Narrow gauge tramway loco

[Peter_T1958]

Hi there

It's been very quiet around me in the last month. One reason for this is, that I call my latest project (Steel Cable Transmission) done and I didn't wanted to stick my neck out with my forthcoming project.

Now that the first clarifications are carried out, I would like show you what is on my workbench (or better on my desk, as I have no machinery at all...). I take a lot of inspiration in the work of Havard Houen and Volker Gerisch, also members of this forum. Above all, I want to build a locomotive out of brass. I know, without machinery this is a near impossible task, but this is one of my dreams for a long time.

Some of you may remember that most of my projects are rooted in my region; I always want to recreate a period in history.  And so the object of desire is a narrow gauge tramway loco that operated in my hometown from 1913 to 1971. And here ist the beauty (Ok, at the end of her career, her beauty faded slightly...):



My technical and handicraft possibilities lie in particular in drawing etching templates and recently in 3d printing too. Nevertheless I require some assistance from you guys from time to time. I hope to post here my next steps soon.

First impressions:
Bogie side printed by Shapeways:


Coupler still in plastic also by shapeways:


Etched brass parts



Cheers,
Peter

[finescalerr]

Volker, Helmut, and Frithjof seem to have found an outstanding guy for 3-D printing. You might want to find out more before settling on Shapeways. I look forward to watching your model come together. -- Russ

[Bernhard]

Very nice project, Peter. What scale is it ?

Bernhard

[Peter_T1958]

It's 0m gauge, 1/45 scale.

[Hauk]

It's 0m gauge, 1/45 scale.

Ahh, perfect!

I can´t wait to see how you will tackle the pantograph. I  desperately need some inspiration to tackle the pantographs for my next engine.
Reallyl looking forward to follow this build.

What are the wheels like, by the way? And what standards will you build the model to?

[Chuck Doan]

Looking good!

[Ray Dunakin]

Very interesting project, and you're off to a good start! I like the look of that electric loco, and love the weathered appearance. Will you be giving your model a similar appearance, or newer looking?

[Peter_T1958]

Thanks for your hints and questions. I am aware of the high standard in that forum and that's why I am prefere to post my work here. It's the only place I know, where not only nice words but constructive criticism is given.
But at this time it is still too early to expect answers about the planned work from me. Why?
Needless to say, the Proto 48 standard, would be my fist choice, but in lacking any machinery, that remains a dream. So I have to muddle through with what I am able to archieve. The Wheels for instance are from Slaters (I have read they are Finescale standard?!?) To match the 0m track the axles had to be milled some tenth of a millimetrer. Fortunately I found a watchmaker in the vicinity, tha made that for me - for money needless to say! He is also willing to rework future castings such as the motor and gear unit. In 0m scale all components have to find their place in a very small space.
With regards to the costs of such a project I had to go through rough times. Learning through trial and error meant, that the reject rate is very high, what increases the costs tredemous. That's why I concentrate now on the motor/bogie unit first not least because of the family bliss ;-D

@Ray
Of course, I would like to give my model a very weathered appearance. In my opinion such an "outfit" has much more charcter, is far more interesting!

@Havard
The pantographs are not on my focus yet, but I have a slight idea how to do them in the future. At "Jaffas-moba-shop.de" you can find an interesting approach (see -> download pdf document).

Cheers
Peter

[SandiaPaul]

Hi Peter! Two questions...can you point out the link about the pantographs for this non German speaker?
Also who is your vendor for the etchings?

[Peter_T1958]

Hi Paul
I don't know if it's allowed to linkt a thread with a commercial site. So I have attached a screenshot. Here you can see the download area with the kit instructions in pdf. on the mentioned address.



May be Havard could do some changes on such a commercial kit or (much better) create some similar brass parts. I'd probably do that in the distant future. To me the construction looks promising.

My etchings I ordered at Ätztechnik Herbert Caspers GmbH & Co. KG in Germany. The owner, Thomas Engel, is a modeller himself.

[Lawton Maner]

     Before you bash yourself over the lack of tooling to do the work for you, look at some of the objects which were all hand made centuries ago by craftsman whose access to tooling and raw materials were quite limited.  Some of the pre-Roman work discovered in the UK is exacting even by this crowd's standards.  Also remember that practice makes you better as does a trash bin for parts which do not work out. 
     Remember that small parts take magnification to be able to see them, and clever ways to hold them while working on them.  Antique watches will provide inspiration beacuse of the challenges of size and accuracy.  Make it as good as you can now, and if necessary you can go back and replace parts once you get better.
     A mentor of mine told me years ago that when modeling you make the part the same way the full sized is done, only smaller.

[SandiaPaul]

Thank you Peter!

[1-32]

1/48 scale outstanding.

[Peter_T1958]

Make it as good as you can now, and if necessary you can go back and replace parts once you get better.

Oh yes, that's what I am doing right now Each part has to be replaced one or two times. And that is not as cheap when those parts are in brass! Although I am missing some tooling indeed, this is just one point. What I am missing most is that I have absolutely no experience in that sector. Let me add an example:

In drawing the bogie on my PC I was asking me how to construct the pivot bearing. As may have guessed already, I had neither an idea nor could find a concrete answer in the www. So I set off straight away and tried to find a solution. Perhaps this will work; otherwise it will become rather expensive again....

Here what I am planning: A pivot with a small turntable underneath (red in the screenshot).


To prevent the tilting oft he superstructure I intend to install small spring elements (orange in the second drawing).


May be someone has a great deal of experience or can provide some pictures?

Cheers, Peter

   

[finescalerr]

Don't waste money or time. Just post your question here and somebody will give you the right answer. -- Russ