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Scalecraft Roadrailer


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Does anyone know if there are scale drawings for these vehicles other than those in BRM Annual or BRJ?

I've got some drawings based on the Pressed Steel originals. When I say, "I've got", what I mean is I've just spent 10 minutes looking through the highly disorganised mess that is my filing system and can't find where they are. They would be difficult to scan as i) they are a bit bigger than A3 ii) my scanners screwed at the moment but when I find them (That may take some time!) I'll see what I can do.

 

 

I'm fairly sure they appear in one of the diagram books.

I think the drawing in the diagram book is wrong from the point of view that it shows the wrong number of panel divisions on the box sides.

 

 

 

 

I wonder if there is still enough interest in these to warrant a more detailed up to date version. The fact that it was never in the public eye may have a bearing on this but the novelty value of a maybe limited run could be worth thinking about.

 

I’ve got 25 of the things stashed under my bed. I’ve always fancied a full rake being tested behind a 47. The “silly” plan at the moment is resin cast the bodies (I’ve watched your demo Jon), then stick the Scalecraft stuff on eBay. It would be like a small lottery windfall the price they go for.

 

 

Porcy

Edited by Porcy Mane
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Before the overhead went on we ran a small rake of these on Herculaneum Dock and it always ended with lots of questions. I have 2 or three and thanks to Mr Isherwwood they have RoadRailer in block capitals down the side.

 

Anyone built the open version?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Before the overhead went on we ran a small rake of these on Herculaneum Dock and it always ended with lots of questions. I have 2 or three and thanks to Mr Isherwwood they have RoadRailer in block capitals down the side.

 

Anyone built the open version?

post-2274-0-42366900-1373959185.jpg

 

post-2274-0-03617400-1373959209_thumb.jpg

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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  • 2 years later...

I wonder if there is still enough interest in these to warrant a more detailed up to date version. The fact that it was never in the public eye may have a bearing on this but the novelty value of a maybe limited run could be worth thinking about.

It was tried again about twenty years ago with Trailertrain, it was used out of Melton Mowbray on Pedigree traffic at the same time as the Piggyback was being used/developed!

 

It faded away!

 

Mark Saunders

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Has anyone got a set of instructions for Set no 1 that they could scan and send me please?

 

post-508-0-25186300-1450961152_thumb.jpg

 

post-508-0-34844100-1450961161_thumb.jpg

 

Also now having access to a few colour photographs it think that there may be a slight error in The CCT transfer sheet in that all  the numbers on the production Roadrailer Boxes  were red. It looks like only the 2 initial prototype boxes had black numbers. Also I've confirmed that the roof profile on the prototype boxes were slightly different to the production batch. Scalecraft RR's was based on the initial unmodified versions of the prototype boxes.

 

P

post-508-0-60180800-1450962561.png

Edited by Porcy Mane
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attachicon.gifRoadrailerIns-1.jpg

 

attachicon.gifRoadrailerIns-2.jpg

 

Also now having access to a few colour photographs it think that there may be a slight error in The CCT transfer sheet in that all  the numbers on the production Roadrailer Boxes  were red. It looks like only the 2 initial prototype boxes had black numbers. Also I've confirmed that the roof profile on the prototype boxes were slightly different to the production batch. Scalecraft RR's was based on the initial unmodified versions of the prototype boxes.

 

P

attachicon.gifXmasSmile.png

Fantastic Christmas present! Many thanks.

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Didn't Peco take over production?

I think Peco marketed it as part of their range but it was actually designed and produced by Scalecraft.

 

I think it would have to be produced as more of an RTR project to have any viability in today's market. The adaptor bogie would need to be more substantial to be able to be modelled with a weighted trailing load, which like the prototype, would add to the stability when running.

 

Again I would ask the question what interest is there for it bearing in mind the prototype project got aborted for the more flexible BR Freightliner?

 

This may be one for the smaller 'Cottage Industry' producers but I for one would be quite willing to support such a venture.

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Didn't Peco take over production?

I too always thought that Peco handled trade distribution.

 

Scalecraft produced many other plastic kits, most if not all of the click-together type. Google "Scalecraft Twickenham" and you'll find out some other info. Seems they had a fire circa 1968 which resulted in their demise.

 

Wouldn't be too difficult to use an unbuilt set as masters for resin casting assuming nobody acquired the copyright and/or moulds. But as production methods have leapfrogged the intervening years, 3D printing might even be easier? Whichever way you look at it, sales are likely to be small and maybe just not worth the effort.

 

Genesis Models do/did the adaptor bogie in whitemetal, so leaving aside the tractor unit it's just maybe the box trailers.

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Wouldn't be too difficult to use an unbuilt set as masters for resin casting assuming nobody acquired the copyright and/or moulds.

 

 

That was my plan to build a full rake but the Scalecraft RR mouldings really show their age & are not  that accurate when compared to pressed steel drawings. The roof profile is a good bit out so the side panels are too high.  Good in their day though and could give Airfix rolling stock kits a good run for their money.

I bought my last two new ones from a model shop in Torquay in 1981. They still had a pre decimalisation price on the box so the shop must have had them in stock for years.

Whichever way you look at it, sales are likely to be small and maybe just not worth the effort.

I sometimes wonder if there is a large demand for them. Seeing what price they can achieve on ebay?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rolling-stock-Scalecraft-Roadrailer-Kit-No-1-OO-gauge-complete-kit-/111600734670?nma=true&si=3sbh%252B9t2ABGwemOkrWzTIbuWCzc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

There seems to be demand for one off locos  like Bachmanns DP1, the Blue Pullman and the likes of specialist rolling such as the Inspection Saloons. Probably there is less perceived demand for the Roadrailer due to lack of publicity. Maybe if more punters were aware of it; it might start to appear in wish lists?

 

A rake of ten might just luck spot on on a layout  behind a class 31. e.g.

 

http://www.eastanglianrailwayarchive.co.uk/Railways/Abandoned-Lines-and-Stations/i-SbRfHfZ

 

Not only that. Any prospective manufacture would be building a wagon that would have automatic in built 3 point compensation.

 

P

post-508-0-79055800-1451132134.png

Edited by Porcy Mane
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I will look at this try and get an up to date costing based on starting from scratch. It will be when I get involved with another product commission so wont be anytime soon. We already have access to the RTR dmu bogie so rest is pretty simple apart from the 'rocking' trailer wheels. 

 

The photograph in post #39 is interesting because it shows the prototype box van trailer at the rear of the train.

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Also now having access to a few colour photographs it think that there may be a slight error in The CCT transfer sheet in that all  the numbers on the production Roadrailer Boxes  were red. It looks like only the 2 initial prototype boxes had black numbers.

 

When I'm back home on Tuesday I will check my Roadrailer photos, but would welcome sight of the ones to which you have access.

 

Any amendments that are needed to my Roadrailer transfer sheet will be made.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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ISTR a contributor to the RM in the early 1960s by the name of SF Page made a train of these and produced an article about them. It may be worth searching through the Railway Modeller back-catalogue, possibly 1963-1964.

 

Didn't Scalecraft also produce a kit of a cast concrete domestic type garage?

Edited by roythebus
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ISTR a contributor to the RM in the early 1960s by the name of SF Page made a train of these and produced an article about them. It may be worth searching through the Railway Modeller back-catalogue, possibly 1963-1964.

 

Didn't Scalecraft also produce a kit of a cast concrete domestic type garage?

 

I also remember seeing this....I'll have to find it!

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Until the Liverpool Overhead was added to the layout we ran  four of the Road railers on Herculaneum Dock. I still have another complete kit to build.

 

And, thanks to CCTransfers, they are lettered as Road railers.

 

Baz

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I wonder if there is still enough interest in these to warrant a more detailed up to date version. The fact that it was never in the public eye may have a bearing on this but the novelty value of a maybe limited run could be worth thinking about.

About 2000 I went to wickhams and they had developed what looked like a road rail VDA van, which was kind of the opposite to road railer where road 'bogies' were attached to the vehicles for use on the road. I'm not sure what happened to it I've certainly not seen any pictures of it being mainline tested. Shame as I thought it had promise

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It was tried again about twenty years ago with Trailertrain, it was used out of Melton Mowbray on Pedigree traffic at the same time as the Piggyback was being used/developed!

 

It faded away!

 

Mark Saunders

Didn't 'TrailerTrain' also work on paper traffic from Aberdeen to Wolverton? All these 'amphibious' systems suffer from the draw-back of having to carry a lot more tare weight than their road or rail equivalents. On 'Road-Railer' stock, the underframe has to be robust enough to handle being hauled in a train, whilst 'truck on Flat Car' systems there is the weight of both road and rail chassis to be taken into account.
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ISTR a contributor to the RM in the early 1960s by the name of SF Page made a train of these and produced an article about them. It may be worth searching through the Railway Modeller back-catalogue, possibly 1963-1964.

 

 

Perhaps you are referring to the article in Railway Modeller for 1961 December Pages 292 & 293? There is no author given for the article, which is rare for the RM.

 

Edit to add

 

This article makes reference to kits, but doesn't acknowledge who made them. So perhaps not available by then?

Edited by kevinlms
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Perhaps you are referring to the article in Railway Modeller for 1961 December Pages 292 & 293? There is no author given for the article, which is rare for the RM.

 

Edit to add

 

This article makes reference to kits, but doesn't acknowledge who made them. So perhaps not available by then?

These are all the references that I can find to Roadrailers in Railway Modeller:

 

December 1961 - "The Roadrailer". No author attributed (generally this means it was written by CJF himself). 2 pages, 4 photographs and a hypothetical depot plan.

 

March 1962 - "The Roadrailer", S F Page. One of the items in the Mixed Freight miscellany. Sydney F Page was a regular contributor to RM (and also to Meccano Magazine) at the time, usually with short articles and/or photos featuring his 00 gauge Longdon, Newborough and Easthyde Railway.

 

September 1962 - "Putting the Roadrailer to work", S F Page. Using the Roadrailer kits on his layout. 2 pages, 3 photographs.

 

October 1962 - "Roadrailer garage". Unattributed article (again probably by CJF) on scratchbuilding a model garage from card. 1 page, 1 sketch.

 

September 1963 - "Speeding the freight". One unattributed and undated photo (possibly a BR official image) purporting to show a London - Edinburgh Roadrailer train.

 

May 1964 - "Roadrailer hints", S F Page. Another Mixed Freight item.

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