An Interesting Miniature Railcar of Original Design

by LBSC

Drawings

One sheet of plans is available from Reeves (2000), cat no 29/509.
  • sheet 1 : Complete details on one sheet

    • The construction details of this design appeared in "English Mechanics" magazine issues for 3rd and 10th of April 1936.

    The Association can supply photocopies of the constructional articles to members.

    Whilst thinking over our worthy Editor's request for "something special for our Spring Number," a few evenings ago (time of writing), our radio announced that a German railcar had just broken the railway speed record by attaining 125 miles per hour. "Well," thought I, "Fritzy is surely getting a move on, we shall certainly have to do something about that"; and just at that moment an electric express from Eastbourne flew past the back of our house, well up in the eighties, and with a blast from her chime whistle, whirred through the local station on her way to London. Again I thought, they could do with some of old friend Sauerkraut's "ground flying-machines" on the non-electrified sections of the Southern Railway--and in that instant "Miss Hasty" was born, and our Editor's wish fulfilled!

    It is impossible to describe fully the construction of a small railcar within the limits of a couple of instalments; but as the work is all plain sailing, a brief account of the general arrangement and the details, should be all that is needed by any follower of these notes. The car is really simpler to build than a locomotive. She embodies a few novel features, as will be seen from an examination of the sketches. In full size practice she would be roughly 60-ft. long, the bogies having a wheelbase of about 9-ft. 6-in.; the overall height would be about 13-ft., and the width 9-ft., so she could run on any of the Southern main lines except the bit from Tonbridge to Hastings. Anyone who is a stickler for "scale," therefore, will know he is not building an impossible "freak." The car itself is of the open "saloon" type, with a large "third" and smaller "first" divisions, also lavatory, luggage and guard, and "power" sections. The ends are semi-circular, and the roof is rounded and sloped. The sides may be made straight, or have a "tumble-home" as desired; this will make no difference whatever to the working parts. The car body, though neat and more or less conventional, will "split the wind " with the facility of the most futuristic streamliner.

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