Favour to ask for a friendly S7 society member...

[flexible_coupling]

Hello all,
I'm looking to treat myself to a little loco kit for my birthday - the Connoisseur "Starter Loco", as it's so wretchedly cute and suits the scattergun and whimsical nature of my 7mm collection thus far. I'd like to be able to get "the right" wheels for it at the outset, but the Slaters website doesn't make mention of the S7 range available. I need something close to 3'6", 10 spoke driving wheels (a smidge smaller or add/subtract a spoke wouldn't be the end of the world) with the right profile and axle length out of the packet.

Would anyone be able to double-check what is offered in the Slaters' lineup to S7 society members - and if anyone is planning to place an order in the coming weeks, may I possibly make arrangements to piggy-back onto your order and compensate for getting said wheels into an air-mail bag to Australia? I am considering S7 membership, but I'm not sure that I'll gain much from the expense given my location and the very small amount that I'm actually building/modelling right now...
Thanks,
Dave.

 

[Overseer]

Dave
The smallest S7 Group driving wheels are 4'7" at present. Apart form altering 3'6" carriage wheels the alternatives, if you aren't set up to turn standard wheels down, are 3' wheels from the Broad Gauge Society (BGS7836, also made by Slaters to S7 standards) and the Slaters 3'9" Isle of Man 11 or 12 spoke wheels (intended for 3' gauge). You will need to buy standard gauge S7 axles for the BGS wheels from Slaters. Slaters will sell the Isle of Man wheels with S7 axles (1/8 inch). I haven't actually seen the BGS wheels but have a need for some so will order some at some stage. I do have some of the Slaters IoM wheels which are very close to being S7 profile and scale width.

If you were still in Melbourne it would have been easy to turn some standard Slaters wheels down for you, saying that it is still easy, just the postage to add.

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

I can confirm that Slaters IOM wheels are virtually to the same profile as the S7 form tool. How do I know? I set up to reprofile a set of wheels and found that the tool and wheel matched without needing to remove any metal. Loco was metre gauge so I did need to extend the axles!
Happy modelling.
Ian

 

[flexible_coupling]

Dave
The smallest S7 Group driving wheels are 4'7" at present. Apart form altering 3'6" carriage wheels the alternatives, if you aren't set up to turn standard wheels down, are 3' wheels from the Broad Gauge Society (BGS7836, also made by Slaters to S7 standards) and the Slaters 3'9" Isle of Man 11 or 12 spoke wheels (intended for 3' gauge). You will need to buy standard gauge S7 axles for the BGS wheels from Slaters. Slaters will sell the Isle of Man wheels with S7 axles (1/8 inch). I haven't actually seen the BGS wheels but have a need for some so will order some at some stage. I do have some of the Slaters IoM wheels which are very close to being S7 profile and scale width.

If you were still in Melbourne it would have been easy to turn some standard Slaters wheels down for you, saying that it is still easy, just the postage to add.

Hi Fraser,
Funny you should say that, on Friday I'm having a meeting with the two 'head honchos' of a particular model train shop that you know of to likely agree to terms of my coming in as a manager (read: aggressively-shaking-up-the-works style role!), which would see my prompt relocation back to Melbourne with a spell every 3 weeks returning north to my apartment to spend time with my kids, until such time as they also move down south (complicated story!). I plan on bringing all things 7mm down with me progressively, leaving the OO and other distractions up there to work on with the kids. I shall have to update the Christmas Trainset thread shortly as the boys (now 7 and 5 as birthday season has just passed!) have picked up baseboard painting, ballast spreading and scatter-spreading scenics with astonishing ease and are slowly covering the layout... Very proud of the progress so far!

Back to the subject... I wasn't sure how broad the list of S7 society sponsored wheels was - quite understandable. Given the alternatives would be raising/lowering the bufferbeam level (unless I go for hornblocks/guides and springs.... not completely out of the question but more than I'd probably hoped to get into on this, my first 7mm loco build!), I think getting the "intended" wheels and taking them to you for reprofiling is the most sensible idea.


Thanks also Ian, I may have a future need for those wheels as a scattergun-esque distraction is a small diorama representing part of the now long extinct railway of Malta, with a handful of fascinating looking Beyer Peacock tank locomotives and small four-wheel passenger coaches. My partner's whole family are migrants from Malta, and it would be a very interesting project to help construct a jigsaw puzzle (along with online resources) of something that's now barely visible. One single coach, in dilapidated condition, still exists along with a handful of repurposed railway station buildings and bricked-up tunnels.

 

[Overseer]

Good luck with the job, if it is the one I think it is you could be in for interesting times.

When you order the wheels make sure you ask Slaters to swap the standard axles for S7 axles, saves some money and they are happy to do it.

 

[demu1037]

Hi Fraser,
I may have a future need for those wheels as a scattergun-esque distraction is a small diorama representing part of the now long extinct railway of Malta, with a handful of fascinating looking Beyer Peacock tank locomotives and small four-wheel passenger coaches. My partner's whole family are migrants from Malta, and it would be a very interesting project to help construct a jigsaw puzzle (along with online resources) of something that's now barely visible. One single coach, in dilapidated condition, still exists along with a handful of repurposed railway station buildings and bricked-up tunnels.

No S7 wheels though!

 

[Overseer]

I hadn't made the connection before but that body looks identical with the early New Zealand Railways D class carriage. Marks Model Works in NZ are working on laser cut kits for these carriages in S and 9mm scales, might be worth an email to check whether they would do it in 7mm as well if anyone is considering modelling the Malta Railway.

Thanks demu1037 for the photo.