Tramway making

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Henryparrot attempt at producing a tramway

Reg

When you look around on the tram sites there area number of motors made to fit in trams i have 2 trams that look similar and the chap i contacted told me that the motors are slightly differant for each one and i need to tell him the exact model so he can supply the correct motor body for each one.

It looks like Reg`s  module is going to have trams on it which will be great.

Thats it now Reg your commited

Max

I have not got a clue what catenery i am going to use that is something i need to sort out before to long i presume some nickel silver wire will do for the cable then i will have to find out how to make the masts to hold it.

cheers Brian
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It looks like the track is curved as well, Brian.  That should be challenging. :cool:
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Max

There are 2 sections that are 2 ft long at each end which are straight the rest of it is curved with a varying radius so it will be fun becuse that will affect how many masts are required and the spacing of them i suppose i should look around for some piccys so i can produce something that does look a bit similar to what they did rather than a stick with a wire on it.

cheers Brian
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Brian forgive me if you have already said but are they going to be Dc or DCC powered? and what sort of controller would you have to use or can a normal train control do. Just asking as i saw a tram layout a while back and was really interested in the way it can go round the buildings close etc. Also i like the trams, love what detail you can put in them and the visitors looking at the layout can point certain things out more easily inside the tram. Also you can really build some great town scenes on a tram layout.

Phill
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Phill

Tram layouts are really the same electrically as Train ones so really they can be either DC or DCC at this stage i have not decided which mine will be as 1 i have not looked how easy the DC motors in them are easy to convert and 2 i need to look at the overall position of my tram layout which is purely a length of 28  ft long so DC or DCC is a decision i need to make

cheers Brian
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Your OHLE should be a doddle Brian! As most of the OHLE that I have seen on tram layouts consists of nothing more than road side poles or street lights the easest way would be to get some lengths of 4mm brass rod. To mount the poles use a die and cut a thread at one end long enough to pass through the baseboard and allow for a couple of 4mm nuts. Then screw on one nut as far as it will go insert the rod through the board then put the other nut on. Use some very fine brass rod and fix it between a set of poles. For the contact wire I would recomend some jewelry making wire. I use 28 gauge for my contact wires that I get for about £1.20 for a 24 yard length. If you get a bit more creative you could use hollow brass tube for the masts and then run some wire up inside to power some street lights although cutting a thread on the end of the tube might prove a bit more challenging! ;-) 
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brian

you can get textured paint for your tramway, i have some and it goes a long way but i can't remember the name but i am sure it is in the index.

also PM jim about the OHLE, i am sure he mentioned the place he gets his casstings from and also plans.

new street
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I have been busy cleaning and sanding the tramway which does take quite a lot of time to do.

I bought a ready motored little tram from Ebay some time ago so i have this to try out the tram track for running properties.

It has a Tenshodo wb-24.5 motor fitted to it bought off ebay is always a lottery and to start with this little tram was running crappy i removed the motor unit and did some maintainance to it and it is running a lot better now but i think there is wear internally as it does not actually run in what i would consider perfect condition.

To dcc these tenshodo units would i think be a major task but with a bit of thought probably possible.

 probably splitting the pick up bus bar may be the solution but at this stage i am undecided whether DC or Dcc the tram system.

Actually with these little trams the motor unit is centrally mounted and they are rather top heavy heres a cople of piccys





Here is the underneath showing how the Tenshodo is fitted




cheers Brian

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Well not to good an afternoon really unusually i got a bit pissed off i am now of the opinion this little tram tenshedo is a duffer it works but very poorly.

Well it was bought of Ebay and was not sold as new and i did not test it when i got it so i cant really complain usually i avoid anything loco wise that is not new on Ebay but i have made a mistake in buying this i think.i did not pay a great deal for it so no big loss.

As i said i did get a bit pssed off so i stopped working on the tram area and started work on a little building kit for a while.

Im more annoyed at myself for buying something and not sticking to my own usual rules and because of that i have wasted time pratting about trying to get it going properly

cheers Brian
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I'm a bit worried now, Brian.  The kit instructions for my Adelaide Bay tram say to use Tenshodo motors.  Although on reflection, the tram John Eastaff loaned me had a Tenshodo and it was working on DCC, so I will have to make some enquiries with him, to see how he did it.  Cheers  Max
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Brian, just a thought, if you look at the pic of the underside it looks as if
the bottom edges have been riding on your plaster,maybe the reason for the duff
run? mind the wheels look a bit pitted too.

:hmm:lol::lol::cool:

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Max i have only looked quickly with regard conversion from the outside i can see that you could cut the pick up strip to make the break to the decoder but it may be possible that if you totally dismantled the tenshedo it may be easier.

Owen yes there is plaster on the underframe thats there through testing i have taken the tenshedo unit out of the tram and it runs like a grinding pig and as you say the wheels are pitted slightly.

cheers Brian
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[user=52]henryparrot[/user] wrote:

………………………………………………………….and it runs like a grinding pig and as you say the wheels are pitted slightly.

cheers Brian
That's probably quite authentic then Brian !!  :roll::roll::roll:

I have no personal experience but I think you'll find that Tenshodo motors are extremely popular with the tram fraternity so I'd imagine it's something to do with your particular motor Brian.  Maybe brushes or pickups - perhaps a good overhaul and clean might improve the running.

I know how you feel about buying something duff on ebay - particularly when you did it by breaking your own rules.  You feel conned and cheated because you've no come-back.  It's sold "as seen" but you can't see it - a real case of buyer beware.

I get very angry if I foul up - I've got nobody to blame but myself and I always like to think I'm perfect and have every angle worked out and covered.  Nobody could ever con me - I'm just too aware to be "done" :roll::roll::roll::roll::roll: - like hell I am !!!!

Incidentally,  looking at the model,  do any of you Teessiders know if the "Darlington Corporation Light Railway" ever existed ?   I used to live near Darlington but I've never heard of a  "light railway" nor it's trams.

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'Petermac
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Hopefully mine should arrive this week, Brian.  Maybe there will be some instructions in the box - probably in Japanese!
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Peter

heres a piccy of the actual Tenshedo unit the whole thing is a motor no wires to it all self contained a 5p next to it so you can relate to size




cheers Brian
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[user=2]Robert[/user] wrote:

Thanks Bob.  You live and learn on here !!!

I lived nearby for some 15 years and even worked in the town for 5 of them but never knew about the tram network.

Perhaps because it was such a famous railway town the trams had to take second place :roll::roll:  - still, now I know a fair bit about the Darlington Corporation Light Railway. :cheers:cheers

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Have to second that Bob. Now I know why some of the main roads are as wide as they are. Incidently at the top of haragate hill there is a turning circle for busses. This must have been a turn round loop for the trams. ;-)
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Brian.  My new Tenshodos just arrived.  To convert them to DCC, take out the little screw and prise off the bottom plate.  Using pointy nose pliers remove the motor.  You will see two tabs from the wipers going down inside the frame.  Bend them back to the outside and solder your pick up wires on to them.  The motor wires go on the copper tabs.  If you would like a piccy, I can do one.  Cheers.  Max
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cheers Max will be usefull

Can you test yours see if they run smoothly and dont make a grindy noise and are not lumpy?

cheers Brian
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