driving truck

[chameleonrob]

as promised, pictures of the driving truck I have just finished.
it is designed to run dual gauge (7 1/4"/5") track with a simplex sized engine and up to 3 carrages of similar size to the truck. no vacuum or air brakes fitted so the hand brake has to be good, it mush also be light and free running as the engine not very powerfull and the track steep. the hand brake has 9 to 1 mechanical advantage and is compensated front and rear (not side to side, if a brake falls off the brakes still work) the small handle by the front right buffer is a parking brake which can wind the brakes on without stopping the hand brake working.

for someone who is long term ill and been in model engineering about 18 months, i don't think its too bad!

ps with 32 stone (two people!) on it I can still lock the wheels with one hand (just!)
img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/chameleonrob/CID__xO1DnJ6JtA_.jpg
img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/chameleonrob/CID__WJQZ2coXUA_.jpg
img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/chameleonrob/CID__93J8SwALF7_.jpg

[greasemonkey]

Looks good! With so many driving trucks looking like pieces of bedstead its nice to see something that looks like a truck. What is your motive power?

regards
Andy

[chameleonrob]

I built it as a favor for a friend so I don't have any motive power (yet, still building my own design of steam loco) for use with his super simplex or 5" masie (GNR atlantic). you probably won't be able see it in the pictures but it is made from individual planks painted before assembly rather than a board with groves scored in it, with the ends of the planks beveled at 45^o,all but the last one was easy to fit....

[Tony K]

Looks good. We are all coming for a ride! Did you buy in the wheels as castings and trim them up or buy them finished. Where do you buy this kind of thing from? Tony

[chameleonrob]

The wheels are turned from discs of EN8 to 100mm nominal on the tires, made of that they should last a few years! As it's for use with relatively small locos I recessed them to keep the weight down, if you think they look like casting then thats a fine complement as the only bought in parts are the bearing on the axles and the file handle on the brake! As for where I got the metal for the wheels my local steel stockholder can get the stuff and will deliver if it costs more than a tenner.

rob