Dee in G3

The posting from MW is appreciated – but not entirely
accurate.

As John B has confirmed, the 2.5” Association offer castings
for both the ‘D’ and many other 2.5” designs. The Association has done a very good
job of acquiring patterns and stock for 2.5” engines over the years, for
instance castings from Dave Goodwin and Alan Headech are still available from
the Association. The G3 Society therefore decided some time ago not to offer a
castings service, although they do provide other G3 essentials (like bullhead rail
and chairs).

I think it might also be useful to mention the main
differences between the activities of the Association and the Society.

The Association is very much MES based and national rallies
are held throughout the year at ME Society tracks that can support 2.5” gauge
running. Whilst their engines are obviously 2.5” gauge specific, they can be
any scale (e.g. mainline or narrow gauge). In standard gauge, they also tend to
favour larger prototypes, thereby improving the potential driver hauling capacity
of their engines.

Gauge ‘3’ is not only gauge specific (2.5” but also scale
specific (at 1:22.6) and is the largest of the scenic model railway scales, being
effectively standard gauge ‘G’ scale. So if you imagine ‘LGB’ (G-scale at
1:22.5) in size but modelling standard gauge (mainly) British prototypes then
that is G3. Garden Get-Togethers (GTGs) are held at Society Members railways
(e.g. in their gardens) and you can see live steam, electric, clockwork and
even diesel-hydraulic models running at these events.

So 2.5” gauge sits right on the boundary between the Model
Engineer ‘gauges’ and Railway Modelling ‘scales’.

If you want to sit behind and ‘drive’ your 2.5” engine, then
the Association is the Model Engineering Society side of the gauge. If you want
to go to someone’s garden and run your engine in a scenic environment (or
indeed build your own garden railway) then the G3 Society will be of interest
to you. Of course, there are 2.5” enthusiasts who are members of both the
Association and the Society (myself included). Whatever your personal preferences,
2.5” gauge provides a very affordable and satisfying gauge to model.

Edited By IanT on 22/01/2012 10:29:59

Edited By IanT on 22/01/2012 10:35:39

The problems with the main frames were sorted several weeks ago and they are available from SCISS Ltd. A new frame drawing and a list of other minor corrections were published in ME 4423. I will be happy to help with any problems builders might come across so please be in touch [email protected]

Dick Allan