I've been distracted by other work for couple of weeks. But to keep my personal hobby spirits up and the flow of information coming, I did test assemble the basic chassis of the narrow gauge version of the SuperGlide tm family. As you can see, I still have a lot of bearings and wheels to fit to axles, but the pictures at this are intended to show the broad scope rather than the final finished detail.
To set these in context I took a few "family portraits" to illustrate firstly, just some of the wide range of modelling applications,that this one flexible design can cover and secondly, the ability to miniaturize totally dependable, fully working suspension, bogies and power trucks right down to the very smallest sizes that we modellers need to enjoy the whole scope of railway modelling. Already that means Diesel and Electric Locomotives, Passenger Trains, Freight Trains, Light Rail, Trams, Narrow Gauges, all allowing for open or apparently open interiors.
In the picture above, L to R, are: London max traction Tram under a test floor; a HO standard 5-3 US freight truck for comparison; a foreground HO 8-6 passenger; a 3 ft NG tram and a UK MK1 coach.
To show the relative size of the smallest version, I've pictured it as a wheelbase and width comparison against the size of the standard US freight truck in HO. Please excuse the pinpoint axles, they will be replaced, but the HO 30" diameter wheels are appropriate for the narrow gauge HOm trams they represent.
The common wheelbase also opens up further possibilities, at least in the US, for tender drives and freight cars. And of course every version shown can be assembled as a Powered version with a gearbox and UJ shaft drive. But I hope to demonstrate more "along those lines" in the future
Andy