Behold, my Dad's main Christmas present from me - and LGB Porter locomotive.
I've always tended to buy presents that I'd like to recieve for those I know appreciate my taste. In this case, I've fancied one of these attractive little locos for years, but they are rare. However, at the Lapworth show, one poppd up second-hand, and I snapped it up.
Apart from a little dust, and not having a box, the model is perfect, and certainly runs well. It will look great on our garden railway once we have this up and running again.I'd say that the Porter sits somewhere between the Toy Train and full range. A bit more detail on the waggly parts, but a little too shiny and colourful for the full-fat models.
Whatever, he loves it, and is currently measuring up for a carrying box to keep the new loco in nice condition, and that's what matters.
5 comments:
These are smashing little locos Phil!
I had one as part of a set nearly 30 years ago...I remember bringing it home from the model shop and my 3-ish year old daughter yelling "Mummy, Mummy, Daddy's bought a train set!".
We had a lot of fun with it for several years, both indoors and outside, though it was never permanently in the garden as the area we lived in wasn't great.
Later, I repainted the loco (wood effect cab, black tank, graphite smokebox and "stack") and added a GRS conversion to the European van that came with it...
For various reasons, I sold it all on, but seeing the loco brings back some happy memories, thank you!
Simon.
*
Phil
These small Porters do indeed have a special appeal. This is something that operates in a number of scales - for example the models made by Bachmann in "On30".
Simon Hargraves mentions having repainted an LGB model in more sober colours. This is an interesting idea and exactly what I did when I built a pair of freelance examples for my "Paradise Mining Co" layout in 1:25 scale (on 16.5mm track pretending to be 18ins gauge). The first loco - the "signature locomotive" - was an 0-4-0 Porter with wooden cab and tender. Later I built another sans tender and with metal cab. They can be seen in the exhibition reports listed below.
I would encourage anyone interested in these charming but workmanlike little locomotives to consider the commercial versions available or contemplate some enterprising scratch building.
At Uckfield in October 2007 -
http://www.uckfieldmrc.co.uk/exhib07/paradise.html
At Walferdange (Luxembourg) in November 2009 (4th shot down) -
https://www.mb1q.com/mf/aus/lu/expo-trains-luxembourg/29-expo-trains-luxembourg-in-walferdange/paradise-mining-co/index.html
At ExpoNG in October 2010 -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fairlightworks/5133205072/in/photostream/
At OnTraXs in Utrecht in March 2015 -
http://ww.009dutch.nl/archive/2015/gallery72/pages/vlcsnap-00088.htm
CP
As a small loco fan, I find the lack of photos of prototypes in the USA a bit frustrating. Because so much of their narrow gauge is big and impressive, that's where people pointed their cameras. I have a small collection of books with the sort of stuff I love in them, and one day will build that On30 layout.
Have you ever seen the original article on the Lake George and Boulder in the Modeller?
*
My "Paradise Mining Co" was very, very loosely inspired (perhaps I should say "justified") by the Arizona Copper Company. This had a 20ins gauge line on which ran five small Porter locomotives. It is now some years since I took an interest in the matter, but I think I recall that the 20ins gauge line carried ore to a transfer point with a 3ft gauge line.
See -
https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/Arizona_Copper_No._1_%22Little_Emma%22
https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/Arizona_Copper_No._2_%22Grant%22
https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/Arizona_Copper_No._3
https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/
Arizona_Copper_No._5_%22Forman%22
https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/Arizona_Copper_No._8_%22Copperhead%22
Are these Porters small enough for you Phil?
CP
Post a Comment