Wow, Hylton, what a beauty! Such a shame it was tricky to run, truly magnificent model of an equally magnificent prototype! I think I'd be torn too in your position
Thank you, yeah she is very special. Sadly the reality is the money would probably be better spent elsewhere at this point, so I have decided to move her on 🥲
Great video, it’s really cool to learn more about the modelling scene and history of the railways in ZA. The layout also looks like it’s taking shape, can’t wait for the next update.
Good to see something from the South African railways. This is a magnificent looking locomotive. It would be nice to overcome the difficulties you have encountered with the curves and DCC conversion. It might influence whether you keep this model. I would enjoy just looking at it but it cost you a lot of money. In my experience the Lima offerings were good for their time and many live on through the Hornby Railroad range. Thanks for showing such an interesting locomotive. Regards Paul.
Hello Paul, and thank you for stopping by. Indeed, thought it would be interesting to look at SAR engines, there really isn't a lot on UA-cam, and not enough interest sadly to make it a whole focus for a channel sadly. I have done a fair bit of chatting to other GMAM owners and frankly I would be forking out another ￡200 for sound and dcc fitting, having already spent quite a bit, I have decided to move her on and free up the cash for a trip to the UK. Thanks for watching, Hylt
Just found tbis channel, new subscriber here, ex-Cape Town now living in Cusco, Peru. Collecting mainly early Triang, kit-built, a little Hornby Dublo, some Lima (childhood nostalgia from the late 70s), some more modern Hornby, a little brass. All DC. SA Lima items were designed in the 70s, detail great for their time, many items were just repainted European locos & stock, the Lima factory was in PE or East London - low numbers, plastic = very collectible in mint boxed cond. I had the full Blue Train set as a kid (cost R45) in 1979/80, some other wagons, coaches & buildings. I used to save my pocket money to buy 1 Graham Farish wagon a month at one stage from Barry Jackson Hobbies in the Golden Acre 😊
Hello Mike, nice to see another Saffa in the comments, hope Peru is treating you well! Agreed, the LIMA stuff is very cool, and it was great to have actual SAR models even if not quite accurate, they still fetch a serious price for MIB versions. Thanks for popping in and for subscribing, it means a lot to me! Hylt
The most powerful SA Garratt was the GL, with a tractive effort of 78650 lbs at 75%. The GMA/M puts out 60700. Properly the GMA/Ms should be run with a water tanker as the rear unit contains only coal.
@@Proper_Chuffed yeah. I ways very tempted myself to do shed layout myself. Just buy in some locos and some wagons and the rest scenic but the price of locomotives put me off. But I think prices of of model locomotives are high as it is in the likes n gauge. OO, O gauge. And so on. Should see prices of SAR locomotives in miniature gauges. 3 1/2 inch. 5 inch and 7 1/4 inch. But some of those turn up cheap. Unfortunately I miss my chances when I didn’t have enough money. But yeah. Anything to do with SAR should be shown off. True work horse’s of there days. And some still are today.
Awesome review man! You have answered a lot of questions I had about these. Not that I had the money often but there were a few occasions I considered buying one but I was so cautious of the brass aspect. My understanding is that they can be temperamental and at that price you kind of want a perfect loco in every aspect.
Hey Phil, indeed quite temperamental but I knew what I was getting into, still a part of me hoped it would just work 😂 silly thinking. Glad I got to spend time with it though, it’s a truly beautiful machine. Thanks for watching
Excellent locomotive. I am sure the right person could fit a DCC chip for you. I was offered a ASR Garrett some years ago, as my layout is loosely based around Manchester I could have used the Garrett on test runs from the from the Openshaw works. Keep the videos coming.
That is so cool, didnt know they ran tests over on that side but makes complete sense that they did! Would you consider one now? Thanks for watching Stephen.
@@Proper_Chuffed I have the LMS Garrett and have the LNER U1 on order, I would have an SAR Garrett. Take a look at the Beyer Peacock works plan on Wikipedia.
Beautiful beast she is, absolutely. And the only SA steam model true to scale.....and only one also available in the correct 12mm gauge! Pity it has never been updated, as you mentioned but for factory DCC (sound) fitment, which by the way is amazing to hear. I tested a lot of these for Precision `Miniatures before delivery and every time it was a beautiful sight, but the test circle was 800mm radius.....
Thanks Rinke, she is very pretty, but as you say, never updated and that is a real shame overall. I think I will move her on sadly, as magnificent as she is.
Hylton! My man. Great video, my friend. The model looks fantastic, and it seems like you have a real passion for real-life locomotive. Maybe you could start doing videos on South African railway history!
Thanks Dan I would love to but I dont know if there is a big enough market for just South African stuff, I will touch on it more often though. Thanks bro.
I am planning to build some diesels soon. They will be expensive too. As these things go, they are custom built. Which will always be a problem as there is a lot of time going into building a niche model. A LOT of time. But think of it this way, the SAR of old was the biggest and by far the most spectacular railway on 3ft 6 ever. If we dont build proper models, it might very well be forgotten soon. BUT….. if you do bite the bullet and pay the money….. you will have a model railway that will be the envy of many. Unique rolling stock. And the nostalgic value that no other railway can offer in the same measure. People wrote bible thick books about our railway. It has to count for something!
Hi Hylt. If you feel like indulging your liking for the unique a littlw more, Rails of Sheffield are offering 20% off various versions of KR Models' GT3 & Fell locos.
Appreciate that heads up boss! I do have a GT3 en route already, kinda wish I had picked up the fell now too, but it would be an additional clearance cost for customs 😔
Good point Denis, I think I will possibly look at a newer DCC fitted version should I decide to do that. I have moved the Garratt on sadly. But it really was just a very expensive doorstop in my collection at this point 😅
Hi, I hate to be a party pooper, but the LNER Class U1 had a tractive effort of 73K ft/lbs , some 12K ft/lbs more than its South African cousin. That said, yours is a splendid model.
Indeed there is an issue when modelling SAR in HO 1:87. The HO track at 16.5mm gauge represents Standard Gauge (4ft 8.5in) not the narrower Cape Gauge 3ft 6in. The models realistically should have been made to run on HOm track at 12mm gauge which is virtually correct. Knowing LIMA (before Hornby bought the brand) they simply overlooked such issues.
Ideally in future I would like to do a layout in the exact correct scale. Would love it if someone picked up SAR locos for production beyond these smaller companies but sadly don’t think there is enough interest, thanks for you insight, as always, so knowledgable 😊
Wow Hilton. Your layout is incredible! You’ve done so much lately. You make me want to get mine done. Also thanks for the history on SA model railways. I remember asking you a couple of months ago about it. Very interesting. I have another question; your intro titles. What did you make them with? Very professional looking mate. Good work.
Hey Jay, yes! Thank you, I have been working at quite a steady pace for the past few weeks, got tired of my stark layout in my videos and it's motivated the process. Yes you did indeed, so glad I could lend some info towards our rich railway history down here. I used After Effects to put it together, took quite some time :P Thanks for watching man.
@@Proper_Chuffed Goid work mate. I’m trying to work out a theme for my layout now. My gf says I should get a Class 40 and do a mock up of the great train robbery from the 60s. The driver lost his life though. Not sure if that’s bad ju ju. I think I’ll give that a miss. Hey, at least she’s getting involved haha
Beautiful loco. Like the Heljans, you could file or mill away a bit of the back of the cylinders and fettle the bogies to give more clearance. The inner pony trucks may need a spring under the screw to add a little downwards pressure and self centring guidance. Most likely the motor is accessible without de-soldering, and if you can reach the motor, you can DCC fit for sure. Perhaps take a read of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance before embarking on the task, and you'll be fine.
Certainly an idea, I did consider it, so the reality is, I have decided to sell it. I think I would love to do an SAR end-to-end one day but frankly I never know when that might be, and ￡1000 could be spent far better on improving my own layout and rolling stock. Still, a little bit torn about it. Regardless, I'll find Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance! Thanks!
Nice model, you will need a water bottle tender to go with that model. Chances are that that model was built by Jorg. I think it might be missing the egg boiler. When I got my 1st job, I paid R2000.00 for my model way back in 1995. Currently, I think you will make your money back on this model. Even asashelve Queen, it looks good. You are most welcome to visit Blairgowrie Forest Railway and run it. Dont fit DCC unless you want to rebuild it. Check the gauge of the boggie wheel it might be out of gauge.
Here's a link Hylton to the great Steam Train Race in Sydney 2018 which shows the 1953 operational Garratt 6029 and also it's "competitor" 1917 built 3526. ua-cam.com/video/vgUS80C85zU/v-deo.htmlsi=AEivw8b98Q9Xenez Here's a cab ride in the same year on 6029 ua-cam.com/video/79H50e5GT7E/v-deo.htmlsi=E5itqVSbMsRM-u48
One solution to display and run this and other locos would be to model the Beyer factory buildings and connecting multigauge tracks. By using false perspective HO and OO could be run. Any running new locos at the factory would of course not have full fuel tenders and may be photo gray for colours. Traction on the real locos was enhanced when the water tanks are full and balanced front and back. Any variation leads to traction issues. Too mush power and not enough weight.
That’s an excellent idea Brian! Thanks for the suggestion, perhaps there is room for a build like this in the future, I’ll definitely keep it in mind, and thank you for sharing some ideas. Hylt
My friend, Andrew Giffen, build these in electric and live-steam power - in 1/24th scale, running on 45mm gauge track. BTW, why not give the loco its proper title - it's a BEYER-Garratt.
That’s really cool! What an awesome build that must be! 😊 aha, sorry about that, I guess because it’s more commonly just referrred to as a Garratt especially here in SA. But you are right, just became a mouthful, in my LMS video, I went into a lot more detail about the manufacturer. Thanks for stopping by, Hylt 😊
@@Proper_Chuffed if you find yourself in scotland there is one just outside glasgow you could visit if home sick. And there's another garratt that might be south african in the museum of science and industry in manchester
@@Proper_Chuffed backwoods miniatures was doing some of the 2 foot gauge ones in 009 as well as brass kits they stopped trading but someone has purchased the tooling
That's a pretty expensive loco!!! But as you say, it should keep its value. I imagine it would be possible to fit a decoder and add a little weight to the lifting bogies but you would have to consider if that would affect any resale value; and unless you replace your curves is there any point? It is nice to see a real metal loco; rather than the chinese plastic things produced by hornby, which by some accounts, have a tendency to almost fall to bits. It would be interesting to see what the motor actually used is.
VERY expensive Hugh, and frankly have decided to move it on now, I just think it's wasted on the shelf given I can't run it here :/ Agreed though, stunning to see all-metal builds, this, in my mind really ought to be the standard in modern loco design. Thanks for popping by as always, Hylt
Looking at that derailment of the pony trucks(not called bogies they have two axles)is easily solved by removing them and adding weight to them as you have plenty of space above them and actually making them look more prototypical. As for the curve issues I am sure that can be solved also by a skilled model engineer without deviating from prototypical looks. Don't be disheartened by that.
Thank you for your suggestions here, I will definitely explore them. I sadly have decided to let her go as really it just didnt make sense on my layout right now. But I will definitely look for a more modern version when I eventually get to a South African end-to-end layout.
The AD60 Garratt, the Rhodesian Railways 20 Class Garratt, and the GMAM Garratt all shared the same basic boiler, and only really differed in wheel arrangements and cylinder sizes, the AD60 having smaller cylinders as it was originally built for lightly laid lines and had a very low axle load. They were later modified with more weight on the drivers but the cylinders could only be taken out so much because the cast steel frames had integral cylinders. I have a DJH AD60 which I built myself, this has 2, DJH motor/ gearboxes the only way I can see to fit it with DCC is to have a decoder in each power unit as it take a lot of wiring and multi pin plugs to fit it in the boiler. I made my loco so it could be broken down into 3 units to make it easier to handle and minimise any damage should it have an accident.
Wow, Hylton, what a beauty! Such a shame it was tricky to run, truly magnificent model of an equally magnificent prototype! I think I'd be torn too in your position
Thank you, yeah she is very special. Sadly the reality is the money would probably be better spent elsewhere at this point, so I have decided to move her on 🥲
Great video, it’s really cool to learn more about the modelling scene and history of the railways in ZA. The layout also looks like it’s taking shape, can’t wait for the next update.
Hello Martyn, indeed it is taking shape, will hopefully share my updates soon, got a bit frustrated with ballasting, but we are back on track!
Good to see something from the South African railways. This is a magnificent looking locomotive. It would be nice to overcome the difficulties you have encountered with the curves and DCC conversion. It might influence whether you keep this model. I would enjoy just looking at it but it cost you a lot of money. In my experience the Lima offerings were good for their time and many live on through the Hornby Railroad range. Thanks for showing such an interesting locomotive. Regards Paul.
Hello Paul, and thank you for stopping by. Indeed, thought it would be interesting to look at SAR engines, there really isn't a lot on UA-cam, and not enough interest sadly to make it a whole focus for a channel sadly. I have done a fair bit of chatting to other GMAM owners and frankly I would be forking out another ￡200 for sound and dcc fitting, having already spent quite a bit, I have decided to move her on and free up the cash for a trip to the UK. Thanks for watching, Hylt
Great video Hylton, Such a superb looking model. Many thanks for sharing this sample of South African models.
@@3BRail-xw9kb thanks mate I really appreciate it, a shame I couldn’t keep it
Just found tbis channel, new subscriber here, ex-Cape Town now living in Cusco, Peru. Collecting mainly early Triang, kit-built, a little Hornby Dublo, some Lima (childhood nostalgia from the late 70s), some more modern Hornby, a little brass. All DC. SA Lima items were designed in the 70s, detail great for their time, many items were just repainted European locos & stock, the Lima factory was in PE or East London - low numbers, plastic = very collectible in mint boxed cond. I had the full Blue Train set as a kid (cost R45) in 1979/80, some other wagons, coaches & buildings. I used to save my pocket money to buy 1 Graham Farish wagon a month at one stage from Barry Jackson Hobbies in the Golden Acre 😊
Hello Mike, nice to see another Saffa in the comments, hope Peru is treating you well! Agreed, the LIMA stuff is very cool, and it was great to have actual SAR models even if not quite accurate, they still fetch a serious price for MIB versions. Thanks for popping in and for subscribing, it means a lot to me! Hylt
We’ve got the Welsh Highland 2ft gauge NGG15 Garratts in North Wales now, also SAR locos, of course.
Indeed, we only have one GCA running now at Sandstone, glad they have found a good home in Wales :)
The most powerful SA Garratt was the GL, with a tractive effort of 78650 lbs at 75%. The GMA/M puts out 60700. Properly the GMA/Ms should be run with a water tanker as the rear unit contains only coal.
Hi Phillip, you are quite right there, perhaps I should have said most prolific, instead of most powerful. Thanks for pointing that out 😊
I have the Red Devil from miniature world models and its very well made, nice video keep the grind up!
That’s good to hear, I haven’t heard much about them, so it’s reassuring to know that. I must look into them and see if I can get one to review 😊
Always great seeing any Garratt, especially any SAR garratts.
Totally agree, sadly dont seem to find much on UA-cam, so thought this would be an interesting watch, glad you enjoyed it!
@@Proper_Chuffed yeah. I ways very tempted myself to do shed layout myself. Just buy in some locos and some wagons and the rest scenic but the price of locomotives put me off. But I think prices of of model locomotives are high as it is in the likes n gauge. OO, O gauge. And so on. Should see prices of SAR locomotives in miniature gauges. 3 1/2 inch. 5 inch and 7 1/4 inch. But some of those turn up cheap. Unfortunately I miss my chances when I didn’t have enough money. But yeah. Anything to do with SAR should be shown off. True work horse’s of there days. And some still are today.
Very lovely engine Hilton! One superbly constructed DJH GMAM Garratt was sold at Vectis Auctions a month ago for about £600. Rgds, Joachim
Hey Joachim, thanks for watching! Wow that is a good price, mine was WAY more expensive! :P
Awesome review man! You have answered a lot of questions I had about these. Not that I had the money often but there were a few occasions I considered buying one but I was so cautious of the brass aspect. My understanding is that they can be temperamental and at that price you kind of want a perfect loco in every aspect.
Hey Phil, indeed quite temperamental but I knew what I was getting into, still a part of me hoped it would just work 😂 silly thinking. Glad I got to spend time with it though, it’s a truly beautiful machine. Thanks for watching
Excellent locomotive. I am sure the right person could fit a DCC chip for you. I was offered a ASR Garrett some years ago, as my layout is loosely based around Manchester I could have used the Garrett on test runs from the from the Openshaw works. Keep the videos coming.
That is so cool, didnt know they ran tests over on that side but makes complete sense that they did! Would you consider one now? Thanks for watching Stephen.
@@Proper_Chuffed I have the LMS Garrett and have the LNER U1 on order, I would have an SAR Garrett. Take a look at the Beyer Peacock works plan on Wikipedia.
Beautiful beast she is, absolutely. And the only SA steam model true to scale.....and only one also available in the correct 12mm gauge! Pity it has never been updated, as you mentioned but for factory DCC (sound) fitment, which by the way is amazing to hear. I tested a lot of these for Precision `Miniatures before delivery and every time it was a beautiful sight, but the test circle was 800mm radius.....
Thanks Rinke, she is very pretty, but as you say, never updated and that is a real shame overall. I think I will move her on sadly, as magnificent as she is.
Hylton! My man. Great video, my friend. The model looks fantastic, and it seems like you have a real passion for real-life locomotive. Maybe you could start doing videos on South African railway history!
Thanks Dan I would love to but I dont know if there is a big enough market for just South African stuff, I will touch on it more often though. Thanks bro.
I had no idea you could get ready-to-run models of South African engines. I don't expect to buy one myself, solely because of the high prices.
Indeed, and quite a few actually, thought you may appreciate it 😊 but yes, price point is very off putting.
I am planning to build some diesels soon. They will be expensive too.
As these things go, they are custom built. Which will always be a problem as there is a lot of time going into building a niche model. A LOT of time. But think of it this way, the SAR of old was the biggest and by far the most spectacular railway on 3ft 6 ever.
If we dont build proper models, it might very well be forgotten soon. BUT….. if you do bite the bullet and pay the money….. you will have a model railway that will be the envy of many. Unique rolling stock. And the nostalgic value that no other railway can offer in the same measure.
People wrote bible thick books about our railway. It has to count for something!
Hi Hylt. If you feel like indulging your liking for the unique a littlw more, Rails of Sheffield are offering 20% off various versions of KR Models' GT3 & Fell locos.
Appreciate that heads up boss! I do have a GT3 en route already, kinda wish I had picked up the fell now too, but it would be an additional clearance cost for customs 😔
Nice video. Thanks for the review
Thanks for watching!
If you absolutely love it, then keep it as a collectable model, and use it in the future when you can do a SAR model layout with larger radius curves.
Good point Denis, I think I will possibly look at a newer DCC fitted version should I decide to do that. I have moved the Garratt on sadly. But it really was just a very expensive doorstop in my collection at this point 😅
Hi, I hate to be a party pooper, but the LNER Class U1 had a tractive effort of 73K ft/lbs , some 12K ft/lbs more than its South African cousin. That said, yours is a splendid model.
No, you’re not a party pooper, happy to be corrected on something like this, thanks for pointing it out 😊 Hylt
I am lucky enough and old enough to have ridden on a train drawn by a real GMAM Garratt I now miss steam greatly.
That is truly special Rory. You are very lucky, it is by far my favourite class of locomotive 🙌
@@Proper_Chuffed I hope to scratch build one once I am finished with my Big Boy
Indeed there is an issue when modelling SAR in HO 1:87. The HO track at 16.5mm gauge represents Standard Gauge (4ft 8.5in) not the narrower Cape Gauge 3ft 6in. The models realistically should have been made to run on HOm track at 12mm gauge which is virtually correct.
Knowing LIMA (before Hornby bought the brand) they simply overlooked such issues.
Ideally in future I would like to do a layout in the exact correct scale. Would love it if someone picked up SAR locos for production beyond these smaller companies but sadly don’t think there is enough interest, thanks for you insight, as always, so knowledgable 😊
Talking about Garrats you should look for Indian BNR Garrat Locomotive.
I have seen it, really lovely example, thanks for sharing! Hylt
Wow Hilton. Your layout is incredible! You’ve done so much lately. You make me want to get mine done. Also thanks for the history on SA model railways. I remember asking you a couple of months ago about it. Very interesting. I have another question; your intro titles. What did you make them with? Very professional looking mate. Good work.
Hey Jay, yes! Thank you, I have been working at quite a steady pace for the past few weeks, got tired of my stark layout in my videos and it's motivated the process. Yes you did indeed, so glad I could lend some info towards our rich railway history down here. I used After Effects to put it together, took quite some time :P Thanks for watching man.
@@Proper_Chuffed Goid work mate. I’m trying to work out a theme for my layout now. My gf says I should get a Class 40 and do a mock up of the great train robbery from the 60s. The driver lost his life though. Not sure if that’s bad ju ju. I think I’ll give that a miss. Hey, at least she’s getting involved haha
@StarWarsJay hmmm not sure I buy into that kinda juju talk 🤣 I think it sounds like a bloody good time mate!
@@Proper_Chuffed haha Class 40 in BR green ordered.
@@StarWarsJay get in!!! 🤩
Beautiful loco. Like the Heljans, you could file or mill away a bit of the back of the cylinders and fettle the bogies to give more clearance. The inner pony trucks may need a spring under the screw to add a little downwards pressure and self centring guidance. Most likely the motor is accessible without de-soldering, and if you can reach the motor, you can DCC fit for sure.
Perhaps take a read of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance before embarking on the task, and you'll be fine.
Certainly an idea, I did consider it, so the reality is, I have decided to sell it. I think I would love to do an SAR end-to-end one day but frankly I never know when that might be, and ￡1000 could be spent far better on improving my own layout and rolling stock. Still, a little bit torn about it. Regardless, I'll find Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance! Thanks!
Nice model, you will need a water bottle tender to go with that model. Chances are that that model was built by Jorg. I think it might be missing the egg boiler. When I got my 1st job, I paid R2000.00 for my model way back in 1995. Currently, I think you will make your money back on this model. Even asashelve Queen, it looks good. You are most welcome to visit Blairgowrie Forest Railway and run it. Dont fit DCC unless you want to rebuild it. Check the gauge of the boggie wheel it might be out of gauge.
Thanks for the info! I appreciate it Andrew!
Here's a link Hylton to the great Steam Train Race in Sydney 2018 which shows the 1953 operational Garratt 6029 and also it's "competitor" 1917 built 3526.
ua-cam.com/video/vgUS80C85zU/v-deo.htmlsi=AEivw8b98Q9Xenez
Here's a cab ride in the same year on 6029 ua-cam.com/video/79H50e5GT7E/v-deo.htmlsi=E5itqVSbMsRM-u48
One solution to display and run this and other locos would be to model the Beyer factory buildings and connecting multigauge tracks. By using false perspective HO and OO could be run. Any running new locos at the factory would of course not have full fuel tenders and may be photo gray for colours. Traction on the real locos was enhanced when the water tanks are full and balanced front and back. Any variation leads to traction issues. Too mush power and not enough weight.
That’s an excellent idea Brian! Thanks for the suggestion, perhaps there is room for a build like this in the future, I’ll definitely keep it in mind, and thank you for sharing some ideas. Hylt
My friend, Andrew Giffen, build these in electric and live-steam power - in 1/24th scale, running on 45mm gauge track. BTW, why not give the loco its proper title - it's a BEYER-Garratt.
That’s really cool! What an awesome build that must be! 😊 aha, sorry about that, I guess because it’s more commonly just referrred to as a Garratt especially here in SA. But you are right, just became a mouthful, in my LMS video, I went into a lot more detail about the manufacturer. Thanks for stopping by, Hylt 😊
@@Proper_Chuffed Andrew is a native South African, and he calls them Beter-Garratts, too. :)
😅yay I guessed right
Nailed it! 🎉
@@Proper_Chuffed if you find yourself in scotland there is one just outside glasgow you could visit if home sick. And there's another garratt that might be south african in the museum of science and industry in manchester
@@Proper_Chuffed backwoods miniatures was doing some of the 2 foot gauge ones in 009 as well as brass kits they stopped trading but someone has purchased the tooling
That's a pretty expensive loco!!! But as you say, it should keep its value. I imagine it would be possible to fit a decoder and add a little weight to the lifting bogies but you would have to consider if that would affect any resale value; and unless you replace your curves is there any point?
It is nice to see a real metal loco; rather than the chinese plastic things produced by hornby, which by some accounts, have a tendency to almost fall to bits. It would be interesting to see what the motor actually used is.
VERY expensive Hugh, and frankly have decided to move it on now, I just think it's wasted on the shelf given I can't run it here :/ Agreed though, stunning to see all-metal builds, this, in my mind really ought to be the standard in modern loco design.
Thanks for popping by as always, Hylt
Looking at that derailment of the pony trucks(not called bogies they have two axles)is easily solved by removing them and adding weight to them as you have plenty of space above them and actually making them look more prototypical. As for the curve issues I am sure that can be solved also by a skilled model engineer without deviating from prototypical looks. Don't be disheartened by that.
Thank you for your suggestions here, I will definitely explore them. I sadly have decided to let her go as really it just didnt make sense on my layout right now. But I will definitely look for a more modern version when I eventually get to a South African end-to-end layout.
No the “greatest” Garrett was the AD60 Breyer Garrett built to run on NSWGR. It was a 4-8-4=4-8-4 wheel arrangement.
My mistake there 😅
The AD60 Garratt, the Rhodesian Railways 20 Class Garratt, and the GMAM Garratt all shared the same basic boiler, and only really differed in wheel arrangements and cylinder sizes, the AD60 having smaller cylinders as it was originally built for lightly laid lines and had a very low axle load. They were later modified with more weight on the drivers but the cylinders could only be taken out so much because the cast steel frames had integral cylinders. I have a DJH AD60 which I built myself, this has 2, DJH motor/ gearboxes the only way I can see to fit it with DCC is to have a decoder in each power unit as it take a lot of wiring and multi pin plugs to fit it in the boiler. I made my loco so it could be broken down into 3 units to make it easier to handle and minimise any damage should it have an accident.