7¼" gauge in the garden

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7¼" gauge in the garden

Locomotives - Petrol-Hydraulic #1

 

Other pages of interest about my Petrol Hydraulic: Workshop

December 2008

  Since my hydraulic transmission arrived from the UK I have been pondering what style of loco to build. I decided that I would not start until POEM was back and running so that I didn't get distracted.

I have always had a soft-spot for the 40hp, armoured Simplex tractors supplied to the British army in World War I, but I also prefer sit-in locos. Though I had originally planned a replica of the loco shown to the left, I am now tending more to a sit-in design.

I used to have a Meridian Models 009 model of this loco when I was a teenager.

 

 

This is what I have to work with - and a blank sheet of paper.

January-February 2009

 

Gathering information and ideas at this stage. I am also rather pre-occupied with POEM to worry too much about the petrol-hydraulic for now.

March 2009

 

I have been "doodling" with AutoCAD on designs for a ride-in 4-wheel loco and I am not impressed; the proportions look all wrong and too "cutesy". If I do a ride-in loco I think it'll have to be a 4-axle loco (i.e. Bo-Bo).

 

 

  I think the armoured Simplex is back on. It'll not be easy as the curved armour-plate will be a challenge, but I've always liked them and it'd certainly be a talking point on other tracks.

It will also be a nice addition to POEM, which is also based on a WWI trench loco.

Websites with info and photos of the 40hp, armoured Simplex:

 

 

Light Railway 3090 (aka Motor Rail serial number 1369) was the subject of a restoration sponsored by the UK's Channel 4 TV.

The 40hp Simplex came in three variants:
  • "open" had no side-doors and a simple roof
  • "protected" had side doors and a simple roof (see photo)
  • "armoured" had side doors and an enclosed roof
Photos of all three types are on the "Simplex" page of the Tin Turtle website along with a lot of other photos taken during the restoration.

Photo copyright Moseley Railway Trust and used with permission.

I know of three 40hp Simplexes in the UK: the Amberley Working Museum, the Moseley Railway Trust and the Leighton Buzzard Railway.

July 2010

 

As POEM is taking substantially longer to complete than planned, the petrol-hydraulic has been put on the back-burner for now; I just don't want too many projects on the go all at once.

September 2010

 

I always had a soft-spot for the MinitrainS H0n30 Plymouth. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of building one in 7¼" gauge.

December 2010

  I received an email from Craig Adams in the US with some plans and photos of his ride-in loco. This has rekindled my interest and it looks like with a bit of work I could make a ride-in Plymouth:

 

 

 
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