100th Bogie
100th Bogie |
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The next pair of bogies to go out will be our 100th 5" gauge bogie. To celebrate we are offering the next batch for a limited time at £250 a pair.
This batch will be available from the end of October
HISTORY
After seeing a pair of bogies literally ride up and off the rails I realised I needed a bogie that could compensate for track twist. While most bogies can cope with ups and downs, many cannot cope with the transition from a banked curner to a straight. Our bogies are designed to allow the frames to keep all wheels in contact with the rail, loaded or unloaded.
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May 2001 Prototype bogies ordered. The bearings are 26.5mm and not 25.5. Several hours of filing followed to get the right size. The side frames were also cut in 10mm as I asked for the wrong thickness. Several hours of grinding and filing around the cross plate area followed. |
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Despite my errors and welding teporary
covers, these bogies are still in operation on our
railway. They must have covered hundreds of miles by now.
We were going to replace them but it seemed a waste
especially as performance wise they are as good as our
latest design Note the lumps of chip board acting as a spacer block. At this stage I hadn't sourced a supply of nylon. |
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July 2001 - 1st Order 3 pairs to a club in Spain. The bearing covers were welded on at this stage, which was difficult to do and didn't look that good either. Weld replaced by bolts after the initial batch |
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September 2001 - Base plate While not actually needed the introduction of a base plate vastly improves the looks. The side frame also had to be altered to allow the light running gap above the top cross bar plate. |
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April 2002 - 7.25" bogie arrives. This was simple created by scaling up the 5" design. While the design works well in this bigger scale, most people want braked bogies. This design is currently being developed by a third party with a view of getting it on the market with brakes. |
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May 2002 - RoR cover plates are added |
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Trials Earlier this year, we installed additional springs to a pair of bogies to see if it was possible to have a sprung suspension on the bogies. The springs were installed by welding the base plate on to the side frame and installing two studs behind the existing springs. The springs were then pushed in to place so that the cross bar rested on 8 springs. The difference to the ride - Couldn't tell . Although the springs were not fully compressed the ride seemed the same. This brings us back to the same conclusion that it is best to have springs for compensation rather than suspension |
Paul Middleton
