Tramway Water Car / Rail Scrubber

[pghewett]

That's a fantastic model - I had been thinking about taking an LGB tram and cutting out the passenger compartment and (as you did ) installing their shortie tank, but (a ) laziness, and (b) reluctance to take the knife to a new tram so far prevented me, but now I see what can be done...

GH

 

[trammayo]

Looking good Alyn You've captured the right feel and look of a workaday PW car alright.

 

[Dennis Paulson]

That looks so right

 

[themole]

Update, the model now has a reworked Bachmann driver, now dressed in a brown scruffy jacket, brown trowsers, and a flat cap. The water pipes for watering the road surface have been fabricated out of brass, and fitted in place. Pictures to follow. Alyn

 

[eye-kay]

That just looks the part. Excellent job.

 

[schienenkönig]

Hello forum members,
I'm new to this forum and my English is not perfect. Forgive me please. I'm a photographer of trams in my home town Wuppertal (abinded in May 1987) and have a website for the Schwebebahn (suspension tailway) in our town. And.. I'm bulding tram models in G scale. I found this watercar on the internet, after I finished a simular car. We call it "Sprengwagen" It is nearly finished. Only the labels and a "Albert" coupling is missing.

This was the model I have taken for it.

And that is the result.

The lights are working with a 9V battery. The warning light on the roof is a real turning light. It is a freelance model.

A test run you find here: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YHXVaoqa4Y&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

Here a link, how it was made: Tam model Sprengwagen Sorry, only in German.

Her a link to other models I'm working at. Modell trams - Wuppertal and freeelance

 

[KandNWLR]

Combine this brilliant idea with the brush tram vehicle thread currently going on in parallel, and this will be unbeatable, if a little over-engineered. :-\ : ???

 

[KandNWLR]

And here´s a link to the Basel (Switzerland) historical technical tram waggons page, which includes both a sprinkler (which apparently is motorized) and a salt spreader for ice and snow.

http://www.g-st.ch/trambasel/rm/rm_bvb_002.html

 

[The Devonian]

One type of maintenance tramcar which carried water tanks was also a track grinder car. They ground the rails with carborundum blocks, operated by rods and levers and lubricated with water from the tank. The purpose was to smooth out grooves in the track. Birmingham City Tramways had one (at least) and I am sure other UK systems had them as well. I think that this type of car probably served more than one function; most systems would not want a number of cars not in regular use. The BCT, most likely other systems as well, used older converted cars, often reduced to single deck, for the maintenance fleet.

 

[trammayo]

I'm sure I saw Mole's excellent conversion on ebay a few days ago!

Works cars always fascinated me as a youngster in Leeds - a single decker (usually) painted in grey, waiting on a spur or trundling down the track - sometimes with a trailer. Leeds had a large fleet of these cars - some purchased new (Brill snow brooms - six of!), some purpose built like two overhead line cars. and some conversions of former double deck cars.

Some trams remained double deck - the front platform replaced with a snow plough - whilst others were used as stores vehicles carry spares from the works to depots or purely for sand and granite setts. Even used for carrying money or paying wages at depots.

I have dozens of photos (taken by others) and I wondered about posting some on this thread but I'm worried about copyright (even though most were taken over sixty years ago!).

 

[KandNWLR]

One type of maintenance tramcar which carried water tanks was also a track grinder car. They ground the rails with carborundum blocks, operated by rods and levers and lubricated with water from the tank. The purpose was to smooth out grooves in the track. Birmingham City Tramways had one (at least) and I am sure other UK systems had them as well. I think that this type of car probably served more than one function; most systems would not want a number of cars not in regular use. The BCT, most likely other systems as well, used older converted cars, often reduced to single deck, for the maintenance fleet.

Basel City Transport down the road in Switzerland have a dedicated orange engine, which grinds the track. Interestingly, they also have an internal combustion engine lorry with a set of leaf and gunge removal trailing lengths of metal that hang down behind the water truck and fit in the track, so it seems that they´ve given up on the idea of combining both tasks in one vehicle. Unfortunately, the lorry is wider than a tram so it makes passing it with a tram on the other track something of a spectator sport.

 

[tramcar trev]

I'm sure I saw Mole's excellent conversion on ebay a few days ago!

Works cars always fascinated me as a youngster in Leeds - a single decker (usually) painted in grey, waiting on a spur or trundling down the track - sometimes with a trailer. Leeds had a large fleet of these cars - some purchased new (Brill snow brooms - six of!), some purpose built like two overhead line cars. and some conversions of former double deck cars.

Some trams remained double deck - the front platform replaced with a snow plough - whilst others were used as stores vehicles carry spares from the works to depots or purely for sand and granite setts. Even used for carrying money or paying wages at depots.

I have dozens of photos (taken by others) and I wondered about posting some on this thread but I'm worried about copyright (even though most were taken over sixty years ago!).

I would post with a clean conscience, the owners of the original images are long gone and as you are not intending to make financial gain from the photos I cant see how you would infringe copyright... The worst that could happen is that an heir or successor of someone in one of the pics is recognised then you have to spend time answering questions as to how you knew their great grandparent.....

 

[trammayo]

- I'll send all such questions to the Antipodes

Need to scan some in then!

 

[Dtsteam]

Well if we are doing works cars I`ll chip in a borrowed piccy of my favourite - Blackpool standard 143 converted to a line car in 1958. It was fitted with a motor-generator set to power welding equipment and  move the car at a brisk walking pace. Seeing it trundle down a deserted Blackpool promenade in the dead of winter, or parked up at Little Bispham loop during the lights are some of my childhood memories. Currently this is being restored back to its original condition http://www.ltt.org.uk/our-trams/standard-143/

 

[tramcar trev]

- I'll send all such questions to the Antipodes

Need to scan some in then!

Yes please...

 

[trammayo]

I thought I`d start a new thread so it could drift to all matters concerned with maintaining and operating tramways.

Then I wondered what heading/section to post it in. So I`ll just add a few to this and you can tell me when to stop - although I`ll run out of pictures anyway

First off I thought of Bradford. It had electric traction for nearly eighty years - tram & trolleybus - I used to own two of the latter!

Bradford had a number of snowploughs converted from former double deckers (canopied or open top - Bradford never ran enclosed double deckers because it didn`t want to comply with BoT stipulations that said enclosed cars on narrow-gauge - 4ft - had to be bogie types [two trucks rather than single]).

Here is S4 at Thornbury Works along with two stripped down former service cars. The building to the left was known as the Tin Shed and was home to some Bradford built early trackless cars ..



S4 in action in Otley Road, Undercliffe, 1947. Frank Hartley Collection  ...



Plough S6, converted from a four-window car, seen on the 25th February, 1950.  Photo Jim Copland, My Collection .....



Can you send a plough? Tramway telephony in the first decades of the 20th Century. Circa 1905 - the motorman looks like he has an unvestibuled car!  (FHC) ...



We`re a tough lot in Yorkshire - a bit of snow or drop of water was no excuse to suspend a service! Forster Square (in post-war years).  Bradford Beck was always oveflowing! (FHC) ....



Bradford knew that trams were route bound (well who didn`t?), so it pioneered - along with neighbouring Leeds - a public trackless tram service on the 20th June, 1911. Here is Siemens/Hurst Nelson car No.240. Bradford actually began its service on the 24th of June so Leeds began conveying the public first!

Anyway, the reason it is included is because it used to operate over the tramway network after being converted to a lorry....



and as a lorry (it had off wire capabilities in the form of batteries). It had fleet number 502. Sister vehicle, 241, became trolley lorry 501 and ran between Bradford and Leeds - self steering by an arm located in the track groove. No photos exist (or haven`t come to light yet) of 241 as a passenger vehicle. Six of the Bradford built trackless cars became grit lorries for use on tramway or tackless routes.



And finally (on this posting), sand and sett car No.11 ....



To be continued ..

 

[KandNWLR]

Thanks for the impressive pics collection. Now where are the models to follow? ???

 

[mike]

hello,, and welcome, your english is better than mine, a beautifull modle, ???