Ashley recommended looking at the work of a young guy called Eddie Williams up in Scotland, so I did.
I'm not sure how old Eddie is now but it seems he built his first (60mm gauge) Baby Deltic when he was 12! The videos I've looked over seem to span a period of about 4 years and show enormous progress in both his modelling and the railway. At some point he also moved from 1/24 (60mm) to G3, converting both stock and track. The videos give a fairly clear idea of how things have developed and improved over that time - a clear evolution can be seen in quality and execution. I think it is very impressive indeed.
Have a look at this video, showing how he built his Mk1 'Austerity' and anyone who thinks G3 has to be expensive will be in for a shock. I suspect Cliff Daniels must have had some influence here but even Cliff hasn't used matchsticks for spokes (that I'm aware of). This model has now been upgraded with 'Thomas' wheels by the way and looks very good in black.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuPENzau-iU
Couple of other things to note. He's developed his own track building methods over this time (there's a really great 'cab' video of his first track which is a real jungle ride) but his latest efforts in this area look very solid indeed (Remind me of some early [pre CB] G3 tracks in fact)
And those coal wagons? Well he's made his own resin masters and casts his own - seems to think it's very simple to produce half a dozen over a weekend.
So thank you Ashley - I very much enjoyed finding out about this young guy and his railway. But time to get moving now - things to do, elderly Mums to visit etc.
Regards,
IanT
Very impressive. We really need guys (and girls) like this in the G3 Assoc. Hope he's a member.
He seems to be building in the true and original traditions of garden railways.
Robert. 492.