During a rather dull afternoon at my school, with no classes and most of the students gone home for the day I came upon this website. I was looking for unusual steam locos to give me a bit of inspiration for future projects.
If you go and see this site, go to the ‘archives section’ and you are able to view many, many interesting articles on a wide variety of small industrial railways and rolling stock (not just British).
This site has continued to provide food for thought.
My line has a ficticious brewery ‘Kabuto Beer’ (an actual brewery dating back to the late 19th century) which has put up ca***o subsidise the railway. So far, the only visible signs of the brewery are a few miniature posters. This will change this year as I plan to take the brewery and bring it to the forefront of the line.
I am engrossed in the construction of a very small railcar at present. But, when that is done I want to make a couple of suitably diminutive and under-powered 0-4-0 locos with rolling stock to match. Beer barrels, vats, hops, malt and associated paraphernalia will certainly keep me busy.
Hi Matthew
Does that mean we are going to see a mass of buildings with a spaggeti
bowl of track.
With a broad gauge wagon thing powered by a narrow gauge steam locomotive shunting beer vans “ah la Guiness”??[:D]
The waters of the Liffy(spelling) wonderfull stuff[;)]
regards John
The waters of the ‘Tone’ (ton-ay) river will soon be used to produce some truely yummy beer you can almost taste, almost.
Yes, teh guinness history has inspired me, thought I have no inclination to make a whole brewery. I goal is to hint at a small complex which is just around the corner. I’ve got a couple of 20cm high wooden barrels (came with some coffee inside) that I intend to turn into the entrance gates/sign for the brewery.
The wagons and locos will be unusual, but what isn’t in my garden? Still lots to formulate in my mind yet, and the F1 English Grand Prix Quallifying has just begun, not to mention the race tomorrow. The soccer? I just might have it on in the background, not being that much of a hooligan myself.
Ref the guiness combination locos, there is one of the broad gauge trucks preserved at Amberley chalk pits museum in sussex UK and the Talyllyn railway museum at Tywyn has one of the 2 ft gauge engines. Bylines magazine summer special a couple of years back had a feature on the system too, including a plan with the spiral tunnel to go under the main road. Would be an interesting challenge to make the loco and rider truck work.
Living not 9 miles from Burton upon Trent means that I am quite familiar with the Bass Brewing Museum. The Bass Brewing Railway actually had running powers over the Midland Counties Railway for 10 miles -so they could pull beer trains to Derby for trains destined for London. St Pancras Station (before they vandalised /modernised it) had cellars underneath it that were exactly 4 barrels high…
When theGreat Central and Great Northern Railways dug the huge pit that became Nottingham Victoria (all 12 platforms of it) they found that it was very difficult to get the beer to the island platforms for the passengers -so they build ‘the beer bridge’ . Later on it was used to house the pneumatic message system between the island platforms.
Of all the Victorian Railway Companies “The Great Central” was perhaps the most insane -or far sighted. If they had not axed the Great Central mainline then Eurostars could have operated from London to Liverpool
Knew I could rely on you. Though the link didn’t work for me, probably a problem with the server at school (I do teach occasionally) so I’ll try at home too. Nevertheless, let me know the title of the website. Looking forward to reading more.
I provides most of the designs of locos that populate my railway. At the moment I have started design and parts sourcing for my latest locomotive. A Heilmann loco. This is a steam electric. It will have real steam, real dynamo, and real electric motors.
Other people on the 16mmngm forum have tried and failed…
In rapid response to the 5 e-mails asking 'what the hell are you going to build next???"
The answer is this: 'The Fell system Diesel Mechanical Locomotive".
Pictures of this locomotive abound in the two pubs near the site of the LMS shops /BR Tech division. It has a look that is (thankfully) unique… It is well documented in the local archieves and I know and have spoken too at great length people who built tested and (unfortunately) drove it.
All the people who drove it have all agreed on the one shining aspect -the cigarette lighter always worked faultlessly.
I am also a great champion of the “Leader” steam locomotive…
Hi devils
Not that hard with the right information and a good workshop.
I dont have iether[:(]
But would still like to give it a go could be awkward as a 32/45 when it should be 32/ eighty something at least i know its geared 3 to 1 any chance of further information on the brute.
regards John
