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As my friend, who is doing 3 rail scale, and I were talking and admiring how well my beater Atlas(Roco)F9-A runs now  We got on the topic of rolling stock and whats out there on epay that is affordable or cheap.  I spotted a gaggle of old Atlas O ore cars, the old Roco built ones that normaly sell dirt cheap.  Given some metal wheel sets and Kaydee couplers they are fairly respectable to me.  Now I come from the Athearn HO scale blue box hey day, they are what I got into when I joined the local HO club, while I still had Lionel 3 rail at home.  F units and "shake the box" rolling stock were my bread and butter.  Those ore jennies got me thinking, Erie Mining ran F9's up till the end in various A-B combinations hauling taconite pellets.  A few of the F9's in AA or maybe if ABA if I can combine 2 shells to make a B unit would be very affordable, probably cost less than I paid for the Weaver GP38-2 I am on the fence to get rid of.  The ore cars also can be had on the cheap.  Doing O scale 2 rail can be quite expensive when it comes to track, engines and rolling stock.  This of coarse depends on each persons expectations to detail.  My eyes are not the best, nor do I have the desire to spend hours detailing rolling stock/engines to museum levels.  I do not mind cast on grab irons as they tollerate my ham fisted handling of them.  The venerable F9's can be had cheap, run well and parts are out there from P&D/NWSL to keep them running.  The biggest hurdle will be making them single headlight from duel, making atleast one B unit and getting them painted.  Its got my mind turning to say the least.  Mike

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Look at Bob Comerford's layout in Australia, he's doing some ore cars that seem to be an inexpensive way to do O scale:

 

http://www.freerails.com/view_...6684&forum_id=64

 

He frequents this forum as well, hopefully he'll join in this topic!

 

A good way used to be buying old Weaver rolling stock and replacing the plastic trucks/wheels with metal (I wonder what Buffalo Creek Graphics is going to use for their base model now that Weaver is no more?).

 

If you can ignore all the "Bling" that's for sale these days I think a good looking, accurate model RR can still be done on the cheap.

 

Me, I've converted my 8 steamers to Battery-Powered, Remote Control and ripped up the center rail.  It wasn't cheap, but it was cheaper than scraping all the 3-rail and buying new (to me) 2-rail.  I still have the pizza cutter flanges (which I don't really notice, especially if I have nothing on the layout to compare them to), but everything has Kadees and even my diesels (yet to be converted to BPRC) have fixed pilots.  So I call myself a 2-railer these days, just have to ignore those flanges

I am used to dealing with flanges being out of scale, a nesessary evil in the garden railway world unless you like constant derailments.  The new bling doesn't do much for me, sound gets quickly on my autistic nerves and smoke bothers my asthma.  Being on the spectrum has limited my income so keeping trains on the cheap is also a necessary evil.  The venerable old F9s from Atlas remind me of the old Athearn nee Globe F7's that were my start in HO scale.  All wheel drive, can motor and crappy factory lighting.  I already fixed the poor lighting with an LED in the lower headlight.  Have to evaluate my options for getting 2 A units reduced to single headlights and painted in the yellow/maroon colors of Erie Mining.  With my small layout space, 8' by 9' the F's and ore jennies are almost perfect!  Mike

great comments! you are 110% correct you can spend a ton in 2 rail or you can get in on the cheap, but if you look at new Atlas track 2 rail is cheaper than 3 rail track, most 3 rail rolling stock can be easily converted to 2 rail fairly in expensively, and MTH makes plenty of 2 rail locomotives  for the same price as their 3 rail one. we picked up a MTH es44c at the Cleveland 2 rail show brand new for $400. it ran at the Youngstown Oh2 rail club layout open house this weekend flawlessly and looked as good as the Overland diesels it was running with. so you can enjoy 2 rail for about the same money as 3 rail.

Originally Posted by 69nickeycamaro:

great comments! you are 110% correct you can spend a ton in 2 rail or you can get in on the cheap, but if you look at new Atlas track 2 rail is cheaper than 3 rail track, most 3 rail rolling stock can be easily converted to 2 rail fairly in expensively, and MTH makes plenty of 2 rail locomotives  for the same price as their 3 rail one. we picked up a MTH es44c at the Cleveland 2 rail show brand new for $400. it ran at the Youngstown Oh2 rail club layout open house this weekend flawlessly and looked as good as the Overland diesels it was running with. so you can enjoy 2 rail for about the same money as 3 rail.

I can vouch for Atlas 2 rail track (flex track)..also easy to lay down. i think they come in 40 inch sections...these rails are solid,mine are dirty but still send my command signals through. I am lazy when it come to cleaning track.

@   beginning  east bound CSX BNSF 4 engine multi unit
    @  .55  west bound Guilford Pan Am  5 engine multi unit
    @ 1.54  east bound Guilford 2 unit switching track

 

 

 

 

 

I am using old Atlas black tie(Austrian produced by Roco) track thats as old as my F9 diesel.  Got a whole box of it dirt cheap.  My line is either going to be a C&O/Chessie coal branch line or the Erie Mining thing.  Toss up right now on which way it will fall, but still leaning towards the whole coal branch right now.   Less repaint work on engines.  Mike

While I'm not here very often, Bob D is correct... I am here.

O scale can be inexpensive, it depends on how you approach it.

If you want to compete with expensive mass produced or low volume craftsman made items then you are going to need lot more time and skill than is available to me.

I am not into counting rivets, a neat model without any glaring errors is where I aim.

The link Bob has given you, I hope will show my approach. I should start by saying I have shaky hands and poor eyesight.

To build a railway I require, rail, wheels, couplers, motor/ gearboxes and prototype plans and photos. The rest can be built on the kitchen table.

Given there is only so much time left for me, I tend to also like to have various trucks and common items such as smoke stacks and steam domes available as castings for purchase. Decals are also much appreciated.

 

While I don't model North American prototype I can tell you how I would approach it today.

Just like my own line I would not be aiming for the largest collection of models, just initially two trains, as I like the random action that trains on a double track main give.

I would base my model on a place and time that used Atlas offerings such as the F9 and the RS3 . Preferably a smallish line with a restricted roster of trains.  I would repaint them and detail them to suit. I would use as few commercial items in the process as I could. I would probably treat them to NWSL wheels and gears. I prefer a few well running locos to a fleet of dodgy performers.

 

If you think rolling stock is dear, try buying it from this side of the pond. I would look to build boxcars and gons using trucks from Athearn and any others available. Kadees would be the other main purchase.

Bodies can be made from card or styrene with wood roofs. When I am in need of several similar items I make my own kits of parts, building the first one to work out any problems. I have often left off some of the finer details just to get things up and running and attached them as a project at a later stage.

 It is possible to make a template for the roof shape and have a local wood supplier machine some  lengths out of suitable wood.

 

The same can be done with passenger and head end cars.

 

Track... for most of the years I have had O gauge I made my own using code 100 rail salvaged from HO track. Atlas and NWSL wheels ran across it just fine. This time around I used Peco code 124 track because it has a reputation for being long lasting even in the Australian sun and I had enough on my plate making the trains and the layout. Outdoors, when painted and ballasted, the fact it is incorrect is not an issue. While I purchased points this time around, it is the one area that money can be saved no matter the scale.

 

Outdoors I run mainly wheels with a smaller flange and width than the regular NMRA profile. I also have many wagons that have a long fixed wheelbase. Derailments rarely occur and if they do it is usually operator error or a twig laying on the track unnoticed. My track is not perfect but when first laid I examined and fixed every reason for a derailment and it has been reliable now for quite a while.

After some previous trials I realised that a switching layout was not for me. That is why I went outdoors again this time around. If you like switching then you would not need as much in the way of stock or track to start as I did.

To me, the most important thing is to get trains running as soon as possible, the rest can come later.

 

This post has been a a bit long winded so I will stop it here. :>

 

regards

Bob Comerford

 

 

 

 

Hi Max, just follow the link Bob D provided. I'm not going to post them all again :>

There is also my blog which extends back to the last days of my second S gauge NSWGR layout.

http://trainsinshed.blogspot.com.au/

 

 

This shows a railmotor on the main with the coalie heading back down the access ramp. All scratch from styrene, wire, balsa and resin with Slater's wheels.

 

regards

 Bob

 

Nice pic Bob.  Right now I am just aquiring track, hopefully another F9 here shortly, then I need to decide which way I will go.  If its with LTV/Erie Mining, then it will be a bunch of the old Atlas O ore jennies to renumber/repaint.  If its with the coal branch line, then a bunch of coal hoppers.  The Erie Mining has the most appeal once I get beyond changing the F9's to single headlight and painting them.  The short ore cars are suited to my small layout with tighter curves.  I could simulate the huge ore dock with a siding that just goes out of sight behind a bluff with trees on it.  Shove loads in, pull empties out.  Then at another part of the layout, I could simulate the loading the same basic way.  I can use a false front set up like I have seen on here done for a steel mill, to make up the mill were the Tacconite is loaded.  Hope to start on bench work soon, I gathered up some of the wood last Sunday.   Mike

Selecting a time and place and sticking to it can be one of the best ways of keeping expenditure under control. Concentrate on building a layout not on stamp collecting.

Shorty ore cars and 2 axle diesels would certainly fit better if minimum radii is very tight.

No such options here, it's make it yourself or get out the wallet for some very expensive kits.

 

regards

 Bob Comerford

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