New member, recentley retired., N.E.England.

[john90731Participant @john90731]

Hello everyone, i’m John, recentley retired and living in Teeside, Stockton on Tees England  . After a life time working on power stations, coal & nuclear i want to take up model engineerin. Steam locomotives being my passion so building  a working model would be my ambition.

 

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Hi John welcome. There are many members on here with loads of information but it helps if you what machinery you have or hope to acquire etc also what sort of models, stationary or rail or road engines you are interested in.

David

[john90731]

On 19 November 2025 at 21:42 john90731 Said:

… Steam locomotives being my passion so building  a working model would be my ambition.

 

Welcome John.  I advise starting with something simpler than a locomotive.  Although LBSC, and others, produced plans for simple locos, they’re still a challenge.

I found Stewart Hart’s PottyMill engine a good starter project.  Fabricated, no castings. Run on compressed air – no need for a boiler.   Difficult enough to stretch learning whilst not too hard or years of work.

Or maybe a simple oscillating engine.

There’s a lot to learn about tools, techniques, materials, how long jobs take, and what might go wrong.  Some people learn best by jumping in the deep end.  I prefer to master the basics and build on them.

Enjoy – it’s a fantastic hobby.

Dave

[john fletcher 1Participant @johnfletcher1]

There are several Model Eng. club around your area and I suggest you join one of them. That way you will receive lots of advice whether you need it or not and access to materials.  Ted

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

WElcome to the hobby.

By all means tell what machines / facilities you have.

If you are new to machining, buy one or more books on lathework (Stan Bray, Harold Hall, L H Sparey)  Neil Wyatt, David Clark and Dve Fenner have all written books specifically about the mini lathe.

If a complete newbie, start by just becoming familiar with the machine.

Your budget should allow for buying measuring equipment and probably a bench grinder (If you intend to use High Speed Steel tools)

But any questions, ask, someone will always give help.

Howard

[Author]

Posts