Look out!!

It was another stunning day here at Whistlestop.  This is certainly my favourite time of year, with cooler clear days, perfect for working outside!!  We enjoy having breakfast on the front verandah, closely watched by 'our' magpies, somewhat obviously named Maggie and Pi.

In the past I've been a person who rarely finished anything completely, but now I've developed a passion for finishing things off, wherever possible.  Not sure why the change, but perhaps it's just that I've got more time now.  Of course things need to be finished properly before I can invite guests to Whistlestop and the Trainbarn too.  So I've been doing some more clearing and tidying up along our main track near the Trainbarn site, which will allow the long-unfinished picket fence here to progress, and possibly even get finished!  The real catalyst for this though was the arrival of my 'Look Out For Train' sign which was a gift from my parents.  This sign was made by Southcoast Nameboards, who also made the Whistlestop sign at our entrance.  It's a very authentic sign, made exactly like the originals, and using the same patterns for the letters as the originals made for Queensland Railways.

I must add that the sign is somewhat premature, as the miniature railway line hasn't started being laid yet, however just behind the sign, where the white survey pegs are, is where it will cross the main vehicle track.

Behind the car and to the left of the photo is the Trainbarn carpark, and further to the left, off the photo, is where the Trainbarn will be built.  I'm trying to get this whole area to a reasonable level of finished-ness prior to opening the Trainbarn to visitors.  If I was able to get as much done every day as I did today it'd be finished in no time, but alas, that's not possible.  It was a very constructive and enjoyable day today, though.  May there be many more like it!!

Two Little Fleas........... Number Thirty Three

A very interesting and welcome arrival at the Trainbarn today was a Lionel Number 33 electric loco, made in about 1916.  I need to do some more research before I can date it more accurately than that, but it is most certainly the oldest loco in the collection.  It's in amazing condition, and apparently runs well, although I haven't tested it yet.  I find it incredible that a toy made nearly 100 years ago can survive in such good condition.  I've seen quite a few #33s on eBay, but there's usually something wrong somewhere- replica parts, repaint, doesn't run etc.  This one was worth waiting for!!

I have a few contemporary freight cars to go with it, although they're very slightly newer (Lionel Corporation).  I want to find out what cars came with the loco in the various sets available back then, and recreate a typical set.  I really like these older cars and locos, they have a certain charm, despite their primitiveness.

Here's another shot, taken outside.

Eventually, when the Trainbarn is actually built (hopefully later this year) one of the layouts will be dedicated to these older trains, and will be a 'classic' toy train layout, using green carpet and loops of O, Standard and 2 7/8" gauge track.  The inspiration for this definitely comes from one of the late Ward Kimball's layouts, although his collection was way beyond anything I might be able to put together.


There has been quite a bit of progress around Whistlestop lately too, and I'll update that in the next couple of days.  The weather is getting cooler now as Autumn (Fall) progresses, which is superb for working outside.  It's been a good day!!

Yes, it's 'S' !!

S gauge/scale trains are virtually unknown in Australia, although it's a very popular gauge in the U.S..  The leading manufacturer there is American Flyer, who introduced the size after WWII to compete with the slightly larger Lionel 0 gauge three-rail trains.  The gauge used (distance between insides of rails) is 7/8" and the scale 3/16"/1', or a proportion of 1/64th full-size.  This places it about midway between HO and O gauge.  My S scale Santa Fe F-7a diesel loco arrived recently and I've now had time to photograph it.

The S scale engine is the left hand one, with an HO version on the right for comparison.  Unfortunately I don't have an appropriate piece of S gauge track yet, so the loco is 'farming'!!  Long term readers of this blog will remember that my aim is to have the same loco in every popular model railroading scale, to clearly illustrate to visitors to my Trainbarn the different scales and gauges, which can be very confusing.  The only one I need now to complete the collection is an O gauge one- probably from Lionel.

While this loco is compatible with American Flyer, it is made by 'The Showcase Line' (S Helper Service), and is a superbly detailed scale model.  S Helper are one of several companies helping to revive S scale in the U.S.  Incidentally, American Flyer is now owned and produced by their former arch-rival Lionel, who are releasing an ever increasing amount of quality product.


Here's another photo, this time including another F-7a which hasn't yet featured on my blog.  It's in TT (tabletop) scale, and was produced by Rokal in East Germany during the 50's and 60's.  It's about half way between HO and N scale, the introduction of which effectively killed TT.  More about the fascinating world of TT another time.

The only other country to use S gauge/scale was East Germany, where a small range of tinplate items was made by the company Stadtilm during the 50's.


At the risk of causing confusion, S scale (1/64th) is also used by scale model railroaders who wish to model narrow-gauge prototypes of 3' or 3'6" gauge.  To do this narrower gauge tracks are used- perhaps the most common is 16.5mm (normally used by HO or OO trains), which fairly accurately represents 3'6" gauge.  This type of modelling is particularly common in New Zealand whose railways are 3' 6" gauge, and to a lesser degree here in my home-state Queensland.  This scale/gauge is called Sn3 1/2- the 'n' signifying narrow gauge.  Ok, I'm getting off the track here a bit!!


Anyway, that's a very brief summary of S Scale, and serves to introduce my most recent acquisition.  I hope it will eventually be part of a very interesting display.