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History

I am impassioned of railroad, but I do not have the means of repurchasing a line, and hardware. Even at the price of scrap, with 1F KG, that exceeds the 10 000F quickly!!! And to all alone repair, manage, use that, it is impossible. Then I put myself at the head that I could build, in my garden, a network in narrow gauge railway. But in which spacing? 600 mm, 500 mm, one must be able to find that easily, but, Ca makes tip trucks rather heavy, and the weight of a diesel loco to these dimensions is significant. When Ca runs off the line, and that one is alone, hello problems! The spacing with English, that appears too small, fragile, and rather expensive. And then that too made toy. To make an interesting way, one needs place, and dish, which is not the case of my ground. And of the way in 400? It is very rare, even non-existent into 98. In any case, it is not too broad, rather strapping man, not too heavy with trimballer, and one must be able to make very tight curves...

At the end of 98, I read an advertisement in the local newspaper: " shunting in the process of 50 cm seeks ". I do not have this coveted apparatus, but I nevertheless called, history to know so much of people proposed such equipment. I also knew that a scrap merchant, in a close department, had narrow gauge railway and elements of ways in several spacings. Of course, the advertisers had not had any phone call, which for a newspaper drawn in almost 1 million specimen and read per as many people, was worrying. I pointed out these people 3 times, a craftsman proposed a solution to them: to modify a shunting which they had in a different spacing. These people have a network in the garden, be-saying, " for the grandchildren " in the process of 500 mm.

And a memory returned to me. In the Nineties, I had travelled by the train and while passing in the suburbs of a prefecture, I had discovered railway between greenhouses, the spacing, had seen train appeared tiny. Ca had pleased to me to see a small network in operating condition, then I had forgotten his existence. It is thus following this advertisement published towards the end of the year 98, that this memory returned to me. I spoke to my wife about it, and I started to prospect by telephone in this city. I sought on a card, the commune going along this railway which I had borrowed. And of wire out of needle, I arrived in a market-gardener who had reduced his exploitation, following a real project. It " had torn off " 150 Mr. of way of 400, plus some accessories. It proposed all this " treasure " with 1F to me. kg This person is an enthusiastic defender of the rail in this type of trade, he recognizes more advantages to him than of disadvantages. There remain to him at least 300 Mr. of way, various tip trucks of any type, and not badly of elements of ways. But to carry out this purchase, there remained a problem of size; transport. 1500 kg out of 450 km, how to make

After several phone calls to hirers out or conveyors, I the SNCF One decided to use proposed a tariff to me of 1000 F the coach was put at dispo towards 10h the D-day, and one telephoned J+2 during the day to me to inform me of his arrival. There remained two problem to be regulated: the way enters the site and the station of this city, and my station with at home, in the mountain... The market-gardener proposed his truck, and his workman. The loading proceeded without problem on an only one journey. Which was not my surprise, the coach arrived the following day... Cap, the SNCF! Which speed; 48 H envisaged, 24 H realized - I highly advise the recourse to the isolated coach - a friend proposed his small truck for the final service road. I had located a way very little used with a travelling bridge in state, impeccable to discharge the coach. Two voyages were necessary. With the first, this friend " planted " his truck in my court. We lost 2 hours to give it on the way. Unloading finished around 20 hours. 1,5 tons of scrap were now piled up on the lawn. Ouf! And the following day, 20 cm of snow covered all that! Thanks to the advance of the SNCF, this operation had been held well. If not, I do not know how that would have finished. To reach at my court, there is a slope of 50 Mr. with 45%....

I thus recovered:

- about thirty elements of 5 Mr. (to 40 and 80 kg the element)

- 5 elements of large-radius curve.

- 2 Pétolat plates

- 2 " grasshoppers " or mobile plate

- 1 frame Pétolat (origin higher, but reduced spacing - traces of welding -)

Thus the happy owner of a network in narrow gauge railway veiled me.

Another big problem comes from the configuration of my ground. Between the court and the lawn and the bottom of the ground or I have the place to store the hardware and what I would transport (firewood, refuse to be incinerated, etc...), it badly did not denivellé there, and it was necessary me to install a winch and two elements strong inclined. Thus, they is lifting and rather dangerous. The Pétolat frame must weigh well between 70 and 100 kg. I assembled all the elements thus, and now I a curve with or without way in dead end in order to reduce envisages the declivity, a kind of Y with a needle to be built. Thus, I could seriously start to think of a power trolley.

The Yoyo

This power trolley, I have it on plan, and in the head. It will be thermal with electric drive. Here the model which inspires to me and two fast sketches on the scale. I am not a mechanic, and I do not want to launch out it inside, then I intend to use a power generating unit from at least 4 000 GOES. It will provide the 220 Volts to supply an engine via a variable speed transmission and a table of security.

Why 220 V?

A friend connait a person who draws from the portable lamps with a yoyo been driven by an engine with windscreen wiper with GMC. From the security point of view of, it is surer. But to be able to use of 220 V does not import or in my garden, without extension, for the tools électroportatif, appears more interesting to me. And then, in the event of interruption of current, a group is really not a gadget there or I live. What wedges for the moment, it is the power necessary to provide to feed my arc welding set. Does 4 500 GO are enough? It is necessary that I find a solution. And then that also makes it possible to walk on a dish, a compressor to work with tire. I see only advantages to use a power generating unit which moves by its own means....

Which engine to use?

I started to seek an engine single-phase current 220 V with motor reducer, of course. For an engine of 1 000 W approximately, and a reducer, it is necessary to count 2 000 minimum F! Well on, it is untraceable on occasion, if not, it is necessary to seek in 380 V, it is very current, but Ca becomes enormous, and why not 1 500 V? I prepared has to seek in 380 V when I reconsidered with an engine of washing machine which I had recovered a few years ago. I had some problems to make it turn, but by finding the strand, and the condensers, I could find the two directions of rotation and the idle. I will have to seek the consumptions of slow and fast speed, because I find it noisy of slow speed, and I think that it would be more powerful of fast speed. But reduction will not be simple to make. To vary speed, I intend to use a variator in electronic kit sold at Conrad (ex-Decock). For the transmission, a pinion will involve a chain and a plate with the format motor bike or industrialist. I could couple the two axles with two plates identical and a chain, but I want to use rods for the railway aspect.

Which hardware to use?

Veiled for this project which will begin in the weeks to come.

I already made a truck to transport waste to be incinerated, the sheets, the mowed grass, etc... I recovered the refuse collecting vehicle some share or it was not used for nothing, and I fixed it on a framework out of wooden under which I installed " Chinese " stages and the axles, without forgetting the suspension springs. Total cost: 380 F.ttc. This truck is very light, very handy, and in spite of the trap door on front, the very resistant one; I added some cleats to rigidify the front face inside.