French outline HOe/009 locos.

[ianp]

Try as I might, I cannot find any ready-to-run HOe/009 locos that look like real French narrow gauge locos.  I have trawled various UK retailer's websites, and those of French retailers such as Jura Modelisme, Pierre Dominique and Star Boutique. All the usual models from Roco, Minitrains or Liliput seem to be heavily Germanic, American or British, or just look unrealistically like toy trains.

In your view (if you have one) which available model, if any, is closest to looking like a real French loco and might be easily adapted to increase its "authenticity"? And yes, I do know about "artisan" manufacturers like Trains d'Antan, but I am not keen to spend up to £400 on a brass kit, which may need further expenditure for a DCC sound chip and speaker. Thanks in advance.

[BernardTPM]

Minitrains are to introduce a Decauville Type 17 0-6-0T during 2017.

[Andy Hayter]

In a sense it depends what compromises you are going to take with HOe - is this meant to be 60cm gauge, or perhaps a version of metre gauge on 9 mm track.

 

If the former, then your choices are limited.  There was a kit for Joffre which runs on a Roco 0-6-0 ( sorry 030) chassis.

Mintrains has a Baldwin 4-6-0? and Bachmann have announced a Baldwin 2-6-2 (IIRC).

 

Beyond that you probably have to rely on the Roco H0e offerings as something close to the stock on the Aberschwiller line in Alsace  EDIT:  not Alsace but Moselle.

 

 

Most NG lines in France however were metre gauge, so if you are planning to use 9mm gauge track, some expansion of compromise will be necessary and as your compromise expands so will your choices contract.  Gecomodel and later Interfer made various kits (not cheap but cheaper than TdA - whose models are sublime let me say)  You might just find examples on ebay.fr occasionally.  In the main these were autorails -decauville?, Billard and De Dion.  Gecomodel also made a number of steam locomotives in 12mm gauge.  Pinguely et al.  but I don't think they were ever released as 9mm gauge versions.

 

There is the Jouef Decauville - but it is wildly over scale in all dimensions except the track gauge.  Although you can/could get a kit to convert it to outside valve gear to make it look more like the real thing (made I think by the "Greenwich" NG team - Meridian Models?) .  There are also of course the models of Simplex locomotives which would also be appropriate for a 9mm gauge track - I think from the sale source.

 

After that it is scratch building - probably using Roco or similar chassis as the basis.

 

 

I will see if I can post some pictures of the OH's stock to give some ideas - although it may just provoke envy for what was once and is no more easily available. 

[ianp]

Minitrains are to introduce a Decauville Type 17 0-6-0T during 2017.

There is a photo of it on the LR Presse website: http://blog.voielibre.com/2017/02/decauville-quand-tu-nous-tient.html

It looks good, though still a bit toy-trainish.

[ianp]

In a sense it depends what compromises you are going to take with HOe - is this meant to be 60cm gauge, or perhaps a version of metre gauge on 9 mm track.

 

If the former, then your choices are limited.  There was a kit for Joffre which runs on a Roco 0-6-0 ( sorry 030) chassis.

Mintrains has a Baldwin 4-6-0? and Bachmann have announced a Baldwin 2-6-2 (IIRC).

 

Beyond that you probably have to rely on the Roco H0e offerings as something close to the stock on the Aberschwiller line in Alsace  EDIT:  not Alsace but Moselle.

 

 

Most NG lines in France however were metre gauge, so if you are planning to use 9mm gauge track, some expansion of compromise will be necessary and as your compromise expands so will your choices contract.  Gecomodel and later Interfer made various kits (not cheap but cheaper than TdA - whose models are sublime let me say)  You might just find examples on ebay.fr occasionally.  In the main these were autorails -decauville?, Billard and De Dion.  Gecomodel also made a number of steam locomotives in 12mm gauge.  Pinguely et al.  but I don't think they were ever released as 9mm gauge versions.

 

There is the Jouef Decauville - but it is wildly over scale in all dimensions except the track gauge.  Although you can/could get a kit to convert it to outside valve gear to make it look more like the real thing (made I think by the "Greenwich" NG team - Meridian Models?) .  There are also of course the models of Simplex locomotives which would also be appropriate for a 9mm gauge track - I think from the sale source.

 

After that it is scratch building - probably using Roco or similar chassis as the basis.

 

 

I will see if I can post some pictures of the OH's stock to give some ideas - although it may just provoke envy for what was once and is no more easily available. 

Thank you. I wish to model a metre gauge layout but there seem to be even fewer RTR models available in HOm than in 009/HOe. Only Bemo make them (I think) whose models are very expensive. So I am aiming at some sort of compromise in which the layout looks like a metre gauge one, even if the tracks are in fact a bit too narrow.

 

Do you think the Minitrains trench locos (Brigadelok) http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=MTR1023&style=&strType=&Mcode=Minitrains+1023 could be given a French "makeover"?

[Nearholmer]

A very long time ago, I built a French layout, using Peco 009 track and scaling at 1:100, so sort of near metre gauge (ish).

 

For that, I used Peco varikit locos, on ministries chassis. The varikit can be built to look very plausibly French ...... I just used photos as references. Rolling stock was a mixture of things, including eggerbahn fiery Elias coaches, which scale out quite well for metre gauge at 1:100. There was also a Japanese (joe works) HOe diesel, which was definitely under scale, which I altered to become a very fair representation of a CFD diesel in 1:100.

 

Nambulent-sur-Somme, that was what I called it!

 

Kevin

[PaulRhB]

To be honest the Minitrains loco is probably the best bet for an actual French loco.

 

There is an HOm 12mm gauge SLM loco coming from Oskar but no price as yet,

http://www.oskartrains.it/

 

 

[rue_d_etropal]

Minitrains are also doing the Schneider i/c loco. I think the survey that was done said these two locos were the most wanted.

I do several French WW1 era locos in my 3D printed range, but you need to find or build a chassis.

One problem with HOe is track gauge being 2mm too wide. Using Z gauge is closer at only 0.5mm under gauge. It actually works out near mid point between 60cm and 50cm gauge. For older industrial lines 50cm was more common, until all the war surplus stock became available.

[Joseph_Pestell]

A very long time ago, I built a French layout, using Peco 009 track and scaling at 1:100, so sort of near metre gauge (ish).

 

For that, I used Peco varikit locos, on ministries chassis. The varikit can be built to look very plausibly French ...... I just used photos as references. Rolling stock was a mixture of things, including eggerbahn fiery Elias coaches, which scale out quite well for metre gauge at 1:100. There was also a Japanese (joe works) HOe diesel, which was definitely under scale, which I altered to become a very fair representation of a CFD diesel in 1:100.

 

Nambulent-sur-Somme, that was what I called it!

 

Kevin

In this context, it is worth pointing out that a lot of kits for buildings that are sold as HO are in fact to 1:100 or even 1:120. So using 9mm to represent metre gauge is reasonably practicable.

[alfsboy]

That Minitrains  type 17 has a fantastic crew  screaming for me hopefully  to sculpt  .French military I assume or maybe just a kepi style hat.

[Andy Hayter]

I very much doubt that those "uniforms" are French military - although perhaps caps were retained after a period of conscription and put to good use.

[Gordonwis]

.

 

Shapeways is the best place to look for unusual stuff these days (just look at how much SNCF Z scale is available...

 

I have profited massively from this in recent months with stuff for Swiss RhB 1:150 and German TTm 

 

Rue d'etropal's Corpet tank is your best bet I think.

 

It looks really good, and if it fits the Tillig TT (12mm) chassis then that's perfect for 'HOm'

 

'Ivan Industries' does brilliant typical French Secondaires diesel locotracteurs (cheap too!)

[Gordonwis]

Thank you. I wish to model a metre gauge layout but there seem to be even fewer RTR models available in HOm than in 009/HOe. Only Bemo make them (I think) whose models are very expensive. 

 

 

Despite your comments I heartily recommend sticking to HOm. You can use second hand RTR Bemo wagons, which IMO aren't that pricey (especially if a bit battered). You can also use old East European TT stuff (the oldest models were like many models of the 1960s, quite bulky for their 'official' scale so suit being used for HOm.

 

For a loco use the aforementioned reu d'etropal Corpet, and the many resin autorail bodies available.

 

inexpensive chassis can be obtained on ebay, second hand at shows  etc

[Andy Hayter]

Apologies for a lack of pictures thus far - storm Zeus which missed the UK unfortunately did not miss our village and some time consuming repairs have been necessary.

 

I agree with Gordon that you are not looking deeply enough in HOm.  A quick check on Ebay.fr throws up 290 entries for HOm under model railways.

 

In addition to those suggestions already made, DJH did a very nice model of a RB 230T - not sure if it is still available or not.   Gecomodel and then Interfer have made a number of autorails- both however now out of production for these items at this scale. 

[Nearholmer]

I think it would be fair to say that the only French sub-metric lines that can conveniently and easily represented with r-t-r in 009 are WW1 military lines, and their direct descendants in the form of the short-lived post-conflict common-carrier lines that used ex-military equipment, and the sugar-beet railways, which lasted effectively until today, latterly preserved.

 

If you like that sort of railway, the world is your huitre, given that firms are falling over themselves to produce the right trains nowadays (although they aren't exactly cheap). If not, then H0m might be a better bet.

 

I'm purposely not mentioning the old Jouef Decauville stock, because the loco is exceedingly strange in scale (1/64?) and is not exactly a good runner. The coaches are good, though, and make a nice seaside railway train, of which a couple are still operating on the West Coast.

 

K