A
Alec K
Guest
This is one of those mixed scale and gauge projects, but here goes...
The actual Lee Moor Tramway was constructed to the 'Dartmoor Gauge' of 4'6" and eventually opened in 1858 as a horse-worked/gravity operation to convey china clay from the pits at Lee Moor to the wharves at Cattewater in Plymouth. In 1899, on the upper levels, two steam locos were introduced to deal with heavy traffic, but rope-worked inclines at Cann Wood and Torycombe meant that the start and finish of the system was horse- and gravity-worked until the end came on 26 August 1960. My scratchbuilt model is of one of the LMT water tank wagons that were used to balance the weights of ascending empty or descending loaded wagons on the principal inclines. Very simply, the amount of water in the tank was adjusted to achieve the necessary balance against the train of two to three wagons.
So, to 1:20.3 scale, on 45mm gauge track, here it is, for all its shortcomings! The wagon is made from thick plastic card and a selection of Evergreen rigid plastic sections, with Tenmille running gear, Brandbright safety chains and a spare LGB couping. As well as the eclectic scale/gauge mix, I've had to estimate the dimensions from photographs and the only known (to me, anyway) dimension, which is the wheel diameter. I hope I've captured the workaday character of the originals.
All the best,
Alec
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The actual Lee Moor Tramway was constructed to the 'Dartmoor Gauge' of 4'6" and eventually opened in 1858 as a horse-worked/gravity operation to convey china clay from the pits at Lee Moor to the wharves at Cattewater in Plymouth. In 1899, on the upper levels, two steam locos were introduced to deal with heavy traffic, but rope-worked inclines at Cann Wood and Torycombe meant that the start and finish of the system was horse- and gravity-worked until the end came on 26 August 1960. My scratchbuilt model is of one of the LMT water tank wagons that were used to balance the weights of ascending empty or descending loaded wagons on the principal inclines. Very simply, the amount of water in the tank was adjusted to achieve the necessary balance against the train of two to three wagons.
So, to 1:20.3 scale, on 45mm gauge track, here it is, for all its shortcomings! The wagon is made from thick plastic card and a selection of Evergreen rigid plastic sections, with Tenmille running gear, Brandbright safety chains and a spare LGB couping. As well as the eclectic scale/gauge mix, I've had to estimate the dimensions from photographs and the only known (to me, anyway) dimension, which is the wheel diameter. I hope I've captured the workaday character of the originals.
All the best,
Alec
[attachment deleted by admin]