My attempt at a steam tram trailer...

[tramcar trev]

As you can see by the colour slides I have started on the trailer; Its an old toastrack tram that I bought dead – the motor is a melted bit of plastic with the armature poking thru it, no wonder I got it cheap. I have added a few extra details to make it appear even older than it is with some square mouldings that will be adorned with gold and half round where the floor joins the frame, I may carry that around the ends just for symmetry…
The roof is sorted with its fake canvas covering and 2 huge vents for the Kero lights and the glazing has been made and will be fitted once the roof paint has dried….I’ll have a crack at making 2 interior lights out of brass and Perspex but I will used warm white leds. The originals would have produced a lot of heat with the huge mantles they had… Not many people remember kero lights with “mantles”. I do….What I do not get is that electric lamps in the early years could not be used as the filaments were too fragile to withstand the jolting, yet here we have a “mantle” being jolted, jarred, and suffering hellish conditions and yet they survived. Yet put them on a table lamp and give them a hard stare and they would fall to bits. They were made from treated silk and once were “Burnt Off” were actually ash that was some how held together by the “ceramic” binding…. You can still get them for LPG lights….

Anyway a very good side benefit from this rebuild is that after I cleaned out the gearbox and deftly extracted the melted motor I have a brilliant 4 wheel chassis that I can run round the track to sort out the trouble spots. I’ve already found 4 places that need some work with the diamond disc to clean up either the ballast or the cobblestones. If the centre stones are not absolutely perfectly aligned along the inside of the flange groove and present any sort of sharp corner this is where the wheels snag and derail especially I have noted with much interest on the inside rail on curves…..

[align=center]

[/align] [align=center]Original kero light minus its mantle[/align] [align=center]

[/align] [align=center]I have seen a carriage like this somewhere....[/align]

 

[ge_rik]

Not many people remember kero lights with “mantles”. I do….What I do not get is that electric lamps in the early years could not be used as the filaments were too fragile to withstand the jolting, yet here we have a “mantle” being jolted, jarred, and suffering hellish conditions and yet they survived. Yet put them on a table lamp and give them a hard stare and they would fall to bits. They were made from treated silk and once were “Burnt Off” were actually ash that was some how held together by the “ceramic” binding…. You can still get them for LPG lights….

I remember those. Over here they were called Tilley lamps.

http://www.tilleylamp.co.uk/catalog/about.php?osCsid=d2a59ad023791cfcc9f168d874107d81 < Link To http://www.tilleylamp.co....791cfcc9f168d874107d81

We used them in one house we lived in once which had no mains electricity when I was a kid. Like a Primus stove the paraffin was pressurised with a manual pump. I used to think the mantles were some sort of magic - they gave out a really bright light from an otherwise weedy flame. As you say, because they were little more than a dome of ash, they were extremely fragile.

Rik
PS - I remember we also had a battery powered valve radio there. We used to take the accumulator to the local electrical shop to be recharged. Eeee they were the days .......

video=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo

 

[PhilP]

Them chaps in the video are a bit well dressed for round Mr Duffy's!!

 

[sparky230]

Tilley lamps have 2 on my workbench to overhaul, still very popular with fishemen, my 2 stepsons regulary take them night fishing for light and heat

 

[tramcar trev]

After looking more closley at the foot boards I decided to replace them. Simply not enough room for the conductor to swing along them calling out “Fez Plis”. Then the poor paper boy (girls were not allowed to do this work, it was too dangerous) who had to sell his papers in his “allotted section” and avoid getting in the way of both Conductor (no conductresses on toast rack trams either – far too dangerous) and fare evading passengers “scaling” the tram…. The paper boys sometimes helped out by being ex officio conductors passing the fares from the inner commuters to the Conductor and the ticket back. If you were a cooperative little “cobber” the driver would signal a tram returning so you would not be asked for a fare on your return to the paper shop… “Pay-ur; Pay-ur”…. Too much nostalgia for me…

So I didn’t bother with the replica internal lamps, who is going to look in there anyway? Instead I reused the original light shades and warm white LEDS. It gives a nice effect and as I said earlier the destination screens are the same as the ones on the Motor but this version has pins cast in them so they can be mounted on the roof…
I hope to find another dead one to build another trailer; two trailers would look great behind the motor. I just hope they can negotiate the curves…..

 

[Martino]

Fantastic Trev.

 

[trammayo]

Looking good Trev - like the livery.

 

[tramcar trev]

The trailer needs tail lights and it’s finished…. I was searching for a small socket that I could “implant’ in the rear bumper that would accept the pins from a led. That way I could have a way of plugging in the led tail lights at either end… Looks quite nice behind the motor but I really need 2 trailers for the ensemble to look the part…. Mr. Murphy visited today as well, the trailer lights work when they are plugged in on the bench, put it on the track and no trailer lights… Something very weird going on as the lights are insulated from every thing…
Next step after making up the tail lights will be to put a crew on board. Then perhaps I could also paint up some of the seated people I have bought and install them as passengers. I bought a bulk lot so there will be plenty to go around all the trams.

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[GJFREESTONE]

Hi
I have been following this thread and to say that this is an attempt is way off the mark were credit is due it is fantastic . if I was into trams I would know who to go to but a lot of your modelling is transferable keep up the good work
Graham Shrewsbury

 

[3Valve]

Trev this just keeps getting better and better.

 

[ge_rik]

Excellent stuff Trev. I can't find a smiley which depicts 'green with envy' at your modelling skills but this is the nearest - :'( :'( I feel sick as a parrot that I can't do what you do.

Just wondered - I don't know a lot about trams but weren't they required to have some sort of guard / 'cow-catcher' at the front which tripped a cut-out if a child or pedestrian fell in front of them? Was that equally applicable to steam trams? I know they had to have their motions covered to avoid frightening the horses but just wondered if they also had to comply with that early form of elf 'n safety legislation

Rik

 

[dunnyrail]

Trev,
Super job as ever. For the connection between cars and Trailers for lights. Talk to your olcal HO Dcc men, you can get very small plugs and sockets that are used for Speakers or whatever in HO (00 over here). Or look at very small Rare Earth Magnets, these will work as well. Let us know how you get on.
JonD

 

[tramcar trev]

Trev,
Super job as ever. For the connection between cars and Trailers for lights. Talk to your olcal HO Dcc men, you can get very small plugs and sockets that are used for Speakers or whatever in HO (00 over here). Or look at very small Rare Earth Magnets, these will work as well. Let us know how you get on.
JonD

My local PC "Geek" gave me some as used in laptops etc. Definitely need a magnifying lamp to solder the wires on and they are the same pitch as the pins on a led. 2.54mm. They are available at Jaycar as well about AU$1 a set....

Trouble is when things get this small they tend to become less robust and subject to damage easily.....

 

[tramcar trev]

Excellent stuff Trev. I can't find a smiley which depicts 'green with envy' at your modelling skills but this is the nearest - :'( :'( I feel sick as a parrot that I can't do what you do.

Just wondered - I don't know a lot about trams but weren't they required to have some sort of guard / 'cow-catcher' at the front which tripped a cut-out if a child or pedestrian fell in front of them? Was that equally applicable to steam trams? I know they had to have their motions covered to avoid frightening the horses but just wondered if they also had to comply with that early form of elf 'n safety legislation

Rik

http://www.gscalecentral.net/fb.ashx?m=292893 < Link To http://www.forum.gscalece.ral.net/fb.ashx?m=292893

Don't know about cutting off the power but they had lifeguards and trays to catch the "victim" in. I have seen the damage done to a person run over by a tram and the injuries they sustained even though they did not touched by the wheels were horrendous, both legs had compound fractures and the cuts, lacerations and abrasions were worse than if they had been blown up by a mine...