1880-1900 Canadian Layout HO or N Scale

I am interested in modeling the Credit Valley Railroad. Ontario 1880-1900. I only have space for a 4x10 layout.

I will be using 4-4-0 Steam Locomotives, Overton Passenger Cars, and 30-34' freight cars.

Would it be better to do it in HO or N scale???

I know the inclines have to be kept to 2%, but what is a good radius for the curves.

Reply to
wannand
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Well, as much as I like N scale, if you insist on 4-4-0s, you'd best go HO. The only ones available in N are the Bachmanns, and the quality and running ability are spotty at best. However, there are some slightly larger locomotives from the same period available (a couple of Consolidations, and the MicroAce/Atlas Porter) that run VERY well. Some very nice Overtons are available in N as well. Early freight cars are spotty, but some are available, and using some cheap Bachmann Old-Timers flats as a starting point would make kitbashing easy.

If you do it in N scale, you could easily do 12" radius curves with this equipment.

-- Joe Ellis ? CEO Bethlehem-Ares Railroad ___a________n_mmm___mmm_mmm_mmm___mmm_mmm_mmm___mmm_n______ ___|8 8B| ___ /::::: / /::::X/ /:::::/ /:::::/|| ||__BARR| | | /::::::/ /:::::X /:::::/ /:::::/ ||

---------------------------------------------------------------- [(=)=(=)=(=)=(=)] |_________________________| [(=)=(=)=(=)=(=)] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serving America's Heartland Since 1825

Reply to
Joe Ellis

Thanks Joe, but to be historical on this line, the Credit Valley Railway used the 4-4-0 exclusively,

They were a short line railway, the mainline ran from Toronto to St. Thomas (121 miles) with a branch line from Streetsville to Orangeville (35 miles) and a branch from Cataract (between Streetsville and Orangeville) to Elora (29 miles).

When these lines were done, the railway badly needed money, so it was amalgamanted with the London Junction Railway and the Ontario and Quebec Railway. All of which were owned by the Canadian Pacific.

Looks like I will be doing it in HO. Thanks again.

Reply to
wannand

Joe, As a shortline steam era modeler myself I would think HO would be the best way to go. There are a number of 4-4-0's available in HO. Most might be more representative of locomotives built before the 1890's. The IHC 4-4-0 is more like one that would have been built in the 1890 to 1900 time frame. The flanges however might be deeper than normal and that might be a problem if you are using code 70 or 55 to represent the lighter rail many shortlines would have used. Another option you have is brass and you can probably find a brass locomotive that would be very similar to what ever your CVR locomotives looked like. Brass is certainly more expensive but if you only need one or two locos its not that bad. Another possibility would be a Cary

4-4-0 boiler and detail kit to use over a Mantua General. I think you can find the Cary kit on the Bowser web site to see if it might be suitable. To find the right model for your railroad I guess depends on if your prototype had new equipment or bought older stuff from other railroads. Regardless HO will offer the widest range of possabilities. Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Favinger

You can pick up the Ken Kidder HO brass 4-4-0 pretty cheaply. It's a small engine and not up to the standards of modern brass. But it is cheap. They made the same model in both HO and HON3. It has the "feel" of a Porter circa 1870.

The IHC old-time 4-4-0s are actually too big, which is a pity because they needn't be with the motor in the tender. This is evident if you place an IHC Reno next to a United Reno. I also don't like the traction tyres which grip the rails so well that the front drops when you stop. Also, next time you see one of these, see if you can spot a piston rod!

Which brings us to the other commonly available brass - the United and other importers Reno. This is a good model but not up to today's standard. Unfortunately it is for the V&T which means sellers want more for it. I'm not knocking the V&T - it's my HO interest, it's just that it is a popular railroad and models price accordingly. I've got 2

- a wood burner and an oil burner and had to pay more than I really wanted.

As an alternative to the Overton cars, what about the Con-Cor old time set? These are more prototypical.

Reply to
Christopher A. Lee

Thanks Bruce, I will check it out.

Reply to
wannand

Thanks Chris, never knew of the ConCor alternative, I will check it out.

Reply to
wannand

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