On the workbench      On the drawing-board      Reference

As of March 2009 POEM is back on rails and we are working out the final few teething-troubles.

CLICK HERE for more info on POEM.

I have always had a soft-spot for the 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.

CLICK HERE for more information on my petrol hydraulic

CLICK HERE for more information on my rolling stock

I have always had a soft spot for the classic V-tippers that were built in the thousands for industrial use all over the world. They are also very practical for construction purposes on a railway.

I have been working on-and-off on some CAD drawings to build some from profile-cut steel and I got the steel for the prototypes back from the profile cutters just before Christmas. I now have the "fun" of welding up what is quite a complex shape for the chassis.

Neither John B. nor I can TIG weld, but a friend of mine can. TIG welding would make a much neater job of welding up the chassis than MIG would.

Plans are also available (I don't have them) for an adhesion-only 0-6-0 which uses a lot of the same parts.

I am trying to find out whether castings (or patterns for them) are still available.

There are apparently two Koppels in New Zealand. There is a rack loco based somewhere around Havelock North (it has been seen there on several occasions - see below) but I do not know where the adhesion-only 0-6-0 is. I am trying to track it down.

This would be a project I would really enjoy.

(Prototype photo taken on the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway, UK)

John Bremner and I are looking at the feasibility of building two Garratts as a joint-project.

We're looking for proven designs for the chassis and the boiler to avoid having to modify too much during the build stages.

At the moment, L'il Lima by Keith Watson is the front-runner for the chassis as we want Walschaerts valve gear (so Romulus and Tinkerbell are out of the equation - at least as designed). I have got a full set of drawings for a L'il Lima and will draw up the modified chassis, cylinders and valve gear in AutoCAD to see who it all looks.

We are still investigating options for a locomotive-type boiler (not Briggs or marine) that is capable of providing steam to four reasonably large cylinders.

The photo above is of a 2' 6" gauge Sierra Leone Government Railway 2-6-2 + 2-6-2. Though it gives you an idea, the final design is likely to vary in a lot of details; not least of which is we'd build it outside frame for stability.

I just spent a pleasant couple of hours with AutoCAD. Stefan Lipsey drew up the frames for L'il Lima as intended (he's building one), then I took all his work and played cut-and-paste seeing how the chassis would work as a Garratt.

I especially like the 2-8-2 + 2-8-2.

This 2-6-2 + 2-6-2 works out at 3.5m (11' 6") long (over the frames and excluding whatever pilot or couplers go on the ends).

The 2-8-2 + 2-8-2 works out at 3.73m (12' 3"). Not much longer and I think it looks more in proportion seeing as it needs a cab much larger than normal to sit inside.

If this project goes ahead, it'll not be until 2010 as I want to get my petrol-hydraulic working and John B. needs to finish his Romulus.

CLICK HERE for more information on the Garratt project.

7¼" Gauge Society approved track and wheel standards

FLANGEWAYS

WHEEL STANDARDS