7/8ths conversion to a RH Millie

artfull dodger

artfull dodger

Registered
Country flag
This is more of a question for Chris. I was watching videos on youtube of a RH Millie on the summerlands railway that had been converted to 7/8ths scale. I love the tall chimney and body changes. Since we yanks dont get gardenrail, could you post up what was done to make her look like that? I plan to convert my Regner Willi to 7/8ths eventualy and as I sit here trying to decide what to get for my next engine. Looking at what can be done in upscaling the model is very important to me. Some of the mods I can figure out, painting the valve gear black, painting the wheels black, summerlands chuffer ect. but where to get the body work and the tall chimney. Mike
 
I found the reprint of the Gardenrail article on Summerlands website, excellent modeling work! Mike
 
Thanks Mike - I'm glad you found it useful! If you go that route, I am always happy to answer questions or take more photos.

Regarding your Willi - there is a simple modification to make him 7/8ths - just put a bigger driver (engineer) in it!. My Regner Vincent runs as 7/8ths with just the driver and a chimney extension that I turned on the lathe to press in.

If you see my first video on the RWM De Winton, we made the transition from 16mm to 7.8ths with a change of driver and a slightly raised cab sheet - simple to do on Willi too. I like to have mods that are reversible - though I have to admit that both Millie and Vincent have remained as 7/8ths.

Cheers
Chris
 
I love my Regners but with that fast os-cylinder in them, the chuff leaves something to be desired. The chuff on Millie is just perfect IMHO and the big pot boiler gives long duration runs I suspect. I am not real happy about the price increase on RH products, $806 for a Millie as of this post, but I know the quality is there as it has always been with RH products. I had hoped that with Regner uping the ante a bit with site glass and whistle upgrades, that RH would respond and put the pressure gauge, site glass as standard items on the basic engines and develope a whisle upgrade. I am wondering if the Regner whistle kit could be adapted to the RH boiler. In my mind I am down to a Lady Anne Kit, just the chassis to start out, A millie to upscale to 7/8ths or the second hand Regner Vincent with whistle. The two RH's have the upper hand in the chuff dept. I have had a soft spot for 16mill narrow gauge for awhile, but then 7/8ths came along. I need to go find a video of a Lady A that has the chuffer in it to see how it sounds at slow speeds. Thanks again Chris. Mike
 
That sounds AWSOME!!!! I sit and watch and listen to that all day! Definatly gonna go for the Lady A kit. Already talked to Jay at The Train Dept about special ordering the boiler with an extra bung so I can fit a Regner whistle kit to it. I already have a 4 channel RC set up from my RC boat days. Reciever is good for 7 channels but I only have 4 fitted in the transmitter. I will be selling the Willi once I order the chassis kit. Wanna make sure my HO stuff sells first so I can order the first kit, then and only then will I put my other engine up on the market. But if someone wants to call dibs on it, thats fine to. Cheers Mike
 
artfull dodger said:
That sounds AWSOME!!!! I sit and watch and listen to that all day! Definatly gonna go for the Lady A kit. Already talked to Jay at The Train Dept about special ordering the boiler with an extra bung so I can fit a Regner whistle kit to it. I already have a 4 channel RC set up from my RC boat days. Reciever is good for 7 channels but I only have 4 fitted in the transmitter. I will be selling the Willi once I order the chassis kit. Wanna make sure my HO stuff sells first so I can order the first kit, then and only then will I put my other engine up on the market. But if someone wants to call dibs on it, thats fine to. Cheers Mike
Click to expand...

I would go for the US designed Bangham whistle rather than the Regner. This way one can have the whistle in the proper place on the spectacle plate rather than slung underneath.
One can get them here: http://www.djbengineering.co.uk/whistle-l-anne.html < Link To http://www.djbengineering.o.uk/whistle-l-anne.html

BTW GardenRail IS available in the US Mike and we have many subscribers there. Many of course subscribe digitally because it is both hugely cheaper and one has access to back issues...
 
Mike you might want to talk to Jay about the side frames for the Lady Ann kit. Eric Shade is doing a mogule using Lady Ann kit but using different frames that were made. Jay had them made so I picked up a set at the show in hopes of someday getting the Lady Ann kit and making. You can see Erics progress here. He is making the boiler and using the roundhouse cylinders etc..... You can see his build here. ay might have some frames left.
http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/11/aft/127306/afv/topic/Default
 
Yes he is doing them for an american style Lady A conversion. I am keeping mine British so the stock frames are ok for me. The banghan style whistles are nice but add expense to an already expensive kit and I already have a Regner whistle kit on hand. I didnt know garden rail had gone digital Tag, thanks for the update. Last time I had checked, the subscription for the normal magazine on dead trees was quite expensive stateside. Mike
 
I love Euro, UK and Japanese stuff. With Willi now sold, I have ordered the Lady Anne chassis kit and the combination lever/cross head set. Might as well do it all at the construction stage. Need to pick up some etching primer, all I have is grey auto primer. I cant wait till the kit comes in! Once my 2 brass HO pieces sell, I will be able to order the boiler kit. It will be a special commision as I want an extra bung to install a whistle. Mike
 
That is excellent news Mike - you sure act fast when the decision is made! I know you will not be disappointed.

Shawn - I think Mike is right to separate UK and "Euro". The look and feel of the locos is quite different. I have recently been struggling to get my head round the German prototypes (beautifully modelled by Regner and others). They all seem to be black with red frames and have numbers beginning with 99 - all very logical I am sure. For the UK NG prototypes, there is no logic at all :D

Cheers
Chris
 
Chris, I think you are only thinking of post war German state railways, every European country has / had different practices, some like Spain had Britsh, German and locos from other countries running on the same lines.
 
Chris, I think you are only thinking of post war German state railways, every European country has / had different practices, some like Spain had Britsh, German and locos from other countries running on the same lines.
 
funandtrains said:
Chris, I think you are only thinking of post war German state railways, every European country has / had different practices, some like Spain had Britsh, German and locos from other countries running on the same lines.
Click to expand...

Ah ha Steve - so that explains it - it is the German State Railways scheme! And now I think of it, the Saxonian locos from Herr Schug tend to be in different colours. Clearly I should have started with LGB and then it would all have made sense :D
Cheers
Chris
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top