With the announcement of the Ruston 48DS model from Hornby, I wondered about recreating the scene above.
The loco, and jeeps are sitting on the famous Hovertrain concrete track. Which made me wonder if there was film footage of the machine in action. Not that I can find, but this is worth a look.
4 comments:
Aren't they Austin Champs rather than Jeeps?
If you search for 'tracked hovercraft' you wil find more info on Wiki and other sites. It was a 1960s idea that failed.
Problem is, that 48DS is a narrow gauge version. The body is the same as a standard gauge 48DS but the frames are longer (than the body) and narrower, and the buffer beams are deeper and a different shape. That loco is still extant, preserved at Irchester. I built a 4mm scale n.g. 48DS based on that loco using an etched A1 Models body and a scratchbuilt chassis. Gauge was 12mm.
The 'ornby model looks good, but lacks the daylight under the frames which is noticable on such a small loco so loses out against a decent kitbuild using either a RT Models chassis or the Judith Edge kit. But, its still pretty remarkable for an RTR loco!
I'd spotted the loco was a narrow gauge version, but wasn't going to tell Hornby. If they think it is a goer, they might do the Hovertrain at the same time!
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