I dunno, you guys have 7 1/4" big boys over in the UK so you do have some large scale models over there! Theres supposedly one floating around here in Melbourne Australia as well.Lets also not forget that your full size locomotives are by far the finest in the world, not just in design but presentation and maintenance.I was discussing locomotives with a very old driver(B.D) some years ago who drove flying Scotsman when she was here and he said that the operation and performance of the loco was so amazingly far from our local stuff it wasnt funny! Dont get get me wrong, American stuff is impressive(if its steam, i like it) in its own way but nothing is like a long legged 3 cycl British express passenger loco in her stride! You have something to be well proud of there.

I love the different clean look of British Locos with their colors. Two different traditions.

Yes in america we built them big but in europe their trains are faster and more reliable. I personally will always think america's best train was the big boy while britain has the flying scotsman.

@@lazypizzaship8911 no lol

@@dunxy l don't think it's fair to say one is better than the other. How can you top seeing a big boy pull a heavy drag across the plains or up a mountain grade? I'm American and may be biased, but this is as good as it gets.

I not long started myself, original idea was to build a nice small tank but some research led me to looking at larger locos and i, like you, came to the realization that im probably best building what i REALLY want so i went for a VR K class 2-8-0 light mixed duties loco, the type of which i have many hours in the past repairing,maintaining and running in full size form.Probably a wee bit much for a first timer but i do have a little machining experience, know the full size version intimately and am a sheetmetal worker by trade so i should scrape through! Sure ive only just started (im about 20 hours in only) but i am enjoying it immensely,im sure when i finish it wont be long until i start another because building it really is the best part! I wont run mine a whole lot, it will spend most of its time just sitting in my bedroom (yes im clearly single!) looking good!

same

yeah same

Same

SAME 1000000x

Lol. No you want one.. like I did. Till I found one.. now trying to figure out how to show the wife and not give up my spot in bed too the dog. That’s how you know you need it my friend..😂 🥂

Thank You!

I say the same thing. First I’d buy is a traction engine. Then a train.

He shall return for more videos. Sometimes its just hard lining up our schedules.

I was thinking the same thing, right for the big boy lol

I probably go for the sp 4449

Dont think, DO! Make sure you dont go too small, think about it its not really a whole lot more to build say an 0-6-0 to an 0-4-0, just extra couple wheels, same amount of cylinders! A lot of the smaller locos seem to barely move themselves at times.I was going to go small myself, like an 0-6-0 but i said bugger it and just started with what i wanted, a 2-8-0! Extra drive wheel and axle (ohh noes!) and a pony truck, still only 2 cylinders and 1 boiler at the end of the day.I dont know if this will be my only build(time and or money constraints in future are unknown) so if im going to do one i want it to be something i really want, not a compromise.I assume you have some basic metal work skills or you wouldnt be thinking about it,im not a machinist im just a sheetmetal worker myself,lots of it being sheeetmetal work makes those parts easy for me,the machining is just my learning curve. that i only have limited experience in,this one reason ive held of (i was "thinking" for decades and now i do regret it) until recently but in hindsight i wish i just started earlier, thats why im telling you GO FOR IT! Long as you can learn and can read drawings you will be fine.Oh and be fully prepared to drop at least 10k on tooling without even trying, but at least you have it and can build more and more and more! ;)

ten dollars is a steal

I can help you

Gregory Awarski There is too much on the docket right now to make a series which would break with the theme of the channel. Especially with the 844 series ongoing- getting that finished is the top priority.

That's understandable. Maybe that would be a good project for someone else :) I'd do it, but I haven't a clue what I'm doing - I'm one of the people who needs to learn from these videos. Anyway, thanks for the response!

No problem. Not to say it wouldn’t happen far down the line.

Osage Orange All clubs need volunteers. In Live Steam I read a letter by a woman who was divorced and a young son. The boy fell in love with these trains and wanted to join the club. She was poor and didn’t have the extra money. She offered to volunteer and found that the word volunteer was the magic word. After her divorce she had tried to find a boyfriend but had struck out everywhere. But within six months she was married.

Nick & Ally my recommendation would be to take classes at a community college to familiarize yourself with the machines and how to use them. Then, after you develop the groundwork-find a live steam club in your area and join it. Get involved and you will learn more...the experienced folks in the club would then be the people to ask specific machining questions to. But I wouldn’t approach those people until you’ve gotten serious and have already started learning and picking up the techniques or they may not take you very seriously. Many people say they want to start a build....until they get into it and realize how much time, labor, and money it will cost.

There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into a build. A gentleman at our club put 5,000 hours into his GS4 Daylight and tender- and that was not including the boiler which he farmed out. If you paid yourself just $10.00 an hour, that's $50,000 in labor- not including castings or material. And general shop time is between $60-$100 an hour.

Yep, I'm a self employed machinist. I've been wanting to build one for many years. In the last 20 years, I've managed to get about 40 hours into some cylinder castings and that's it. It's a time/money thing. You may have one, but seldom both. By the time I get the time, I'll be to old to want or care. Much kudos to those that find the time and money at the same time to be able to complete such a project.

Yea,i can see why there so expensive with the labor involved.I was pricing HO live steam locos,and with all the bells and whistles,no fun intended,can run over 2 k.

You can find completed locomotives below $10k, join a club, build a couple of cars, and wait for a deal

But you buy a $20k car, all you got is a boring car. By a steam engine, then you got something special.

Thank you. Can’t really get any more specific- the price will change with every engine type, the level of detail being put on the engine, whether you want working or decorative pumps, the kind of fittings being used, who’s doing the machining work, who’s building the boiler, who’s suppling the castings, etc.

@@TheSteamChannel agreed, i just meant a range. Such as....the average, bare bones 4.8.4 costs 10k. A replacement whostle can be 50 to 2k, etc etc. Just to give us an idea

An average 4-8-4 is going to start at 40k and climb RTR.

@@TheSteamChannel well that puts my dream of owning an operational Reading T1 a little out of my reach. I'll just have to settle for watching them here

@@mikeggg5671 Really? I know 40k seems like a lot BUT it really Isn't if you spread it out over say a 5 years, thats 8k per year and around only 670 doll hairs per month.I know lots of people that spend way more than that eating out per month,id rather stay home and build a steam loco than eat out all the time! Just build one, you wont notice the money by the time you have a steam locomotive of your own.Some people spend even up to 10 years building one, aside from time and tooling up the cost to build is less and spread out of 10 years should be easy to justify to all but the most non financial person.I am not about to lay my financial situation out for all to see on the net but i am FAR from a wealthy person, its all about getting ones priorities in order.Really as long as you have some kind of job and arent an unemployed kid you should be able to afford it.Not at all saying it is the case with you buy many people winge about finances while wasting money on crap that dont at all need and dont realize how fast all that crap they buy adds up.This is a hobby and hobbies do infact cost money, all of them! Some people race cars or motorbikes, some people have boats,some people collect fine guns and others spend thousands going fishing or buying golf clubs, this is no different or even really any more expensive.A decent 4wd build to go offroading is going to cost at easy 50k USED(here in Australia, yes you can buy a jeep but i did say decent...) and new even a crappy Thailand built toyota Hilux with alloy bar and canopy is over 70k!Fake cruisers (Prado or FJ) often run into high 80-90's and real cruisers nearly always over 100k! You here for a good time not a long time,dont worry about the cost or spend the rest of your life regretting what you COULD have done but chose not to do...

G Seitl there is a separate price document with pricing on the website. You have to match the part codes up with the catalog PDF. That is, however, just for the chassis. You’d have to supply your own boiler, fittings, valves, injectors, pumps, etc.

Next Door Anarchist Generally, yes. Some with higher end locomotives keep them at home, but if you’re part of a club- the club will generally have storage space available.

Thank you very much!

get a van or a trailer, the tracks in N.Z. have tracks that are at height for unloading

There are not many enthusiasts in Indonesia. You gotta be rich to have these.

go with more standard model trains like G scale or HO scale

CarNutz A friend of mine recently finished restoring a 7.5in gauge 3 truck climax. It's a lovely engine and pulls a lot for it's size.

Don’t know if you’ve made any progress since you first posted this comment, but have you seen Kozo Hiraoka’s book Building the Climax? It describes building an earlier two truck design which would be a good first locomotive and then you can run that while building your 3 truck Pacific Coast Climax, using the same book as a basis. I sympathize as what I want to build is a 3 truck Willamette.

sorry to dissapoint you, but theres never a realy cheap locomotive in these scales, they're atleast 10 - 20 thousand dollars.

Nothing is cheap bud everything has its price

skw unfortunately, the current engine series with 844 needs to be completed before I’d even consider the next. To my knowledge, there are no other sources who offer such a construction series free or pay per view. If you visit chaski home machinist forum (just google that), it will take you to a builders forum site. Search for an author named “Hudson Honey”. She has an entire thread detailing the construction of her Hudson in 7.5” gauge. Very good build thread to read.

having your own locomotive is cool.