Ryde Pier tramway

[rue_d_etropal]

I have been doing a few designs for Drewry railcars/trams and I would like to design a 3D printed model of the petro/diesel Drewry units used on the Ryde Pier tramway.

Trouble is I can not find any drawings . I know from the Drewry sales documents that they were listed as tramcars, which is why I have asked here. I might also be interested ultimately to do the earlier electric tramcars. I think one is preserved, and I think at least one drawing is in Terry Rusell's list.

Even the Oakwood Press book on the Ryde Pier has no drawings.

 

[Nearholmer]

The ‘grapes car’, which I think was a trailer, is preserved in some unlikely place, Hull I think.

[decauville1126]

On the basis that the Isle of Wight preservation people are rebuilding one, might be worth contacting them to see what info they have to enable an accurate job. I think it will be almost a replica rather than a rebuild.

[IWCR]

Yes  contact  Havenstreet.

Drawings  etc  for  the  Drewry  motor  cars  are  scarce  and  little  has  been  located,  the  remains  of  Tramcar  no2  were  preserved  basically  as  a  chassis  with  some  body  parts,  this  is  currently  being  used  as  the  basis  for  a  reconstruction.

When  introduced  in  1927  these  initially  ran  with  the  trailer  cars  from  the  previous  electric  trams,  yes  the  Grapes  car  was  used  with  no2.  One  of  the  electric  driving  cars  is also  preserved  at  Havenstreet.

Later  the  trailers  were  replaced  with new  build  vehicles  of  similar  appearances  to  the  Drewrys,  these  were  built  by  the  Southern  and  a  comprehensive set  of  drawings  survive,  a  replica  is  to  be  built to  work  with  no2.

 

Pete

[Mike Storey]

Sounds fascinating Simon. I well remember riding on that as a kid many times, on our way back to our flat in George Street, Ryde. Put me down for one when/if you succeed!

 

I know of no drawings, but there are loads of pictures, as you will probably know already. So Havenstreet must be your best bet for now.

[Judge Dread]

The ‘grapes car’, which I think was a trailer, is preserved in some unlikely place, Hull I think.

You are correct there. Try this link ​and click on the all photos below the tram. What you want is the second one to the right. 

Edited April 1, 2018 by Judge Dread

[Nearholmer]

I’m fairly sure that the initial electric car(s) were built in Brighton, by the same workshop that built the first of the ‘proper’ Volks Electric cars. Both the VER and RPT had Siemens electrical kit, and I think the car bodies were a near-direct copy of the cars used on Siemens experimental/proving tramway at Lichterfelde, probably using drawingsfrom there. The engineer at Ryde was one of the ‘second generation’ Siemens family engineers, Alexander I think.

 

There was a very close link between Volks and Carl Wilhelm Siemens (naturalised British citizen and head of the large Siemens operation in Britain), and that relationship was continued by the younger Siemens after CW died in 1883.

[rue_d_etropal]

I did email the general enquiries at IOW Railway, but no reply yet.

 

According to the Oakwood Press book, trailer cars 7 and 8 were allocated BR diagram 850. The only diagram 850 I have found is a totally different BR DMU. It seems odd there is no known diagram number for th motor cars, as BR seemed to allocate a number to everything else.

I do have the length and wheelbase of both motor and trailer cars. Motor cars were 26ft 7in long with a 12ft 6in wheelbase, and the trailer was 26ft long, wheelbase 10ft. Width for trailer listed as 7ft 5in, and height of sides   9ft 9in. Width of motor car looks the same, as does height. Given that wheel diameter is 2ft , I assume that is body height, not total height. I might be able to put togeher drawings based on these figures. Odd that no-one else has done that. I think I am right in thinkng the inward ends of the trailer were open.

Drewry might have built a variety of different designs, but there are some similarities with others they built, for which I do have drawings.

 

The small Drewry railcar and trailer built for the WCPR are recorded as being 8ft wide, and have a lot of similarities. Height for Ryde trailer might actually be height above rail, not just body height . It would also make sense if body was slightly less given that tram bodies often narrower. I have a lot of info, and latest drawings care of the Colonel Stephens Society. Most info they have is online, but I have some info only just unearthed, so not fully public yet.

 

I have the list of records(over 80 pages) of Drewry held at Staffordshire Records office, but apparently they are being reorganised at the moment. They also are not organised by official Drewry order number, just description, making identifying them from list difficult.

Edited April 1, 2018 by rue_d_etropal