One of the least spotted vehicles on the Isle of Man is the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) railcar.
Normally hidden away, it come into its own transporting personnel up the mountain when the Snaefell Mountain Railway isn't operating.
A couple of years ago, the railcar went to Claytons Rail Services for a refit and there and I managed to visit and take a huge selection of photos with a view to building a model. This hasn't happened yet, but if you fancy the challenge, these pictures will help.
Did you also come across any scale drawings?
ReplyDeleteI'm not expecting you to post any (obvious reasons) - but I could imagine them making the job a bit easier.
Whilst I think it, have you had any thoughts about what sort of scale / gauge you might go for if / when you get chance?
I could imagine very similar vehicles having been built / offered by companies like Wickham (and presumably now Clayton) in a wide choice of track gauges.
In turn, this could allow you to "justify" model versions on just about any layout - indoor or garden.
Of course, some people might also be drawn towards simplified garden layout versions of some other small railcars. (I can't help thinking that NER #3378 / 3379 could look amazing in such a "trim"... .)
Sadly, no drawings. I did take some measurements, but can't find them at the moment. My plan is to build it to 45mm gauge to accompany the rest of my IOM stuff. OK, it should be 45mm gauge plus scale 6 inches, but as I have no plan to build a miniature Snaefell, it will have to run with the steam locos!
ReplyDeleteNot to worry - I'm sure it'll be just fine.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, sorry about me getting the numbers wrong on those NER inspection railcars - of course, they should have been #3678 & 3679! In case you're wondering why I was thinking about how they might look on a garden line, I'm part way through designing panel overlays for one in a different scale on my PC.