If you have not worked in narrow gauge before then you may be wondering why the need to build all the rolling stock rather than pop down the model shop and buy it ready to run. The truth of it is that there is very little ready to run narrow gauge stock available - and what is made is either European metre gauge HOe/HOm(large range), or US 3 foot gauge HOn3(very limited choice).

Therefore if you have chosen to model something different, like the US two foot gauge prototypes I am loosely following, then you are going to need to do some building. Some of you may feel the above makes narrow gauge 'a lot of hard work'. Others, myself included, enjoy building the rolling stock as much as, if not more than, building the layout. Also building your own stock gives a greater degree of freedom, and less reliance on what a manafacturer has chosen to make available.

So, how can you build narrow gauge stock? The following lists the four main methods I use to create my US outline stock - although note that it is not quite that clear cut, and several of the cars I have built are difficult to place in just one category.

1. N Scale Conversions
The simplest way to quickly get stock running is to convert ready to run N scale cars such that they look correct in HO scale.

These will almost always need to be made wider to get the correct narrow gauge proportions of a wide body on narrow tracks. In some cases this will be sufficient, although in most cases it will be necessary to add some HO scale details.

One model that is very suitable for this treatment is the Bachmann 42' steel gondola. The next page shows several of these models that I am in the process of converting.

The greatest advantage to this method is that the rolling chassis can be reused, so getting the model to roll down the track is simplified.

The disadvantage is that you may need to add HO scale details to the model to prevent it being immediately spotted as an N scale body, which would spoil the realism.

2. HO Scale Conversions
The second method of creating rolling stock is to convert HO scale car bodies and combine them with N gauge running gear.

In contrast to the above method the car bodies will generally need to be made narrower. Also, unless you are using a model of a very early standard gauge car to model a very modern narrow gauge one, then the body will need to be shortened.

The advantage to this method is that the body is used in its intended scale - this means that the details on the body, doors, roof walks, grab irons etc are not undersized.

The disadvantage is that it does not come with any useable running gear. To complete the model you will need to either source and adapt an N scale chassis from another car, or scratch build a chassis. The later option is not as difficult as it first sounds, the third page in this section deatails how to build a chassis from scratch.

3. Building from kits
A third option is to build cars from kits designed to represent actual or freelance narrow gauge cars.

The standard of kits does vary in a number of areas. Firstly the standard of the mouldings can vary, if they are poor then it will never look good when completed. Secondly check how easy it goes together. A well designed car kit is no harder to assemble than an Airfix kit, but if not then it does not matter how good the mouldings are if they will not assemble correctly. Finaly there is a variability between kits of what is included. Few kits include couplers as these are very much a matter of choice by the builder, but some do not include the trucks or detail parts.

If you have a particular kit in mind then it would be best to seek out a reveiw, or speak to someone who has constructed one, to determine the quality and the skill level you will needed to complete it.

There are several kits available in the US, although some are very limited runs so obtaining an example of a popular kit is not always easy. Here in the UK the only manafacturer of US outline HOn30 kits that I know of is Roger Chivers. His kits are moulded in styrene, are easy to assemble, and include all parts needed to complete except for couplers.

The advantage of a kit, if you get a good one, then it will go together quickly and provide good quality rolling stock.

On the other hand some kits can be such hard work to assemble that it may be easier to scratch build. Also watch the cost if the kit is expensive but still does not include major items that you will need.

4. Scratch building
The final method is to avoid all of the above options and build rolling stock completely from scratch.

The primary material used during scratch building is styrene sheet(plasticard) and strip. Other materials used are wood, card and metal. Despite the term 'scratch building' the idea is not to start from the most basic level of materials where alternatives do exist - a boxcar would be built from pre-scribed plasticard, brake wheels etc would be bought. The following two pages of the site show stock I have under construction, including full details of how to build a flat car.

The most obvious advantage to scratch building is the total freedom to model any car, whether prototype or freelance, without depending on a manafacturer to produce it for you. This does however still miss out two important reasons - the pleasure gained from turning a pile of scratch building materials into a completed, detailed and painted car, and then seeing it running on the layout.

Disadvantages? Not many really. It will take some time to complete a car - although this could be seen as an advantage, it is a hobby after all. The main problem is probably thinking that scratch building may be too hard and steering clear of it - I thought this for a while, but now know that it is not true and you really do get better with every car you build.