Carrying case / frame

[Jason]

Hi everybody.

As some of you might have already read I have a ModelWorks Black 5 and will be making a ModelWorks Duchess over the coming years!!!
My question is does anybody have any good designs for either a carrying box or frame to hold my Black 5 for transportation?? And one that will be strong enough to carry the Duchess??
I am toying with the idea of two pieces of angle iron with a plank of wood in the middle for the bottom and then a frame made from angle iron for the upper frame with either handles at either end or with two pole that thread through the length of the frame to use to carry it!!!
If any body has a good design I would be interested in hearing from them.

Thanks

Jason

[Phil Sutton]

Hi Jason,I have seen someone use a sack truck,with a piece of board fastened to it to stand the loco on,and the loco was secured using hook bolt through the sack truck,board and through the coupling hooks.The front of the loco faces the blade of the sack truck,with the buffers resting on it.
The sack truck was one of those from machine mart,with the castors and movable handle,so can be used either as a flat barrow or a sack truck.You'd have to run a tape measure over one,or make up some thing similar.Lugging a Dutchess about in a box is no joke

Phil

[alanstepney]

Angle iron is heavy. You need strength with as little weight as possible:you have to lift /carry it at some point.

Angle aluminium is better, with a base of the material of your choce, wooden(?), thin ply (?) sides and top.

The one important thing is to secure it FIRMLY in your car.
Last week a pal had a minor shunt in his. Rather, it would have been minor, until his engine kept going when the car stopped.
That did more damage than the accident, including breaking his arm.

[SteveW]

Jason,

Have you looked at the thin steel box section in B&Q (UK). They have a deep section that looks idea for either a crate or a ride-on trolley.

Being the custodian of the club Sweet Pea which is both wide and 'kin heavy I've found that having handles that poke out the ends of the carrying box ease the pick-up and move problems. Folk at the club have handles at the top that give too high a lift point and makes it very difficult to move anywhere.

Unfortunately having low handles on the end also exacerbates the storage in the garage and getting it into the motor. They really need to be foldable, especially on longer locos.

Another point is maybe thing about including a hard point at both ends to allow some form of screw down to either a trailer or loading frame in the back of the car. This helps avoid any tendency to topple.

Also, ensure the loco is secure within the box. I've also found that having casters on the bottom eases moving it around in the garage. The club loco lives on a simple board with casters underneath.

Consider including storage for all the ancillary bits so you just get to pick up a couple of boxes and go. Remember somewhere for a box of matches or a long stem gas lighter, oil can(s), wood, charcoal, coal, blower (and battery) and all the clean-down kit.

[dhamblin]

Jason,

Here are a few pictures of the carrying case that Grandad built for Britannia. 40 years old and still in reasonable condition


Front end is supported by the buffers, while at the rear there is a similar arrangment through the tender drawbar pin hole.


Two pieces of angle iron support the locomotive, with carrying handles at each end.


The full arrangement. There is a second box for the tender with the lid for the main unit on the left. Handles are secured to the brackets on the ends of the lid.

Regards,

Dan

[dinmoremanor]

Here is a pic of a sturdy case that a friends Simplex lives in: mikesolloway.fotopic.net/p31820882.html It has castors on the bottom for ease of manouvering etc. The box is made to fit the excact length of the loco so it can't roll around inside and has blocks above the buffers so it can't jump off the rails. Very simple, strong, yet lightweight construction, aluminium sides, edged with an aluminium angle frame pop rivetted together.....

[greasemonkey]

Hi Jason
Have a chat with Andy at Polly models, there was a guy at one of the Polly rallys who was making bespoke cases and when I chatted with him got the impression he would make any size you wanted to order. loked very nice too with MDF sides, routed opening to reduce weight etc.

Andy