Large Scale Central

7/8ths "tin turtle" armoured simplex

So I am gonna do a bit of boasting. Mike Williams (my lurker friend on here and local club member) commissioned me to design him another CAD project. If you recall I designed his sugar cane cars and an oxy/acetylene welding set for him.

His latest project is an armoured cab for his simplex chassis. A replica of the ww1 armored simplex. I designed the two end “cowels” and the roof.

A second version is soon coming that is a fully enclosed roof.

The doors will be separate styrene pieces so they can be kept thin.

A HUGE GIGANTIC THANK YOU to Dan H for his teaching me to do rivet patterns especially on a curved surface. Not only did Dan tell me how to do it. He provided me with a PDF study guide with pictures. Couldn’t have pulled this off without him

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These are available on his Etsy site if you are looking for a unique 7/8ths train

Here is a picture of the chassis and drive he uses that I designed off of


I saw this on Facebook, its very nice. And Chris Rennie has done some nice slate wagons, with load. Great stuff. I have a 7/8 Simplex that I bought about 20 years ago. I need to re-motor it, its a fun little engine to have puttering around the layout.

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really excellent work!

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Thank you John. Its was and continues to be a fun project.

I have pretty much deliberately have avoided 7/8ths. The only reason being is that I had no idea what I wanted. I don’t want to go 7/8ths. I want just a single consist for fun running. But everyone does one of two things, either small 2 foot Maine type stuff (which is awesome but I would get addicted) or they do a backwoods geared logger (again awesome and I could get addicted). You do have the sugar plantation stuff which is interesting. I thought I had my mind set to do a small gas mechanical pulling torpedo (molten metal) cars for steel production. Not something seen.

Well then Mike came to me with this. And I instantly knew what my 7/8th train was going to be. First its just a cool and unique model, a little tank. But in a former life I was a cannon cocker. My time in the Marine Corp Reserves was spent with A Battery, 1st Battalion, 14th Marines, 4th MarDiv. We were artillery and shot the M198 Howitzer. So a WW1 munitions train hauling shells and powder to the front is right down my alley. I hope to add a couple low sided two axle “wagons” filled with shells and powder to pull behind it. Maybe a small troop car. we will see where it goes.

7/8ths has been described as “Big models of little prototypes,” and they really are. I have a tidy collection of various 7/8ths bits Ive mostly scratchbuilt, and a couple I purchased:

EIMCO mucker

Simplex locomotive

Boxcab project

Trammer

Latrine car

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Well done, Devon. That turned out to be a nice looking little engine. I like your idea about the WW1 munitions train. Are these Simplex chassis off the shelf products or one off custom built items?

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Just what you need , another size to start building stuff for! I have to admire your 100% lack of focus and your 100% ability to keep trying newer sizes/ scales/ gauges! Keep it coming there is a whole bunch of ride on scales you have not started messing with yet!

They are his design and he sells them as complete locos. here is the link to his Etsy shop. He has built several locos of a couple different designs. And the various simplexs are there. So its not really a one off nor is it a stand alone chassis. I am sure if someone were to want to buy just a chassis he would sell you one.

No that’s the whole point Pete. I refuse to go down this rabbit hole. All the work I am doing is for him and we are working a great trade for the work. In a round about way this was a hired commissioned piece. It is not my model, and I won’t be doing much with it. In fact I will be acquiring mine from him and I will only have the one train. I really don’t see myself getting to wrapped up in 7/8ths. Had I not become invested in regular size trains 1:20.3 to 1:29, I very easily could have went strictly 7/8ths. Its a neat size and you can model a lot in a little spot. 7?8ths would have been a better choice for my limited space. But we are not starting over. Heck I even resisted doing 7/8ths for the ceiling. There I am sticking to my rubber 1:24 ish sorta scale that I have been always working toward for my indoor.

Not my idea, it was all him. I just fell in love with the project. I am just the designer. He is the idea and creator.

That is so true Bob. Had I really known in the beginning what I know now about my space and my modeling desires, I really kind of regret not going 7/8ths outdoors right off. The 1:20.3 empire is not really practical in my space nor does it lend itself to the kind of detail I want. Its the major reason I am shrinking the vision (not the layout) from an empire modeled through out the Silver Valley to modeling 1 town in that area and focusing on making the layout basically once giant scene.

Had I went 7/8ths I really could have done a neat large industry. If I did it again my entire layout would be a single steel mill.

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Nice stuff Bob.

There is one of those muckers (they call it a scoop tram) at the CT Antique Machery Assoc. Mining Museum in Kent, CT…

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Here is the fully enclosed cab roof version. This is my personal favorite.

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Still wouldn’t want to be inside that thing if any ordinance exploded nearby!

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Or on any hot day. You sit on the engine next to the exposed radiator in a metal box. Shy of stopping small arms fire this thing would not be fun to be in.

Just name her the ‘Jenny Craig’ :sunglasses:

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Pretty sure I wouldn’t be fat anymore if I ran that for a couple months in a 100 degree heat on war rations.