Um, not sure the Hobbymat is a good choice for loco building. It lacks screw-cutting, and as you've spotted, has a high minimum spindle speed. It also has a small motor (120W) and only weighs 24kg. Compare with a mini-lathe which will have a 400 to 600W motor and weigh about 40kg.

The HobbyMat looks to be good for small railway modelling / clock making type fine work – anything where the small size and high spindle speeds are an advantage. Whatever it's other virtues, like that desirable 'very quiet running' I think it's too small for you.

Best advice I ever got on the forum: buy the biggest lathe you can manage. The exception is when you only do tiny turning.

Dave

Nothing wrong with the Hobbymat for what it is, though a serious enthusiast might go up-market with a Cowells. The Cowell's is a very nice machine indeed, but based on what you've said you're interested in, it's too small. Andy mentions his WM180, whist not better made or more accurate than a mini-lathe, it is bigger. Difficult to describe why larger lathes make life easier, but they do! And sooner or later you will probably want to cut threads.

I learned a lot from my mini-lathe and don't regret buying it. It got me hooked and I had loads of fun with it. But now I have a bigger machine I'd not go back…

Dave

A mini-lathe is an easy two-person lift and the maximum I would move without mechanical help. I'm on the weedy side and well past my best-before date. A fit or younger man could manage on his own and the lathes are light enough to plonk on an average table. They don't need to be bolted down, and are fairly quiet.

I regret the amount of time I dithered before buying a lathe. I wish I'd just bought a mini-lathe rather than dancing around the Chinese vs second-hand debate. Condition is everything with second-hand lathes unless you want a doer-upper and at the time I didn't have the skills needed to tell good from bad. Now I know more, I'd give an older lathe a careful inspection and want to see it cutting metal before buying it.

Back in the day buying a lathe was often a lifetime purchase. I don't see my workshop that way; all my tools are disposable. Not everyone is comfortable with that and I respect their reasons. Horses for courses.

Enjoy,

Dave

Minilathe such as the Seig C3 seems to be the new "standard" entry level model maker's lathe. Big enough to do the usual run of Stuart beginner level engines and should handle your 2.5" gauge. Does screwcutting etc. I would not go with the smaller C0-C2 machines as from what I have seen of them they are a bit small and light duty in comparison to the C3.