Main Line not Mainline

[Canal Digger]

A friend a few nights ago, knowing that I collected 'quirky stuff' offered me some Matchbox trains, I wonder how how he would view today's delivery?

Main Line Models of Hadleigh 'Impulse Drive' Railcar, looks more like the body of an aeroplane, made of green Bakelite(?), no motor, instead a coil pulling against a series of steel plates set at intervals between rails. What fun!!

Box contains a slip of paper saying that if I post it to 'Main Line Works, Beech Road, Hadleigh, Essex, I can have some free window transfers. Please, is there someone here who knows the area, I would be very surprised if there were any still available. On Google Street View is looks like all houses, perhaps Main Line Works was a private house?

The drawing (white on blue [blueprint?]) has the name 'Skinley Model Rly'

There is supposedly 9ft of track and a pot of Acrabond Liquid Glue, but I'm going to try to get the car (train doesn't quite seam right) working on a length of 00 track

[BernardTPM]

Oooh, a linear induction motor.

[Canal Digger]

A forerunner to Maglev, working so well in Japan invented in UK (Brum or Manchester?)

[cctransuk]

6 minutes ago, Canal Digger said:

A forerunner to Maglev, working so well in Japan invented in UK (Brum or Manchester?)

 

Tested near St. Ives (Cambs.).

 

CJI.

[Il Grifone]

Invented (or at least developed - Google comes up with a pre-war German trial) at Imperial College.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Laithwaite

 

His demonstrations were always fun and well attended. It was rumoured that he notified Battersea power station beforehand.

Edited December 17, 2021 by Il Grifone

[Mol_PMB]

Amazing that these days BIrmingham airport has reverted to centuries-older technology of a cable-hauled railway, which St Ives has a problematic guided busway!

I’m looking forward to seeing more of this model, and how it works.

 

[Mol_PMB]

Looking at the drawing it relies on the relative positions of the metal blocks and the insulating sleeves on the third rail? Probably needs very careful setting up! 

[railroadbill]

I came across a video of  this set  last year.  Also different, the video shows it working well.

 

 

[Canal Digger]

00 Gauge 3rd Rail Linear Induction anyone?

 

Assembled the pick-up this afternoon, the wiper arm protruding from the body in the 1st picture below. I decided to modify unit by 6 & 8BA Earth Tags, a spring to hold the arm down onto the 3rd rail and some insulation. I'm thinking about getting some 00 track and laying the 3rd rail alongside, life is too short to lay all 3 rails.  

[Canal Digger]

an update

[roythebus1]

Back in the late 1960s there was an article in one of the model mags about a system using a centre third rail of steel with thin insulated copper wire round it, making a very long electro-magnet. What it omitted to say or I forgot to do was to bare the top surface one the insulated copper wire! 2 magnets were placed under the rail vehicle close to the rail top. a pair of insulated brushes rubbed on the long centre rail. 

The theory was that 12v was collected from the 2 running rails and was passed to the third rail "coil" which acted as a long armature. As that was energised the magnetism in the coil would attract and repel the magnets under the rail vehicle. While  couldn't get mine to work I understand others did!