Stronach-Dutton Road-rail tractor

[Hugh Norwood]

A Stronach-Dutton tractor in 009


This all started when someone (David788) on the ngrm-online forum posted a link to a film held by the British Film Institute, showing the remarkable Stronach-Dutton Road-rail system in action both abroad and at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924.

Well, it certainly caught my imagination and I spent some months thinking about whether I could do something in 4mm scale. So I went on the look-out for suitable 4mm scale steam wagons; ideally die-cast for weight. I found these very hard to come by, so eventually bought an Oxford Diecast Fowler B6 road locomotive (ref  76FOW001) from Hattons.

Next, of course, was to find a suitable motor and gearbox for the tractor. This was a big issue as there is not much space in the body and of course the wheels are much bigger than loco wheels. I had a chat with Garry Whiting at the East Midlands Member's day and he suggested that perhaps one of those tiny Japanese-made chassis would fit, but of course they have low-voltage motors, and might not have enough torque to turn the wheels. Then a bit of inspiration struck; the Tomytec HM-01 4-wheel motor "bogie" is small, and has a (stated) 12V motor

[garrywhiting]

Well done Hugh, absolutely brilliant!

Garry

[clayliner]

Agreed - a very tidy job, and something different.

David.

[paul ludlow]

brilliant, i watched the footage from your link. i was mesmorised. i never even knew these existed. The model you've made really captures the essence of the prototype, well done. Paul.

[Jeff Schumaker]

Amazing, Hugh. Simply amazing. Unfortunately the website would not allow me to watch the video, since I'm in the US.

Jeff S.

[Gerhard Novak]

One of the weirdest creations of engineering! The originals look pretty dangerous when you see how they tilted in the bends. Thanks for sharing and good luck with the build.
Will you prepare a special piece of track for your monster (dirt path left and right of the track)?

[kebo66]

 An absolutely fascinating piece of footage, thank you for bringing this to our attention. Also an excellent model.
This opens up an entirely new world for NG modellers.

Keith

[Hugh Norwood]

It has gone back into the workshop for the time being; I want to see if I can make it more controllable. I tried making a video of it travelling along the dockside on Angst-Lesspork and, to be honest, if you blinked you missed it! I remain convinced it's a viable model.

[danny]

Very neatly done, and a very interesting idea. Am I right to assume that the prototype system was built to allow steeper gradients than a conventional railway?

[Hugh Norwood]

Something like that - it was thought that the system would give the benefits of rubber on ground for traction, with the low rolling resistance of metal on rails (for the wagons etc), but as someone remarked somewhere, it seems to have combined the disadvantages of both systems instead!

(Plus, lighter weight rail, lower cost of construction etc. etc.)

[Graeme Dunbar]

I was thinking it looks a little bit like a Harry Worth (you need to be British and of a certain age to get that reference*) version of the Patalia State monorail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patiala_State_Monorail_Trainways
http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/patiala/patiala.htm

I guess the advantage of the road-rail tractor is you still have a usable traction engine and railway if it doesn't work!

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIPihrhzr-U

[Hugh Norwood]

I recall that there was an article in the NEWS many moons ago from someone who made a model of the Patalia monorail; I think it may have been during my tenure as editor...

[Graeme Dunbar]

Yes indeed. That I learned about the beast.

oops edit - That is where I learned about the beast.

[Hugh Norwood]

Brief update: I have fitted a new motor and gearbox; first impression is that it is much better behaved. I need to get the layout up to try it out properly. I shall even try to video it...

[Hugh Norwood]

At last. Rare sighting of a Stronach-Dutton tractor on the dockside in Angst...

https://youtu.be/q8Ujppxw5jU