Tsunami warning system.

On 3/20/2011 3:20 PM Greg Procter spake thus:

Haven't even heard of that gauge: is that the same as TT ("tabletop")?

Heck, don't even know of any Z-scale modelers here (and the older I get and the worse my eyesight gets, the lower the probability that I'll ever be interested in it).

A famous Z-gauge layout in Britain (not mine, my aging eyes are in O).

That's Exactly what I want. There is a section of the Columbia Gorge from Wishram, Washington west at least as far as Horse Thief Lake that I really enjoy just for the scenery. The prototype action on both sides of the river is interesting, but I just want to run passenger trains on that section of the Washington side. In T scale full scale scenery would be possible. Looking a T again, I'm thinking I might be happy starting with Japanese prototypes. I'd have to sell my N scale stuff first though or my spouse would have a fit. I already do N and O (n30) and one more might be a scale too far ... :()

If you have Google Earth, a look at that area of the Gorge might be enjoyable if you've never been there.

Scratch building in Z?!! Istrane fits.

Thanks for the link. Nice section on photographing models there if you browse a bit.

Oooo, and a Thames Barge!!

On 3/20/2011 5:57 PM Lobby Dosser spake thus:

Well, to me, that's a Bad Thing, as those models are just too damned teeny-tiny to properly see anything.

Thanks for the apparently genuine response! ;-)

True. :-(

We're talking T-scale (1:450) so everything HAS to be long! An 80' passenger coach scales out at 2.133" long/short.

I'm only one person :-) Currently working on NZR models and a few English prototypes in etched brass but my local etcher wants a full A3 sheet before he will start. Can you imagine how many T scale models I need to draw up to fill an A3 sheet? (rhetorical)

T-scale is going to have to be about scale trains traversing large vistas.

I might have to start with one size of driving wheel and find locos to match. Don't expect full working valve gear for a while - just making a tool to insert crank-pins will be a major accomplishment. Imagine a crank-pin 1/5th the size of HO and inserting that into a

That is already available in the UK.

N and HO started that way.

Greg.P.

The gauge is 3mm. Japanese scale is 1:450 For the UK and USa I suggest 1:457 (0.667mm:1') or 1:456 (1":38') For New Zealand with 1067mm gauge I'm working on 1:360.

That could be reduced to "It" and "I".

I already have G and HO. I got my first sample T set in the post a few days ago. Train + track + controller. It came in a carton about 8" x 5" x5". The set of four packaged Japanese EMU would fit in a cigarette box with space for at least one more set. All those years of sneaking HO locos home under my coat ... They even produce 80' rolling chassis which only need a body added!

Greg.P.

Right now (well, when I get off the net) I'm struggling with just how much detail to include and how much to ignore. I just drew up a goods bogie (US truck) and it scales out at 3.8mm long. Should I include bolts on the axle boxes? Should I bother with axle boxes? Brake gear? Truss rods? By the time I rescale the CAD drawing to finished size the lines only show two blobs (wheels) and a single lumpy line between. Ahhhggg!

Greg.P.

Don't think full working valve gear would be needed for a while as the works are tough to see to begin with. Your idea of picking a driving wheel size seems a good one, particularly as you could hit some sizes for freight and passenger in multiple countries. One advantage of T is that it is the same scale in the US, UK and Europe. NTM the rest of the world ...

LOL!!

Shop: Do you need a bag for that?

Me: Yes, plain brown please!

Was looking at their switches last evening. Manual control and surprisingly inexpensive compared to HO.

Ahhhrghhh!!~ Not again!! Why not stick to the same scale?

- The Brits traditionally like their scales in MM:ft. (0.667:1')

- Yanks seem to prefer all archaic Imperial measurements as in feet per inch or fractions of an inch per foot. (38' per inch or 1/38" per foot)

- Europeans prefer round ratios. (1:450) Here in NZ the end of the steam era co-incided with our conversion from archaic Imperial to metric so a ratio divisible by 12 and a round number is preferable, hence 1:360. (1067mm gauge)

They are currently offering only turnouts with reverse curves incorporated, but they are easily "Dremeled" to remove the reverse curve. There's a fair degree of accuracy required though.

Easy enough to fit a point motor under the baseboard - that results in a relatively deep baseboard thoug.

Simple problem:

- If the scale gauge is wider than prototype then bogie sideframes have to be moved outwards to clear the wheels and on steam engines the cylinders and rods have to be moved out. That's assuming Proto 450 wheel and track standards, but current T wheels are more N++ standard (proportionately) The Japanese have painted themselves into a non-scale corner by representing

Greg.P. NZ

Tut tut tut Greg. You are trying to confuse our poor American friends, not difficult, I know, just as it is not difficult to confuse Poms and you Kiwis. Just slightly more difficult for us and even harder the further west you travel. Stir with VBG!

To enlighten our friends, 1:64 is S scale and when used with 16.5 mm wide track ( as used in HO & OO ) but with a different sleeper / tie spacing for those of us who are pure of heart ( or fanatics ), is about 99.8% accurate for the 3 foot 6 inch gauge used in NZ, southern Africa, Japan, parts of India and some states of Australia (WA, SA, Queensland and Tasmania) and is known as Sn3.5 or Sn42 in inches.

I will one day finish my WAGR 4-6-0, G class when the house is completed and I can set up my workshop in the shed.

Alan