I was told that the late Mike South, a talented modeller in the Calgary area, scratchbuilt these 16mm scale (1:19.1) 32mm gauge (2') wooden 4-wheeled wagons. Little latches & catches, hinges & hooks abound. I am unsure if there is a prototype for these little gems.
A counterbalanced arm is fitted under one end of each car, equipped with magnetic chain to be pulled down to allow for hands-free uncoupling. I have not been able to try them out in a moving train, and I am a bit worried that they may be too delicate to survive a typical live-steam outing.
Some minor repairs needed to be made due to damage from shipping, and examination revealed that many of the finer details are not applied in a particularly robust manner. They may offer an incentive to create a small, operational diorama using a battery-powered critter.
Some minor repairs needed to be made due to damage from shipping, and examination revealed that many of the finer details are not applied in a particularly robust manner. They may offer an incentive to create a small, operational diorama using a battery-powered critter.
7 comments:
Those look really nice. Not overdone. Can you take a picture with one of them beside something else of a known size to get an idea of how big they are? The look like quite the find!
Yes, I got lucky with this purchase. I can certainly try to take a pic with a reference object. What would you suggest? iPod, beer can, or something else?
Hey, iPod would work. Extra points if the iPod is showing Model Rail Radio when you take the picture! :)
Beautiful work. Love the wood and metal work. Nice level of detail. Well done!
Yeah, it's sad that Mike passed away. Good modeller. I'm sure he had hundreds more projects to build.
The wagons were made by Roy Link. They appeared on the cover of the 1970s printing of Don Boreham's book on narrow gauge railway modelling, and also appear on Roy's website:
http://www.crowsnesttramway.co.uk/archive.html
Hope that helps!
Simon
You bet it does, Simon! Thanks for the clarification!
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