Good Gauge 1 coaches are comparable in work to a locomotive, yet one need a lot of them to make a train. At a basically social event, everyone's engine can take turns with a single rake of coaches, but once the emphasis becomes Authenticity, that goes out of the window and each top-notch locomotive needs an appropriate top-notch rake to pull. This can literally cost a fortune! Which keeps G1 coach sales a lot lower than one might expect from locomotive sales, which in turn keeps coach prices a lot higher than one might hope.

Mini Review:

Carriage Modelling Made Easy

by David Jenkinson

Wild Swan Publications Ltd, 1996

ISBN 1874103321

Mostly G1 and all applicable to G1. The 'made easy' part is partly a 'system' for gritting one's teeth and flogging on with the job, partly ways of improving on the compromises inherent in brass kits, and partly an ingenious way to simplify the inner shell of a coach in a way that few will ever spot. These methods are still valid in the age of the laser cutter.