Nolwyn Valley Tramway

[ge_rik]

Been feeling a bit down about the trains lately, had a few models break from accidental falls or heavy play, wondering sometimes (when trying to piece together poor battered Thornas once again) if the time and effort have been worth it at all. Then I hear that reaction and yes, it absolutely has! The 'wow' is my four-year-old son, whom I sometimes refer to as the small controller. He lets me know what new trains I should build. The "Hi! Hi!" is my two-year-old daughter, who is in charge of the station and lets me know what people/figures I need to print and paint next. I think the consensus at the moment is that I need to construct a more permanent snowplow car/mount and work on this diesel so the weights will stop falling off. And never forget to play with the kids!

Not sure it's possible to make anything completely kid proof but it would be a shame for you and them (and us) if you abandoned what you've started.

Have you ever considered Playmobil stuff? It would require a gauge change, but it is pretty robust and child proof. There's push-along stuff and battery rc gear. You can generally pick up secondhand stuff on ebay quite reasonably. If you were nearer, I'd let you have my cast offs to get you started.

Rik

[drewzero1]

Been feeling a bit down about the trains lately, had a few models break from accidental falls or heavy play, wondering sometimes (when trying to piece together poor battered Thornas once again) if the time and effort have been worth it at all. Then I hear that reaction and yes, it absolutely has! The 'wow' is my four-year-old son, whom I sometimes refer to as the small controller. He lets me know what new trains I should build. The "Hi! Hi!" is my two-year-old daughter, who is in charge of the station and lets me know what people/figures I need to print and paint next. I think the consensus at the moment is that I need to construct a more permanent snowplow car/mount and work on this diesel so the weights will stop falling off. And never forget to play with the kids!

Not sure it's possible to make anything completely kid proof but it would be a shame for you and them (and us) if you abandoned what you've started.

Have you ever considered Playmobil stuff? It would require a gauge change, but it is pretty robust and child proof. There's push-along stuff and battery rc gear. You can generally pick up secondhand stuff on ebay quite reasonably. If you were nearer, I'd let you have my cast offs to get you started.

Rik

I appreciate the thought, Rik. I don't think there's much danger of me giving it up completely, but it's also not great for me to be sour about it. I like the idea playmobil trains but not so much the idea of changing gauge, so I'm now starting to look into similar toys in O gauge. Thanks for the suggestion!

Looking more closely at the stock that does get repeatedly damaged, I think I can mostly chalk up the damage to shortcomings in my design or weaknesses of assembly rather than the children being destructive. (They are almost always respectful of my crafts above and beyond what I would expect from a two year old and a four year old!) Sturdier stock like my popsicle-stick mineral wagons and GVT brake van see just as much activity and have sustained no injury, so I think it's mostly a matter of redesigning and rebuilding some things with thicker walls and stronger joints, and hopefully after that I can stop feeling like Sisyphus doomed to forever keep repairing the ship of Theseus!

[drewzero1]

It’s working now Drew and I love it. Your refit of the grill is superb, I bet it was fun trying to get the door to work, but you did and they don’t look out of place. Shows what people can do with a little bit of patience and perseverance.

Thanks Rod, I appreciate the comment. You reminded me how much fun I had figuring out that door, so I decided to start adding a door to another piece of stock tonight:

Screenshot_20250212-023651.jpg (228.63 KiB) Viewed 46067 times

The one thing that had been bugging me about my GVT brake van was that I had left the roof loose for interior access, which often allowed the roof to fall off or blow off in any amount of wind. I thought about fixing magnets on the roof and supports, which might have been the sensible thing to do, but eventually decided to glue the roof on and cut out the door on one side. I'm now working on modifying Rik's 3d models to separate the doors from the wall and add some kind of sliding mechanism to allow them to open and close. If I get anywhere on that I'll share it in the 3d models section, with proper attribution of course.

I also added a stovepipe while I was in there, and I suppose now that the doors open I'll need a stove and brakewheel as well! I'm still learning what a brakevan needs, but for the most part it seems to serve similar functions to a caboose. (Braking power/maintain coupler tension, crew rest, mobile office, shove platform/monitor train in motion, sometimes a bit of cargo?)

[Lonsdaler]

The one thing that had been bugging me about my GVT brake van was that I had left the roof loose for interior access, which often allowed the roof to fall off or blow off in any amount of wind. I thought about fixing magnets on the roof and supports, which might have been the sensible thing to do, but eventually decided to glue the roof on and cut out the door on one side. I'm now working on modifying Rik's 3d models to separate the doors from the wall and add some kind of sliding mechanism to allow them to open and close. If I get anywhere on that I'll share it in the 3d models section, with proper attribution of course.

I also added a stovepipe while I was in there, and I suppose now that the doors open I'll need a stove and brakewheel as well! I'm still learning what a brakevan needs, but for the most part it seems to serve similar functions to a caboose. (Braking power/maintain coupler tension, crew rest, mobile office, shove platform/monitor train in motion, sometimes a bit of cargo?)

Removable roof fixing always seems to be an issue. I have some held on by screws (because of a tendency to warp otherwise) but generally I try to make them a push fit, with a framework beneath to 'slot' into the van or carriage relying on friction to hold. If you can achieve a tight fit it will generally stay in place, but it's worth remembering not to try and pick them up by grasping the sides of the roof!
I think your summation of a brake van is pretty much correct - just a low end caboose! I think the Ffestiniog is the only British railway to have used a high viewing point though. And not as cosy as most caboose appear to be.
https://flic.kr/p/s92wKD

[Andrew]

I like the idea playmobil trains but not so much the idea of changing gauge, so I'm now starting to look into similar toys in O gauge. Thanks for the suggestion!

Can you source old Faller eTrain (not Hit Train) stuff in the US? It's wonderful! Playmobil compatible too, the little balcony carriages are particularly good for putting figures in.

For a while, about 20 years ago, it was available pretty cheaply on German eBay, then it seemed to become more collectible, but I think prices are going down again. I saw some that was very reasonably priced at the Exeter show...

[philipy]

it seems to serve similar functions to a caboose. (Braking power/maintain coupler tension, crew rest, mobile office, shove platform/monitor train in motion, sometimes a bit of cargo?)

In the past I have idly wondered why US cabooses seem to be so big, this explains it I think. Probably due to the much greater distances that those huge US freight trains travel, most of your list seems a bit OTT to me! Particularly the "crew rest" and "mobile office" - for that read "a stove to make a brew and shelf to put his paperwork on".
Yes they did sometimes carry a bit of cargo, but those vans were usually described as "Road vans" AFAIK.

[FWLR]

It’s working now Drew and I love it. Your refit of the grill is superb, I bet it was fun trying to get the door to work, but you did and they don’t look out of place. Shows what people can do with a little bit of patience and perseverance.

Thanks Rod, I appreciate the comment. You reminded me how much fun I had figuring out that door, so I decided to start adding a door to another piece of stock tonight:
Screenshot_20250212-023651.jpg

The one thing that had been bugging me about my GVT brake van was that I had left the roof loose for interior access, which often allowed the roof to fall off or blow off in any amount of wind. I thought about fixing magnets on the roof and supports, which might have been the sensible thing to do, but eventually decided to glue the roof on and cut out the door on one side. I'm now working on modifying Rik's 3d models to separate the doors from the wall and add some kind of sliding mechanism to allow them to open and close. If I get anywhere on that I'll share it in the 3d models section, with proper attribution of course.

I also added a stovepipe while I was in there, and I suppose now that the doors open I'll need a stove and brakewheel as well! I'm still learning what a brakevan needs, but for the most part it seems to serve similar functions to a caboose. (Braking power/maintain coupler tension, crew rest, mobile office, shove platform/monitor train in motion, sometimes a bit of cargo?)

Looking forward to you sharing your build Drew, glad I have helped in my own little way

[drewzero1]

it seems to serve similar functions to a caboose. (Braking power/maintain coupler tension, crew rest, mobile office, shove platform/monitor train in motion, sometimes a bit of cargo?)

In the past I have idly wondered why US cabooses seem to be so big, this explains it I think. Probably due to the much greater distances that those huge US freight trains travel, most of your list seems a bit OTT to me! Particularly the "crew rest" and "mobile office" - for that read "a stove to make a brew and shelf to put his paperwork on".
Yes they did sometimes carry a bit of cargo, but those vans were usually described as "Road vans" AFAIK.

I appreciate the insight as to the scope (or limit thereof) of a brake van's amenities. I grew up visiting and playing in cabooses (though they were already mostly obsolete by that time) but only ever saw a brake van on Thomas and Friends, and I only remember one shot of the inside of one. Lonsdaler, regarding the high viewing point, starting in the 20s and 30s a lot of cabooses were made with bay windows instead of raised cupolas, echoing the guards' duckets seen on British stock. (Extended-height freight cars were getting too tall to see over, and crewmen could be thrown from the cupola seats and injured due to coupler slack.)

I had been hoping to sneak a bridge into a low spot on the NVT to take a photo for the quarterly contest, but I think we might need a really big bridge to get over all this snow!

Screenshot_20250223-144000.jpg (211.13 KiB) Viewed 45784 times

There's a railway in there somewhere. After a week it's melted enough to see the top of the station and water tank, but that's about it!

So while I wait for the big melt I've been working on a tough little critter for the kids. The little diesel 'Moke' used a hood and cab as pieces from a full kit, and the shell has never quite fit right over the relatively large salvaged motor and gearbox. I decided it was time for a twin that followed the full design as a unit. (Rod, I think I spotted one of these on your railway as well?)

Screenshot_20250223-144041.jpg (208.18 KiB) Viewed 45784 times

Never content to leave a kit unmodified, I designed a simple two-wheel-drive chassis around an N20 motor with dual shaft gearbox, which should hold up better to kid hands than my hodgepodge belt system. The standard size should allow swapping the drive unit if I end up wanting to use a different voltage or gear ratio. There's probably just enough room in there for a belt or chain to convert it to 4WD eventually.

Screenshot_20250223-144103.jpg (239.14 KiB) Viewed 45784 times

Since taking this picture I have switched to larger 20mm (less flanges) wheels, added traction tires to the drive wheels, and reversed the chassis to put the drive wheels under the hood (where the weights are). All it needs now is a battery that fits under the hood, and a switch to make it go. In testing with a 2S battery it is slower than Moke but can pull a bit harder thanks to the weights and tires.

[FWLR]

You sure did see one on my line Drew, I made it for one of my grandsons, which I named after him, Logan.

Really like your build too.

[Lonsdaler]

'Made with bay windows' probably conjures up a very different image in my UK brain than the image you intended! I love the Moke - what's the inspiration for the name? In the 1960's there was a beach buggy type fun car in the UK called a Mini Moke. I think I'm right in saying that it ran on an Austin Mini's running gear.