Garden Railway Forum

In the process of stripping down a Greendale Rocket loco for a Garratt conversion I successfully liberated the flywheel drive mech and immediately checked it out for use in a MV. As Tony has already shown with his tank wagon conversion these flywheel mechs are a viable alternative to a zecar, they are nicely made and look to be quite durable. I have two more of these Greendale Rocket loco that have flywheel mechs so I shouldn't lack for the means to make more MV's if I need to.
Now I need to find a suitable brake van drawing so I can build something to hide it inside.

Annie:115580 wrote: Now I need to find a suitable brake van drawing so I can build something to hide it inside.

There are a couple of suitable kiwi bush tram wagons in the 7th photo down on this page.

http://www.trainweb.org/nzgearedlocomot ... hn-p-2.htm

The Johnston A with it's little tender even has something of the look of the greendale rocket........

Graeme

Annie:115551 wrote:What a fascinating topic I don't know how I managed to miss noticing it.

I would imagine that a MV would work just as well with battery locos that only have the most basic speed control on board.  After reading through this thread I've already checked out where I can buy a zecar which I shall do when my model making budget recovers a little.

With the zecar wheels how easily do the tyres come off because I think those wheels would look very nice re-purposed on a Ewings monorail loco.

I don't think this would be a very efficient way to limit the speed of an electric (battery) loco - much better to drop the voltage, or use reduction gearing if speed is an issue, IMHO

Funny you should say that about the Greendale Rocket GTB I always thought it looked a lot like a Johnston 'A' too. As I have four of them I could have a wee experiment with one of them

Thank you for the link to that page because I'd been trying to find it again as I want to make a model of the cattle wagon in that photo. Enlarging the photo shows enough detail to make a close enough model of it. The general supplies wagon looks like a sheeted open wagon with high rounded ends made from wide horizontal planks. I can just make out a wooden ladder fixed on the right side of the end that's visible in the photo. Interesting.
Anyone got any ideas on how to make a 16mm scale tarpaulin?

BaBBLR:115585 wrote:

Annie:115551 wrote:
I would imagine that a MV would work just as well with battery locos that only have the most basic speed control on board.  After reading through this thread I've already checked out where I can buy a zecar which I shall do when my model making budget recovers a little.

I don't think this would be a very efficient way to limit the speed of an electric (battery) loco - much better to drop the voltage, or use reduction gearing if speed is an issue, IMHO

On reflection I think you are right about that. It should work a treat with a loco powered by a No:1 Meccano clockwork mech though.

Annie:115586 wrote: Anyone got any ideas on how to make a 16mm scale tarpaulin?

The best looking model tarps I've seen were made from an old khaki work shirt and sewn up the way a real tarp would be.

Any closely woven soft fabric would do. If khaki isn't available, use white and dye it in tea.......

That particular Johnston A in the photo appears to be an 0-6-0, but all the other photos I've seen of a Johnston A show 4 drivers with a centre layshaft????

Graeme

GTB:115590 wrote:
That particular Johnston A in the photo appears to be an 0-6-0, but all the other photos I've seen of a Johnston A show 4 drivers with a centre layshaft????

Graeme

Graeme, the Johnston A's used by Moore & Sons were modified to have flangless centre wheels on the layshaft. Makes for an interesting variation

Thanks for the tip about making tarpaulins, - time for me to hunt about in my fabric scrap bag.

I am going to have another go at this as I have one on order.

If possible could someone post a picture please of how they removed the wheels as I do not want to cut them off and damage the sprocket again.

Thanks...

tom_tom_go:115725 wrote:If possible could someone post a picture please of how they removed the wheels as I do not want to cut them off and damage the sprocket again.

I just pulled the wheels really hard. With a bit of wiggling, a pair of pliers and persistence, eventually they came off. I don't have a vice, I think that would have made the job easier.

This time I got one with longer axles.

Clamped one set of wheels in the vice and wiggled/pulled the other set off then flipped it over and clamped the axles and removed the other wheels in the same way.

Glad to here its gone better this time!
Looking forward to seeing your version.

Inspired by others attempts I pulled my finger out today and got thinking about what type of rolling stock to build around the Zecar.

After coming up with design ideas for a Ffestiniog bug box type of wagon, installing it into a Cambrian models bogie (the distance between the axles was very close!) or a Penrhyn 7/8ths tender I decided on a Penrhyn type of coal wagon as the wheel spacing was similar to the one pictured in the 16mm NGM Penrhyn modellers guide:





The Accucraft L&B axle boxes are a perfect fit for the axles supplied with the Zecar although I have modified them so they fit onto the sole bars directly like a quarry style axle box. IP 24mm wheels have been used.

Did anyone add sound insulation to their version as I plan to put a removable cover in my wagon (will be hidden with coal load):

That's looking really good, I like what you've done with the axleboxes.

They are a little noisy so I can see why you'd consider sound-proofing, but you might find you want the internal space for extra weight - that's what I did.

Cheers,

Andrew.

My own van was designed for use with any train combination... in the guise of a box goods vehicle. Only when I had made the unit and tested it on the track did I discover I had built a speaker cabinet which amplified the sound from the flywheel. I made a small housing first to cover the Zecar which I filled with foam rubber sheet. It still needed more so the inside of the van is stuffed with foam sheet which certainly helps. Running outdoors you can hardly hear it but I found the need to keep all moving parts well oiled which also reduces vibration.

I filled the empty space in my wagon with rigid insulating foam. I also placed a large block of steel in there, supported by the foam. The heavier you make your wagon the better it will work. I recommend you find something heavy to fill your little wagon with, like some lead fishing weights if you can get them. Filling the cavity with anything will deaden the sound, and that little wagon needs to be quite a bit heavier than it is at the moment, I suspect. Also some nice thick oil or grease on the gears will make it run fairly quietly.

I threw some used dish sponges in to mine to fill up the space inside the van. Most of the noise comes from below the chassis though so making sure it is well oiled/greased is the biggest factor in making it run more quietly.

Annie:115551 wrote: I would imagine that a MV would work just as well with battery locos that only have the most basic speed control on board.  After reading through this thread I've already checked out where I can buy a zecar which I shall do when my model making budget recovers a little.

To test that theory I had a play with my momentum van and a battery powered loco I have that lacks a speed controller.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFgyFOtS3Ew[/video]
This particular loco is a bit on the heavy side for the van to have much effect.  The only noticeable difference is that the motor struggles a bit more when pulling the van.  I made a fairly heavy version of the van weighing 880g so that's to be expected.

First test run and very impressed with it's ability to slow down my Silver Lady:

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https://youtu.be/3256Eu4k9pk

Super result!