A Diversion Back

A diversion back

009 Kitson Steam Tram

So what happens when you are suddenly and acutely aware of a lack of space to keep building and storing these large scale models?

An inspirational trip to the Beds & Bucks Narrow Gauge Modellers Open Day at Barton-le-Clay in May started to answer that question.  There were several great 009 layouts exhibited there - wonderful modelling.

Then I found some old Railway Modeller pages with an article that has kept bugging me for many years.  It was H0e scale, it ran steam trams along a town street, then ran out into the country.  I saw a  smaller version of the same layout exhibited at ExpoNG in 2007 - "Pontevedro" by Don Sibley.  A glance at some steam trams running in Britain and Ireland, especially the short-lived Alford & Sutton line, pushed me into building this Kitson (non-condensing) 009 scale steam tram.

During it's build, I seem to spend more time losing, then trying to find small bits of plastic, I don't know whether that's because I had been building larger scale stuff for the past two years, or my even- older age!

The body is a Shapeways 3d print, with scratch built skirt and boiler, running on the inevitable Kato tram chassis plus some added white metal details.  I noticed that the tram "skirt" on this body was far too shallow so I cut it off made my own slightly deeper version.  Also, when I obtained the body I noticed the side window openings didn't have the arched tops, so these were filed too.

  The 3D printed body and the skirt fitting over the chassis.

Mock boiler under construction.

I have bought a few rolling stock kits from Dundas Models to go with the tram.  I will just see how it all goes.

Completed tram without the railway title lettering which I have yet to decide.  It is pictured on a baseboard made from spare ply wood in the form of  the original "Pontevedro" - all pretty hopeful, but we'll see what happens.