The Greendale Rocket

[Annie]

Please don't laugh because I'm being quite serious; - has anyone made use of either the Postman Pat Greendale Rocket loco or coach on their railways?



I have one of the coaches and I've been thinking about putting some 45mm wheelsets under it and using it as a quarry type coach. If that proved to be successful I'd even go so far as to buy a second coach to run with it.
As for the loco itself it has certain similarities to a type of geared 4 coupled bush tram loco that worked in the New Zealand timber industry. Oh surgery would have to be done and I already have a couple of playworn and distressed locos that I'd have no hesitation at all over sawing up to provide the basis of such a project.

Other Postman Pat vehicles are of course very suitable for large scale railways, - such as the sidecar outfit and the handyman's truck. For some reason I had a really difficult time finding a truck and even then it was playworn, but the sidecar outfit turned up in near perfect condition with no problems at all.
I like the Postman Pat series of figures too even though they are a little short for 7/8 scale, but I just call it natural variation such as you'd get in any population of folk.

[Sir Clothem Cap]

I picked up a thomas toy to convert into a working o gauge engine so I say go for it, Railways are for you to enjoy and with the carriages too it should be a fairly easy conversion. Do post some pictures of your progress.

[Annie]

I picked up a thomas toy to convert into a working o gauge engine so I say go for it, Railways are for you to enjoy and with the carriages too it should be a fairly easy conversion. Do post some pictures of your progress.

Did you? - yes I did that too, a plastic whistle in the shape of Thomas and just a nice size for an '0' gauge loco.



I still have an interest in '0' gauge and while all my tinplate is rapidly being sold off I kept all the vintage litho and wooden rolling stock models. Foolishly I sold my two handbuilt locos, but did keep various conversions I'd done on two or three heavily playworn Hornby locos. Thomas will be joining this motley crew

[Annie]

Getting back to the Greendale Rocket, this is the type of loco that I'm wanting to emulate for the Kotanga Tramway......



The Rocket isn't a total match for a Johnston 'A' class geared bush tram loco, but I think with a little reworking, grubby paintwork and an air of general rust I can make a convincing enough loco.
Most NZ bush trams were laid to 3ft 6in gauge, but the Kotanga Tramway at 45mm is a 2ft gauge line so any license I take with the loco's final appearance will be because it's a 2ft gauge 'A' class.

'Hoy!' cries Mr Rivetcounter waving his arms about, 'There's no such thing as a 2ft gauge Johnston 'A' class.'
'Well there is now,' I shall reply sweetly with a smile

[Annie]

This is a picture of a loco on the Takaka Tramway about 1900. This particular tramway was laid to 2ft gauge and carried pretty much everything that was produced, farmed or milled in the surounding district down to the river wharf.

The loco is another one that I'm thinking of using as inspiration for another Greendale Rocket conversion.

Btw I made a model of the flatcar coupled behind the loco and will most probably make another one to go with it.

[Pretoria]

Not wishing to hijack your thread (too far) -- do you know the builders of the original locos ?

[Annie]

Not wishing to hijack your thread (too far) -- do you know the builders of the original locos ?

Not a problem The little 0-4-0 at Takaka was built by the Anchor Shipping & Foundry Company Ltd in Nelson NZ.

And the larger bush tram loco is a Johnston model 'A' by J. Johnston & Sons Ltd., Invercargill NZ.

[dougrail]

Might this be of interest if you're after more Greendale coaches/stock?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GREENDALE-ROC ... 35bf57f974

[Annie]

Might this be of interest if you're after more Greendale coaches/stock?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GREENDALE-ROC ... 35bf57f974

Nice :} I'm actually seriously looking at a Greendale Rocket set here in NZ that has the Royal Mail van as well. I tend to stay away from e.bay these days because the cost of postage is so high.

[hussra]

Dave Watkins has a converted Greendale Rocket that sometimes comes out for junior use on his open days...

[DaveWatkins]

It was motorized with the works cut from an old toy car intended for toddlers. The gaudily coulored R/C handset can be seen in the pciture below.





Side frames are plastic sheet; I didn't bother with bearings. Wheels were bought from a trader at a 16mm convention. They had LGB size flanges which needed trimming to run on Peco SM32 track.

[Annie]

Oooooo nice

My one won't look so lovely by the time it's been 'bush trammed' and made to look like a down on its luck colonial relation.
There's two sorts of Greendale Rockets, a push along version and one with a battery with forward and reverse. I've got a battery one that's well knocked around so I think I'll have a go at that one first. Hopefully the battery mech is suitable for adaption.

[Annie]

Well that was pretty darn fiddly and not especially easy either.  :(

The actual loco body is made in two halves and held together with screws, only most of them are covered up by having other bits of the loco glued over the top of them.  Getting the glued on bits off involves a kind of controlled vandalism in that somehow the blade of a fine screw driver has to be eased under the joint without busting any bits that might be needed and then leverage applied until the glued joint fails.  The cab roof is the worst, but I got there in the end.
The other strange thing is that there are screws in some places inside the bodyshell that I simply couldn't see how they could've been fitted in place once the bodyshell was closed up, - and if they'd been screwed in first, then some of the main body shell screws couldn't have gone in at all!
Anyway it's done now and my conversion idea is looking a lot more sensible with the bodyshell stripped down and all the toy bits taken off.

Photos later I promise.

[Annie]

Fingers crossed, - the Greendale Rocket set with coach and Royal mail van (+ people) I'm bidding on is down to the last few minutes.

[Annie]

Yay! - got it!

For some reason I've got far more AJ Barnes figures from the Postman Pat series than any other; - this will bring them up to five counting the AJ Barnes in motorcycling kit I've got as well. With this auction the terribly battered Postman Pat I've already got can be retired, but I had been wondering about doing some plastic surgery on him and with a little repainting he might make a good station master.

So I've got my two coaches now which should be plenty, though if I can find a third coach at the right price I won't say no. My next trick will be to put a proper underframe under them, only now I can't decide whether to leave them as four wheelers or make them into bogie coaches.

I did have a thought just now that with two Greendale Rocket loco bodyshells I could build a double Fairlie........

[Annie]

The Greendale Rocket loco, coach and mail van arrived today and I must say that seeing two coaches side by side is very nice indeed. I will be keeping them as 4 wheelers, though for a moment there I did wonder about getting the razor saw out and joining them together to make a bogie coach. The other thing I've decided to do is leave them in their original finish because it is rather attractive. The 'GR' badge on the side of the coaches can stay too, if anyone asks I'll tell them it stands for 'Grahamstown Railway'. Which as it happens Grahamstown is where the local model engineering society has its railway.

Sorry, no photos just as yet, Photobucket is being stupid.

[Annie]

Ok, here are the two coaches at last now that Photobucket seems to be working again. The next task is to take them apart and modify the underframe so I can fit wheelsets to them. More pictures soon

[chufferman77]

Hi all, I have just got a Greendale Rocket +coach and mail van. I am going to try and fit suitable underframing to run them as a garden loco/train.
If anyone can give me advise on the conversion, it would be much appreciated. I am not a rivet counter, and its just a bit of fun so I do not mind altering the wheel araingment to 0-4-0 or whatever. How did everyone else get on?

[chufferman77]

Well, getting the loco apart was fun and games. I cut away the underframe from the foot plate with a snap off knife, just kept making light cuts till I broke through. Got a bit impatient at one stage and had a bit of snap off blade flying through the air, so best to wear goggles, gloves and something like an old towel between you and the blade.
Once I had cut through at the rear, I just had to cut one side at the front and the chassis dropped out. I damaged the wiring, but should repair OK so I can keep the sound and switches.
After a measuring up, it looks like a Cambrian chassis will fit. (cambrianmodels.co.uk)
Now they offer three gear sets, 40-1, 30-1, and 20-1. Can anyone advise me on the most suitable? I plan to use the CA15 motor with three cells. Regards Chufferman.

[Catweasel]

Likewise.Getting these apart is an art I think. I'm going to try the coach first. Initial idea is to replace the floor and fit Swift Sixteen wheelsets. Now,how to remove the existing floor. As for the loco, I feel that an 0-4-2 arrangement would look good. It reminds me a bit of Sealion. Change the chimney of course.