funicular

Funicular mechanicals

Part two of my funicular building series...

Track

Funiculars need something to roll along on, i.e. some track. I didn't want to use regular N scale track though as this would look a bit over-sized for my tiny funicular. Instead I quickly (read: crudely) soldered up some code 40 track to 6mm gauge. To help with traction, I added a sheet of metal under the sleepers, the thinking being that if I magnetised the funicular, it would stay stuck to the track.

With the aid of some hot glue I attached the track to the scene and built up the surrounding landscape with some plaster. Some ballast was added, and then the whole thing toned down with some dirt-coloured watery plaster. This does a nice job of making the track look a bit worn out.

Cable

What I really wanted was a moving funicular. I decided fairly early on that a DC gear motor underneath the baseboard would be the way to go, driving a continuous loop of "cable...

Building the funicular - part 1

My funicular is now finished and operating well, so I thought I'd go back and talk about how I made it.

Inspiration

Right from the start I knew I wanted a funicular for guests to Ranuska to get to their accommodation. Early on I discovered the Elevador da Bica in Lisbon, Portugal and was immediately drawn to its nice colour scheme and cute design:

However I struggled adapting the design to the 36º slope that mine would have to climb. Then one day while browsing my regular blogs I happened upon a post by Phil Parker from BRM (a great train magazine by the way) where he had discovered this wee cutie in someone's garden:

Funicular is GO!

An exciting milestone in Ranuska was reached tonight: the sanatorium funicular successfully completed a return journey from bottom to top, and back down again!

The Utrainia News Agency was on hand to capture the moment:

Still a few bugs to iron out, but a very exciting moment for all Ranuskan's. More details to follow...