Miniland Scale Trains

[WesternOutlaw]

Take a look at this "Big Boy":

This is great miniland sized creation by the Brickbaron, a 1912 Shay Logging Locomotive. I blogged it earlier today on Classic Town, but I was wondering how many of you trains fans have attempted to build this scale in trains?

I'm really admiring the potential for details with a MOC this size.

Here's a link to this fine locomotive: Brickshelf Link

[Brickthus]

Take a look at this "Big Boy":

This is great miniland sized creation by the Brickbaron, a 1912 Shay Logging Locomotive. I blogged it earlier today on Classic Town, but I was wondering how many of you trains fans have attempted to build this scale in trains?

I'm really admiring the potential for details with a MOC this size.

Here's a link to this fine locomotive: Brickshelf Link

Great loco. I tried a 3-truck Shay loco in 8mm scale. The trick is to get it to go round corners with the transmission shafts extending and contracting. The engine is a lot easier to do in a larger scale. I have to make more length for the orthogonal shaft (where the pulley are) before I can try an engine crankshaft there. I must cut up some new 3M uni-joints

18-wide trains take a lot of bricks. No wonder most in the Legoland parks consist of a bought-in chassis with some LEGO bricks on top.

Even 8mm scale trains take more than twice as many bricks as 6-wides.

Given that a Shay is narrow gauge, I wonder about the scope for G-gauge or 3-inch track, which would enable corners to be made. Anything needing wider track than L-gauge track should examine track solutions from other large scale model railways.

Mark

[rotary_emotions]

It's a great model, but Miniland scale seems a little out of reach for most of us. Just imagine the space it'd take, let alone the numbers of bricks But what I wonder most is what wheels could be used. As for tracks, only large scale modelrailroad pieces seem possible, or making your own using metal rails and lots of patience.

Nevertheless, the details possible with this scale... Now, who's gonna do a Big Boy then?

[Brickthus]

It's a great model, but Miniland scale seems a little out of reach for most of us. Just imagine the space it'd take, let alone the numbers of bricks But what I wonder most is what wheels could be used. As for tracks, only large scale modelrailroad pieces seem possible, or making your own using metal rails and lots of patience.

Nevertheless, the details possible with this scale... Now, who's gonna do a Big Boy then?

These wheels represent 5'3" in 8mm scale, but would be only 2'4" in an 18-wide scale.

They could run on L-gauge straights or curves but not points. I've not tried them with any serious weight, partly because the curves are too sharp for the size of the flanges. That's the reason BBB wheel do not come in a larger size than 30.4mm.

I already want larger wheels than the 5'3" wheels, to do up to 6'8" drivers for steam locos.

When scaling up, the curve radius must scale up too. A standard curve is 40ft radius in 8mm scale but would be less than 20ft in an 18-wide scale. On the real railway, 40ft radius is only for 0-4-0 engines in a yard. The minimum on the main line is 250ft. A wider curve radius would make a Big Boy a bit easier. It needs half the driving wheels to be BBB blind drivers on L-gauge track.

Mark