tramcar trev
all manner of mechanical apparatus...
While I waited for the interior plastic bits (boiler and saddle tank) on my stram tram, to dry out, I made the Headlights. I’m quite pleased with how they came out but are they acetylene (carbide) or are they electric? Well the final electric conversions had number panels on the sides, the earlier versions left the Acetylene housings in place and simply fitted a light socket, Initially the electric conversions were not a success simply because the “Edison Globes” of the day had very fragile filaments and did not stand up to the vibrations well. It was not till 1910 that Tungsten filaments could be cheaply and reliably produced; even then they were still susceptible to vibration and lasted, with a lot of luck in a vibration free environment, 500 hours… It was not till the mid 20’s that light globes became an item that could stand some vibration….
I digress…
My headlights (a distinctive feature of this tram motor) were made from brass and did take some “novel’ tricks to make. To get the internal reflector sort of parabolic I used a rubber abrasive in my rotary tool and while the body was turning in the lathe I “ground away” at the inside to get the curve I wanted, Ok yes they are early electric lights, the acetylene ones had reflectors made up of segments of glass mirror set in pitch on a spun metal disc. And even though I did think about using this technique for a few moments common sense prevailed…
The lenses needed to be perfectly circular so they were machined up between 2 pieces of brass with the faces protected by masking tape. The tail stock is wound in to clamp the pieces in place then the can be turned up to a size that fits. The glass is actually clear plastic from a CD case…
The “globes” are warm white LED’s held in a little lamp holder with the wire poking out at the back where it won’t be seen… I hope to get more than 500 hours out of them…
just to show how appreciative I am for getting the photo upload sorted here are a few shots...
I digress…
My headlights (a distinctive feature of this tram motor) were made from brass and did take some “novel’ tricks to make. To get the internal reflector sort of parabolic I used a rubber abrasive in my rotary tool and while the body was turning in the lathe I “ground away” at the inside to get the curve I wanted, Ok yes they are early electric lights, the acetylene ones had reflectors made up of segments of glass mirror set in pitch on a spun metal disc. And even though I did think about using this technique for a few moments common sense prevailed…
The lenses needed to be perfectly circular so they were machined up between 2 pieces of brass with the faces protected by masking tape. The tail stock is wound in to clamp the pieces in place then the can be turned up to a size that fits. The glass is actually clear plastic from a CD case…
The “globes” are warm white LED’s held in a little lamp holder with the wire poking out at the back where it won’t be seen… I hope to get more than 500 hours out of them…
just to show how appreciative I am for getting the photo upload sorted here are a few shots...
