same time. Yes, I can run that engine that finely. Not with a phone in one hand trying to make a video however.

With our West Coast rainy fall and winter around the corner I decided to build a G scale layout in the very little basement space I have left for it. It required demolishing the small 32 mm gauge indoor live steam loop seen in my previous videos.

I wanted something plausible where I could point to similar real world examples and which:

would have staging or way for the railcars to go off to and enter from the “rest of the world” (I’m accomplishing this through use of a ‘barge.’)

would provide a decent railcar switching puzzle, and

given the tight confines of its location would need an alternative to live steam.

I had to figure out what to do about my desire to not power the track just like real railroads.

I greatly admire large garden railways with long trains pulled by big modern diesels. Ollie’s Railroad here on YouTube is a completely amazing and stunning example. But my particular quirk for my own modelling is to have the locos move like the real thing. Therefore I don’t want model diesel locos powered by electric can motors. But wait a second… motors… hmmm…

Boom! It hit me. Just as a live steam loco recreates a full sized engine, so to do locos that run off overhead wire! So I purchased an old LGB steeple cab motor from George’s Trains (the real locos were called “motors” - or often also “electric locomotives”). After reading about this particular model online I discovered that there is a switch underneath where you can cause the loco to actually take power from an overhead wire. Brilliant! Just as my live steam replicates full sized steam engines, so too would this replicate a full sized electric locomotive.

The thing is, when finished I will also run my live steam indoors on this small layout as well. I’m sure someone may barge over a steam loco and passenger car or two for a steam fan weekend, right? (I’ll be sure to have the window and door open and have fire safety stuff nearby as I always do when I run live steam indoors.)

While I do run my live steam outdoors in all kinds of weather I tend to draw the line at storms. Therefore I’ll have a nice dry place to run some trains and work out some switching problems during those days when the train fit has seized me and it’s storming outside.

Cheers!