The railway children, book and film

[BobB]

One of the constant things in all of the different Railway Children films is that it follows the book in that the child (Peter) receives a working steam locomotive.

It looks to be about O gauge. It just seems to me that with modern manufacturing techniques it should be possible to produce a reasonably priced train set that's easy to operate and with due deference to the safety boys, safe to use.

I think Mamod use to do narrow gauge stuff (maybe still do) but surely this could become a representation of an 0-6-0 main line loco ? I don't think it needs to be an accurate scale model, just look like the generic 0-6-0's that were all over the railway before the diesel shunters took over.

OK, it's not N but still a great way of getting the young into the swing of hot oil and steam.

[MikeDunn]

You mean something like this ?
https://railsofsheffield.com/the-railway-children-collectable-train-pack-30-575-JJJA26070.aspx

[edit] scrub that, missed the 'working' bit ... but that does mean you could do a Hornby Live Steam though ...

[keithfre]

I think Mamod use to do narrow gauge stuff (maybe still do) but surely this could become a representation of an 0-6-0 main line loco ? I don't think it needs to be an accurate scale model, just look like the generic 0-6-0's that were all over the railway before the diesel shunters took over.

Check out:
http://www.dreamsteam.co.uk/live-steam-garden-railway-locomotives.html

As far as I know the live steam mainline locos available are in a completely different price ball park ;-}

[BobB]

Hi Mike and Kieth

I think the problem is price - If we think of an OO set costing, say, 150 pounds, then maybe an oval with an 0-6-0 and a couple of coaches would need to be no more than 175 (in my opinion). Don't see why it can't be done but then I'm not prepared to try !

[MikeDunn]

I think the problem is price - If we think of an OO set costing, say, 150 pounds, then maybe an oval with an 0-6-0 and a couple of coaches would need to be no more than 175 (in my opinion). Don't see why it can't be done but then I'm not prepared to try !

The issue is two-fold ... first, the technical challenge of small-scale Live Steam; secondly, the cost of development & production.

The first challenge has been solved in OO in a couple of ways; the method I am mainly familiar with is that licensed by Hornby from the inventor of that system (really nice chap); the alternates are all (I think) 'fire & forget' locos in that once you start it off, you have no subsequent control; the OOLS system gives a control mechanism (but you have to realise that this isn't a 'turn it off & it stops' way of powering a loco !).  However, due to the physics of Live Steam, anything smaller than OO becomes much harder (even impossible) to make ...  And even there, you will find going smaller than a Pacific is problematic - an 0-6-0 is likely too small a chassis.

The cost aspect is then met; in order to produce a viable mechanism, you're dealing with small and moderately expensive custom components relating to the steam plant; you can't buy these off the shelf.  That gives you a problem in that the only way you can reduce those costs is by buying a large quantity ...  Hornby got around this by selecting two chassis that were very similar and could make a large range of locos - the LNER A3 and A4 engines. 

This led to complaints that no non-LNER engines were available, and reduced their appeal ... and hence the sales (while I doubt Hornby lost money on this venture, I also doubt it gave them much of a profit, considering they sold engines previously at the £250-£300 mark down at £125 in ModelZone at the end of the available stock).  It is estimated that a selling price exceeding £500 would be asked for an engine (note : not a set !)if they re-licensed the technology, and frankly that is ridiculous (although you do see engines exceeding this on fleaBay - I think the record is for a Papyrus A3 (maybe the rarest of the engines) at around the £750 mark !).

Conversions have been done by various people (a mate of mine regularly re-body's the steam plant and has made some lovely locos !  Other Pacifics mainly (his Coronation is lovely) but has also done a Fairburn tank), but as yet no-one else has managed to reproduce the plant itself.  The OOLS Club did look into this, but hit a large number of problems they have as yet not solved.

Mike