larger track gauges

"G gauge" is in fact No. 1 gauge: 45mm between the railheads. So go ahead, use G gauge track to run the Mamod engine. Just make sure you get the solid brass stuff, not the hollow rail.

#1 _scale_ is 1:32.

There is no G scale as such. LGB uses 1:22.1 to model meter gauge trains to run on 45mm gauge, and 1:20.3 to model 3ft gauge trains. The track they make follows no known prototype, leastways none known to me. The ties (sleepers) are too short and too closely spaced for narrow gauge track, and too large for standard gauge. But it looks just fine in a garden. :-)

As for building your own track (or anything else): I don't think you'll find much cost saving. Personally, if I'm doing something just to save money, and not for the sheer pleasure of doing it, I figure that I should save at least half minimum wage per hour of my time to make doing it myself worth my while.

HTH

a Google for Garden railways will provide a number of suppliers, and Societies in the UK

suggest a visit to the specialist Garden railway shows and suppliers( a few every year) to get a feel for what is available, and perhaps pick up a bargain or two!

Noting Nick & Wolf's responses, some slightly different views on your question: There is a thriving community for Garden Railways. The lead organisation that I know about is the 16mm Narrow Gauge Society and most of them seem to run on 45mm gauge track, although 32mm gauge also seems to have a die-hard following.

I suggest that you might like to make contact with them and find out more before you commit yourself to one standard or the other.

The Fareham club actually host a sort of local area group of the 16mm NG Society which has sprung from within the club over the years but now covers an area from Bournemouth to Littlehampton along the coast and as far inland as Guildford. They are the group responsible for the layout "The Southdown Rly Co Ltd" which is seen all over the country at exhibitions. If you live within this coverage area and would like to find out more contact me "off-list" ( snipped-for-privacy@ntlworld.com) and I will put you in touch with their leader, otherwise I know that the chap who is their Secretary is also a board member of the 16mm NGS; I can ask him if there is any sort of area group if you tell me where you live. Incidentally, "Southdowns" is dual gauge - 32mm & 45mm.

As to mixing Gauge 1 stock on G Scale track? I would be very careful. The sort of G1 stock I have seen won't want to negotiate the sort of curves you can make in G Scale and I doubt you can fit a reasonable "Minimum radius" G1 curve in the average garden.

Hope this helps

Elliott

Elliott Cowton wrote: [...]

Here's an odd little fact for you to chew over:

Aristocraft decided to build its standard gauge models for 45mm gauge to

1:29 scale. Apparently, they didn't look large enough next to the 1:20/1:22 LGB trains when scaled correctly at 1:32.

Good advice re: locating garden railway enthusiasts, etc, BTW.

Brilliantm cheers for that, now to find a load of cheap gauge 1 track, not got a massive garden, but i rekone i'll have a 30 or 40 meter track length if i put the track around the edge of the garden in the route i want it to go.

Never considered the time aspect my self, i'm medicaly retired, so my time is free so to speak, and during the winter i have lots of it, in summer we try to get away in the camper as often as we can, but it's no fun in winter, hence the hobby for at home mainly in the colder months, but also for between outings in the camper.

I'm trying to do the trackwork as cheaply as possible i guess, thought about just getting a load of suitable sized brass square section, a load of strips of brass for the sleepers, and spend a while soldering it all together, won't look like real track unless i put a profile down the sides of the brass lengths of the rails, but then again a mamod dosent look much like a real engine :)

It's the 16mm Narrow Gauge Association and most of them run on 32 mm gauge. Used to be infra dig to run on 45mm. Some loco builders make dual gauge axles, others don't. Most British narrow gauge was 1'11" or so, hence the preference of modellers and kit manufacturers 45mm gauge has gained ground because of the cheap imported stuff arising from its popularity in the USA. If you want to play, it's fine, if you want to model it's on a par with Triang Thomas. Nothing wrong with that, it's your choice. If you think you may go live steam I think you will find it easier to buy second hand 32mm stuff for the next few years. As others point out, 10mm to the foot G1 models will not run on "G scale" track curves. Cheepest track is home build using Gauge 1 brass rail soldered to pins in wooden sleepers - have made many yards of it in the past, but recently bought 60 yards of second hand, thank heavens.

Try lurking at < snipped-for-privacy@yahoogroups.com >

Good luck. Ken.