Freelance Garratt Build

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CoggesRailway

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My Dad doesn't have a garden railway but, having orginally given me the train interest he has caught the bug a little. He has always liked Garratts so has decided to build one to run at Cogges.

A few notes:

[*]Being of scientific/engineering back ground (and patient unlike me) he is building a full running prototype largely from scrap card to check running etc![*]When it has proved it runs fine in terms of articulation, visual proportions etc it will be built in plasticard with more realistic tank shapes and detailing. It is designed to run R1 so it can visit any railway[*]The centre section will probably be shortned and the boiler from my scenic Connie finally reused[*]It will be battery RC and be painted in a dark drab colour[*]As a place holder to build round it has a bachmann circus boiler I had laying around Anyway thought I would share it to gather your input on it's proportions.

 
Looks a very good start to the project, I'm no expert on Garratts but proportions look fine to me!
Will watch the build-up with great interest. :bigsmile:

Jon.
 
The whole point of 'Garries' is that they would traverse the most diverse tracks, i.e. lumpy and bendy, and generally subject to adverse conditions, hence you are correct in attempting R1's. There are plenty of books about them mostly by A. E. Durrant, though not exclusively. A recent addition was "Engines that Bend" by David Joy. All these will give plenty of illustration and inspiration as to proportion and shape.




You are not alone!!!!!!!






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I think mine weighs a tad more than yours, but then mine is really just a steam powered Kroc! :rolf::rolf:
 
Nice one Ian - my father used to make a model of what he was going to build (can't think why I am not imbued with such patience) - its great to see your dad supporting your hobby with such work:thumbup::thumbup:

And Bob - so that's why you keep disappearing into the shed - wow!
 
trammayo said:
And Bob - so that's why you keep disappearing into the shed - wow!
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I didn't think anyone noticed. :confused::confused:
 
It's plain to see your Dad's engineering background Ian. Engineers don't just dive into anything until they've exhausted all of the possible kinks in a project through experimenting and calculating something to a point that the rest of us would have forgotten what it is we were trying to build. :wits:

If that's the rough model, I can't wait to see the finished product. :thumbup:
 
I'm Building something very similar, the problem i'm having (and i see it with yours) is lowering the center section enough when using the LGB Blocks...we both seem to be going down the Mainline version route which is less important but i really wanted a narrow gauge look and they tend to be more ground hugging and everything compacted into a small space with no center ground clearance i don't know if this is something you can address before you build the body or even if you disagree with me
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A Garratt really needs a 'bulky' boiler to look authentic. I tried a couple of Garratt build last year but lost interest in them.

This is an 0-4-0/0-4-0 version. I also started a 0-6-0/0-6-0 version. Both are sidelined until I get enthused about getting back into kitbashing.

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Oh !! Goody well done Lads some decent Garretts at Last all with their pivot points in the correct places etc and a genuine understanding of the basic principals. My layout is to small for a Garrett but I am thinking of a Kitson meyer at some point more compact just as flexible . Yet again well done these look all decent machine have fun with them !!:thumbup: Oh and my personal favourite Garretts are Rhodesian 15th with streamlined tanks and the one I would love to build The Lepodina railway of Brazil small branchline Garrett 2-4-2 2-4-2 with poppet valve gear !!
 
Rhodesia Railway Class 15's, A.K.A. Flying 15s, not really because they were that particularly fast, but they looked it when running hard, coz of the shape and the smallish wheels making the rods fly.

I have to say my preference (if I have one) is for the 20ths, but then I saw more of those than any others due to my close proximity to Mpopoma yard.
 
Wow very nice...
 
Tim Brien said:
A Garratt really needs a 'bulky' boiler to look authentic. I tried a couple of Garratt build last year but lost interest in them.

This is an 0-4-0/0-4-0 version. I also started a 0-6-0/0-6-0 version. Both are sidelined until I get enthused about getting back into kitbashing.

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Tim I very much agree with this and this model will be built with a bachmann consolidation boiler - it needs a reasonable size and certainly no taper...

Thanks all.
 
Tony- agreed that is one of the challenges of using the LGB block. We are hoping that a shorter centre section and a bigger boiler will counteract this look a little and make it a bit more narrow gauge in appearance?
 
Tony said:
I'm Building something very similar, the problem i'm having (and i see it with yours) is lowering the center section enough when using the LGB Blocks...we both seem to be going down the Mainline version route which is less important but i really wanted a narrow gauge look and they tend to be more ground hugging and everything compacted into a small space with no center ground clearance i don't know if this is something you can address before you build the body or even if you disagree with me
Click to expand...
Here's my solution for getting the 'baseplate' (ie centre section) lower than the top of the motor block. You cut a section out of the baseplate big enough to allow the swing of the motor block and use a 'saddle' to pivot on top of the block. Excuse my rough sketch but maybe it's clearer...
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The 'fan' shaped cutouts allow the motor block to swing - that's why your Dad's idea of a mockup is great! The basplate has to be strong (thick) enough for the narrow section adjacent to the cutout to still have enough strength. I made my first Garratt baseplate from 1/4" x 4" steel, but decided for the 2nd one that 1/8" aluminium was good enough and much easier to work with.
The pivot saddles are hidden under the tanks. Note that the front tank must have clearance to allow the smokebox door to open. This often means there is a 'cutout' section in the tank. It's a feature not often photographed.
 
Tim Brien said:
Like Greg, I used a similar concept to overcome the overly high LGB motor block.
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It looks from what I can make out, as if you have the pivots points 'outside' the main drive axle.
This is a real no-no. The pivots must be between the 2 axles or the downward force caused by the weight of the base+boiler etc, will try to tip the front of the motor block upwards. The pivot only has to be a mm or two 'inside' the axle to solve this problem.
 
Greg,
I am well aware of pivot location and it is compensated by weight over the driving wheels (stock LGB weight block, so not a great issue). The overall aesthetic look is to give the illusion the weight is located over the trailing axle as the pivot location is 'hidden'. The operation of my setup is perfect for my needs as my track is perfectly laid. However, operation on a 'bush' track may show up issues with the limited 'compensation'. Each to his own.

On my 0-6-0/0-6-0 version the pivot is between the second and third axles, thus the same bunker weight may give added traction over the smaller version.
 
I haven't gotten very far at all on my build, but I have demo'ed it out for myself:

Full-size link: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/546/vr43.jpg/
Thumbnail:
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While I have it here using one of the original connie boilers, I'm planning on using 2-3" pvc, but probably keeping the cab. Once done, this will be a model of a PRR designed, Baldwin-built multi-guage engine for a shortline the PRR was courting in the very last years of the 1890's. The 2-8-0+0-8-2 AG-2 is the freight version, which went into fleet production, while the AG-1 4-6-0+0-6-4 passenger version remained a sole prototype.
 
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