I'm not sure whether to post this in rolling stock or locomotives, since it concerns both power cars and trailers.
For 10 years there has been a mountain tramway which starts from the rear of Rae Bridge station. It is loosely based on the theme of the Manx trams, although the rolling stock was converted from the old Bachmann San Francisco cable car body shell, of which I happened to pick up a few about 30 years ago. I still have one unused body shell and some parts waiting for a future project.
Here is the Bachmann conversion of a tram and trailer in service on the tramway:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Fcdr%2Fmain%2Ffoto%2Fmotivepower%2Fother%2Fp4224393a.jpg&hash=1981bae00a4af0f59080ee0a6c171c941315b374)
In addition there is a box cab electric loco, which is very loosely based on the Kinlochleven locomotives - it is sometimes disdainfully referred to as the 'flying garden shed' which indeed it resembles. The tower wagon in the photo was built by Mick Thornton, and is based on the Snaefell Mountain Railway example.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Fcdr%2Fmain%2Ffoto%2Fmotivepower%2Fother%2Fp4224405a.jpg&hash=3e75338c33bd2f5981484002d63ee65c9350e1c0)
You will note that the CDMT uses Hopkinson bow collectors similar to the ones on the Snaefell Mountain line. The gradient is rather less than on the Snaefell line, so a Fell rail wasn't deemed necessary - the tram relies on electromagnetic rail brakes and sand for extra gripping power.
For some years I have had one of the Worsley Works etched brass kits for a true Snaefell car, and recently Mick unearthed a built up example for me from the 009 Society's Sales stand. There should eventually be made into a second tram set.
Recently a German friend sent me a box full of Atlas Editions tramcars that he had no use for. One of the items in it was an other San Francisco cable tram, a slightly different version from the one I used in my earlier project.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_1890.jpg&hash=d237fcbf32d6b9d1883e24744b593c2a2fc19dd3)
I set to work on it, converting the bogies to accept 9mm gauge wheels. Well... that experiment was a disaster as it ran very badly due to wheels that weren't true, inside bearings (brass tube fitted in the bogies) and too much slack in the bogie pivots. So I found two Chivers bogies, temporarily fitted old plastic Peco wheels (the ones with the old back-to-back) and set to work. One of the bogies was fitted to a plastic pivot I happened to find, and side supports added so it wouldn't sway from side to side. The other was fitted to one of the bogie pivots of the Atlas chassis plate, with a packing piece. This one has plenty of slack, so the suspension is effectively three-point. I fitted Kato couplers and coupler boxes, and the trailer runs perfectly.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_1904.jpg&hash=eccd4a07c8a532da31030d6281dbe6ed70edf990)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_1888.jpg&hash=45bd2e10020f205f650c5525d9b1372fb695d737)
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It can either be added to the persent two-car set, although this would probably create braking problems on the 1 in 15 gradient up the hill, or be used in conjunction with the box cab, for peak traffic.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_1897.jpg&hash=7777985b52dd04daee81f4e7d52daf79fdd951ef)
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What remains to be done now is to paint it in a more suitable livery. Or perhaps all I need to do is fit Creag Dhubh legends over the Golden Gate Bridge poster, similar to the older cars, and leave the livery as it is - I might call this the CDMT Observation Coach, with seats facing outward and a viewing balcony, painted in the new Tourist Livery....
Ted,
Did you narrow any of the cable car bodies?
Jeff S.
No Jeff, I have a very generous loading gauge - up to 30mm wide, so the Bachmann bodies fit without problem. The Atlas Editions model is about 28mm wide.
Meanwhile, Rae Bridge Works is in the process of painting the new trailer car for the Mountain Tramway. I found Revell matt vermilion no. 36 is a good match for the basic colour of the Atlas Editions car, which I used to paint out the white panels and the destination boards on the car ends. The Mountain Tramway legend is the same I used on the older cars - it is a laser print matched to the other cars' dark red. This is what it looks like at the moment, with the roof and the undercarriage painted in light and dark grey, and the handrails painted grey:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_1907.jpg&hash=9e15494bf165382ee608b72ff24fdae7e91d2fcb)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_1909.jpg&hash=cc303910fe8e39be40382b3d9f66483795934960)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_1912.jpg&hash=ee6bd3fca94858bedaf382af83f1c4ba6d9a7df6)
How long before an Oxford Rail Manx Electric car makes an appearance Ted?
;D After I have completed the Snaefell car, and.... and.... and....
I think the Oxford model has great scope provided you find a suitable chassis. Probably a Kato Bo-Bo-Bo electric would fit. Or a Tomytec Bo-Bo if the Kato is too short.
This morning I experimented a little with a paper print:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_1924.jpg&hash=a254823d9e7e68b4c63971e06f7e01810322073d)
I used the basic red and yellow colours from Paint, aiming for a rectangle about 4x10mm. Copying the image in Word, I printed a series of them on one page, then coated the paper with matt varnish (Revell no. 2) back and front. After this had dried, I cut out paper rectangles that fit in the bottom panels on the saloon section. I stuck them on with more matt varnish. They are slightly off colour and a little blotchy, so I put on a coat of gloss varnish, which funnily seems to dry in a satin finish on the paper. Once on the layout it looks fair enough:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_1929.jpg&hash=9a9e3cff7157d2bbcebf3f23effadd7e1abcb923)
Anyway it is better than leaving the bottom panels plain as they were. ;)
I had a problem with the box cab. Couplings.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_2079.jpg&hash=e5d84de8af72b6c0a795eee0609b378253230c2f)
These were glued inside the cowcatchers and therefore rigid. If I wanted to push a four-wheel wagon through some of the curves, it derailed. So I decided to fit different couplings - the ones in some of the Kato locomotives, with a ring on the stem. It was rather a difficult operation as the box cab wasn't built very smartly to begin with and I could hardly get the body off the chassis. The cowcatchers were a bit iffy - a few bad solder joins, so I almost demolished one of them trying to cut a gap after I removed the original coupler. Anyway, I succeeded, and now the couplers can swing.
Since I had the body off anyway, I decided to fit lights. I used two bright LEDs, a piece of PC board and a 1K resistor. The LEDs and the resistor were soldered on the board, then the leads on the LEDs were bent so they press into the light housings on the opposide ends of the body:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_2288.jpg&hash=a2065432a8c29b648faf784f8118d75f63347b0b)
I painted the LED bodies black beforehand, but they aren't black enough - the light still shines in. The LEDs are rather too bright, I think a bigger resisor value might be needed. But anyway, this is what it looks like:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_2292.jpg&hash=40bb02d9ba46a23d20ce14eaa4a22a3a37c7abcd)
Oh yes. The couplings. Here is a close-up. They can swing a little, and they can move up a little though that may be a mistake as they can lose a wagon when coming to a stop. Anyway they are much better than the old ones:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2016%2Falbum%2F2016tram%2Fimages%2FIMG_2296.jpg&hash=a18af882570c5962d81f9138906d5555884b18cc)