Meccano Monorail
Some readers may be familiar with the above "device". It is a genuine and seemingly impossible monorail vehicle. It doesn't fall over because it has a large gyroscope built in to the mechanics. It was invented by Louis Brennan in 1907 ...
... and did carry passengers ...
... forming a well balanced load!
By some miracle of physics, a spinning gyroscope provides the stability needed. Note the TWO massive flywheels that form the working bit of the gyroscope!
So some clever and inventive folk have built one out of Meccano.
For the record, the Monorail runs on a chassis of FOUR in-line wheels - so "single wheel" is poppycock - but the four wheels do run on one "mono" rail. There is a YouTube video of the Meccano experiments in which the assembled model falls over regularly.
Maybe the above headline reporting a "second chance" might end up being a little over-optimistic?
The original did not catch on!
Building Your Own Branch Line
The above is the track plan of the long-closed Ventnor West station. The line branched from the Newport to Sandown route at Merstone.
Apart from a few summer months it seems unlikely that the line made a profit ever.
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There is a station building ...
... a diddy signal box ...
,,, and an even diddier goods shed.
Come on, Peco. buck your ideas up! Where's the laser cut water tower?
In the current (September) edition of Railway Modeller there is an article about the Ventnor West branch extolling its virtues as a TT120 modelling project. There is no need to guess what trackside Peco models are recommended in this Peco magazine.
The loco and coach models are from Hornby and are beautiful but pricey; nearly as much as equivalent OO models which are, of course, bigger.
Tittering At Transcontinental
As a young teen, fbb was, frankly, amused by Triang's range of American looking trains. Somehow, they didn't look real! Some of his less sophisticated chums thought they were great and much more impressive than British Railways' boring passenger stock.
There was what the Americans called a "dome" car.
Also, in addition to "normal" coaches (?), you could get a rear-view observation car.
But it turns out that these weird passenger cars were based (loosely!!) on reality. Below is an external view of a typical dome car ...
... and the alternative with the rear view.
If only the youthful fbb had known, he might have built a USA model railway! Much of the transcontinental range is still available on-line pre-owned.
There are preserved examples of this stock lovingly cared for and available to visit in the USA.
Here we have a dome car interior ...
... a rear view observation area ...
... and (not modelled by Triang in the early 1960s) an example of the opulence of a typical First Class interior.
But the wheel flanges and clearances on the models are very coarse and would need modifying for use on modern track. But you could use old Triang track and be super retro.
The viaduct above is home made and NOT a Triang product - but look, there is a too high footbridge placed wrongly on the platform, far left.
But beware. Despite the fact that, by model standards, this transcontinental stuff is "trashy" it can be surprisingly expensive. The set of two-tone green carriages ...
... is rare and a current Ebay offer is ...
... OUCH! And you would need a loco to match.
Then you would need Triang overhead centenary ...
... and lots of it!
fbb will stick to mainly second hand British models for Peterville.
The old man has also found an on-line enthusiast who has collected a whole range of Triang controllers.
It makes collecting tank wagons seem almost sane!
Tomorrow we go to Swindon.
Is It Or Isn't It blog : Wed 20 Aug
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