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French autorails - metre gauge and standard gauge


rue_d_etropal
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Just started on the articulated railcar. That front end photo was very useful. Found a lot of small differences between the articulated fersion and the single car version.

The radiator width is same as that on other A150D railcars, so the window above is wider. This means windows next to it are narrower, but the second windows are almost the same. Sideview shows where difference is.

Windows and doors have  moved slightly. The luggage doors are also wider.

I checked and double checked measurements of front end, as radiator appears to come down lower as well. As far as I can tell all windows are same height as on single cars, but the body is actually raised up higher by a couple of inches. This means buffer/coupler/tampon fits just under radiator, but only just.

I have again left roof clear, otherwise I would have to do versions for different periods. Also left dummy radiator as per original, as it can be covered easily. Need to leave something for modellers to do.

billard-a150d2-artic-railcar-1a.jpg

Edited by rue_d_etropal
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Hi Simon

From all accounts, there were minor differences between all of them, even within a batch as they were built by hand not really mass produced but wherever possible Billard would have used the same component designs so I think the second of the side windows on the A150D2 probably are the same as those on both widths of A80D (2.4m and 2.2m

I've found my copies of GEMME's La Gazette and in no 62 (Aug 2006)  there is a set of detailed drawings by Jean-Pierre Dumont of the A80D including the front curves which are complex. I can't do it tonight but I'll scan these and PM them to you. Do you have all the drawings frm MTVS No. 24 Les Automotrices Billard.

The heights of the top of the roofs above rail height were 2580mm for the A80D, 2750 for the A150D and 2645 for the A150D2 but almost all of the difference between the A80D and the A150D2 is accounted for by the latter's slightly higher ground clearance of 360mm compared to the A80D's 300mm so the body heights were almost identical. The A150D had a ground clearance of 345mm . 

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I think I have got the curves as close as I am going to. Computer will throw a wobbly if I ask it to do anytying more complex!

MTVS No. 24 Les Automotrices Billard.- not something I have seen. I am always interested in more drawings, please .

Just surprised I have not come acoss any drawings of the articulated units before.

 

Edited by rue_d_etropal
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Just changed thread title to cover allFrench railcars/autorails.

Also just completed design for a Bugatti autorail. As I have book with drawings of most of the types had to chootse which to do. For size I would have done he shortest, but they were all conveted to remorques after WW2, and I remembered some discussion here about an old Bugatti that had been dumped in south of France. In my research I have found out more but sadly it was scrapped.

http://www.bugattirevue.com/revue56/taconetti.htm

 

But that persuaded me to do one of these ones, which were the longest of the single unit variety.As I already had one of the Jouef models , which were the earlier design with 3 front windows, this was another difference.

Almost gave up on design though. In most ways it is alot simpler than most of the designs I have done, in particular the other French autorails, but software objected to logical sequence I did design. It is simply a rectangular block, with end and side profiles simple cuts, with no merging. Quite common with 19430s designs(Bulleid did it with some of his electric units). Luckily I found that just changing sequence of instructions(it is more like writing a program), and it worked.

These autorails were big, over 83ft long, too big for single piece in 1/32nd scale so have had to leave that off my list, but have still managed o resize from N up to O. Might consider doiing one for Z. 4 axle bogies would be fun to make, but still easier than building a chassis for some steam locos, one reason I prefer railcars to design.

 

 

bugatti-autorail-1a.jpg

Edited by rue_d_etropal
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10 hours ago, rue_d_etropal said:

Just changed thread title to cover allFrench railcars/autorails.

Also just completed design for a Bugatti autorail. As I have book with drawings of most of the types had to chootse which to do. For size I would have done he shortest, but they were all conveted to remorques after WW2, and I remembered some discussion here about an old Bugatti that had been dumped in south of France. In my research I have found out more but sadly it was scrapped.

http://www.bugattirevue.com/revue56/taconetti.htm

 

But that persuaded me to do one of these ones, which were the longest of the single unit variety.As I already had one of the Jouef models , which were the earlier design with 3 front windows, this was another difference.

Almost gave up on design though. In most ways it is alot simpler than most of the designs I have done, in particular the other French autorails, but software objected to logical sequence I did design. It is simply a rectangular block, with end and side profiles simple cuts, with no merging. Quite common with 19430s designs(Bulleid did it with some of his electric units). Luckily I found that just changing sequence of instructions(it is more like writing a program), and it worked.

These autorails were big, over 83ft long, too big for single piece in 1/32nd scale so have had to leave that off my list, but have still managed o resize from N up to O. Might consider doiing one for Z. 4 axle bogies would be fun to make, but still easier than building a chassis for some steam locos, one reason I prefer railcars to design.

 

 

bugatti-autorail-1a.jpg

Apparently, it was the end shape of the earlier Bugatti autorails from 1933 that inspired Sir Nigel Grelsey's design for the A4's streamlining. The driver's "cockpit" (I can think of no other name for it) could be opened to enable the driver tro bail out if there was a fire in the four Bugatti "Royale" petrol engines he was sitting on top of. The engines had become surplus to requirements when the market for his luxury "Royale" cas dried up during the depression so Ettore Bugatti  found a new use for them powering the first batch of what became 80 high speed autorails. 

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it might have been the inspiration for Gresley, but the shape is actualy a lot less complex than on the A4s and the beaver tailed observation coach, which I found far more difficult to design. I think Bugatti had designed the aerofol design a few years before.

First thing I noticed about design was how similar it was in shape(front end ) to railcars introduced in recent years. They were a very successful design. Main downside, on safey grounds might be using a petrol engine, and they were looking at a steam generating plant, but WW2 stopped that development.

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