MOC: "Tin Turtle" WW1 Trench Railway Loco

[greg3]

During World War 1, the British War Department ordered a number of light locomotives for use on narrow gauge railways at or near the front line. The Motor Rail company (later known as Simplex) produced 3 different designs all based around a 40HP petrol engine. The "Open Type" had armour at each end and a light roof; the "Protected Type" also had armoured side doors and a roof that could be raised or lowered on screw jacks; the "Armoured Type" was completely encased in armor except for narrow view slits. The appearance of these engines led to the nickname "Tin Turtles" and they operated in large numbers on trench railways, often within range of enemy fire.

My version is a "Protected Type" based on internet photos.

Inside, the driver sits sideways on a seat above the engine... can't imagine it was very comfortable (or safe - there's a fuel tank in there too)

A little experiment in creating a track for it (and my other narrow gauge engines) to use.

I have to say, I really enjoyed trying to make this and I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm now working on creating a fully armoured version!!

Anyway, thanks for looking - comments alway welcome.

Cheers

Greg

Finally a humble tribute to all the railworkers who have served their country in times of war.

Edited June 1, 2010 by TheBrickster

[Daniel Williams]

Well done, it looks exactly like the real tin turtles of WWI, and love the fact that you knew a lot about the different types of tin turtles. So awesome.

[Admiral Croissant]

I could find only 1 picture of a real one but it's almost exactly the same as your MOC.

So you did a very good job And I have learned something new again Wouldn't want to be in one of those things though!

The 'humble tribute was also a nice idea Keep it up!

[lightningtiger]

Excellent design 'greg3' - very realistic - I'm a conformist! !

[talltim]

I'm really enjoying your narrow gauge builds, you've got a good eye for proportion and detail and they look really fun too. I also appreciate that you put some prototype description in to as it's a pretty obscure loco.

I especially like the taps for roof supports and the new (to me) parts you've used for the doors, the sticky out hinges add a nice bit of detail.

[twobricksshort]

Greg, sorry to sound like a total n00b, but would you have a bricklist for this build available?

Thanks!

Chris

[AussieJimbo]

Great little loco, Greg.

> A little experiment in creating a track for it (and my other narrow gauge engines) to use.

Unfortunately you may be set for disappointment. I've tried the same trick of putting two standard sets of straight track next to each other, using the "outside" of the standard rails as the "inside" of the narrow gauge track. Sadly it doesn't quite work despite first impressions.

When I tried it, the resulting gauge was just a few millimeters too narrow and resulted in minor binding on the flanges of railway wheels. I would be interested to know if your experience differs.

:classic:

[leg01982]

Love it, you have done a fantastic job

[cgarison]

I love the detail that you added to the inside of the MOC as well. Great build.

[zephyr1934]

Greg, sorry to sound like a total n00b, but would you have a bricklist for this build available?

Thanks!

Chris

Greetings new friend,

while indeed there are all sorts of interesting bits in old threads like this, please do not bump an old topic just to add a small comment or ask a quick question. Few of the readers will remember the original discussion and it just becomes confusing for the regular readers.

If you have questions for the original poster you can try sending them a private message. You can also start a new thread if you have a related topic that is not a direct continuation. Of course if you do have a substantial follow up to an old thread it is sometimes appropriate to do a bump like this, e.g., "I finally built this and found...."