Landships II

Hello Centurion

This looks like an armoured Simplex narrow gauge loco. This kind of petrol loco was constructed for the WDLR (War Department Light Railways) to operate the 2-ft (60cm) gauge lines that were built to supply the trenches.

There existed three models of this loco type: "Open", "Protected" and fully "Armoured". The armoured versions often had a 40 HP motor.

The Germans, French and Americans had  extensive narrow gauge systems, too. All these nations used the 2-ft tracks, locos and rolling stock. So you could find many "Beute"-vehicles on each side.

Near the front trenches the Allies favoured the petrol locos, the steam engines were too visible...

Today one can find WDLR (and other military narrow gauge) locos and rolling stock in museums and there are associations which use them as museum railways.

There are most interesting books about this topic, too!

Hope this helps a little.

Hello Guys

  If you are interested, you can go to the European Patent Office, and get the patents for both armoured and non-armoured versions of the Simplex, I am sorry I would post it, but I am at work at the moment. Here is the web address.

http://ep.espacenet.com/advancedSearch?locale=en_ep

All the Best

Tim R

According to the site I picked up the picture from these tin turtles are still trundling round a sewage works somewhere in Britain, unfortunately it didn't say which one! Any one who has the time, resource, fortitude (and atrophied sense of smell) to go looking might find it.

Hello Jack
Regarding Scale Link they haven't produced something new for a long time - tha last item was the Pechot-Bourdon loco, and that was two or three years ago. Don't know if they have chosen not to produce anything new. Once one of their patternmakers was active on a narrow gauge e-group and we got quite promising news, but nothing has materialized. No new figures or artillery pieces has been launched either so I wonder if they have stopped making new models?

The etchings for the Pechot-Bourdon were made by David H. Smith, a well known english narrow gauge master modeller, but he is now employed by Slaters to work on their new 16 mm. scale and 1:32 industrial narrow gauge programmes.

Currently I'm working on more French Pechot-wagons and have ordered the DES-kits French 155 mm GPF gun (the one with split-trail) for a little diorama showing a artillery position served by a 600 mm gauge railway.

Regards

Claus

H & D-armoured train
As far as I know no one has attempted to model this extraordinary armoured train. At the moment I cannot even remember the exact gauge of the H&D but is was certainly sub-600 mm and perhaps 381 mm. If I remember correctly it was armed with a mix of machine guns and Boys anti tank-rifles? Do you have any on-line references on the train?

I certainly would make an unusual model - even recreating it on the wrong gauge of 2 ft. would be an interesting experiment.

My own modelling is mostly centered on creating a small Danish industrial railway carrying gravel. My interest in WWI has made me branch into modelling some French military rolling stock in 1:35. Snapshots of my models can be found on http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gaz410/my_photos

Next in the pipeline as far as military railways is concerned is a French army gasoline loco from the Campagne factory in Paris - camoflage painted and all!

Regards

Claus

Hello everyone, at last a thread I can add something to!

http://www.rhdr.org.uk/rhdr/history_art/armoured_train.jpg

The RHDR is 15 inch gauge, or 381mm. Some other 1940 photos I have (from current books, so I'm not sure about scanning them to here) show the wagons to be converted bogie hopper wagons each carrying two men, armed with a Lewis gun on AA mountings next to the engine and a Boys AT Rifle at each end.

Re Models, I don't know of any online resources, but there's a 1:43 model of the armoured train on N (9mm) track in New Romney station museum, and I'm fairly sure a roughtly 1:24 version on OO/HO 16.5mm track which occasionally appears on the model railway exhibition circuit in the UK.

I also shouldn't forget the 1:1 casings (in plywood) which in the 1990s were sometimes added to Hercules and a carriage body, staffed with re-enactors and sent down the line on anniversary gala days!

Peter

-- Edited by Mgebrov at 16:06, 2006-09-16

Tim:
Thanks a lot for your nice words. I try to advance my methods on every model I build - it is not always that the model gets better than the last one, but I try.

Claus