Drawings for constructing a Rolling Road

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

Can anyone suggest where I might be able to find drawings/photos showing how to construct a rolling road for testing model locomotives?  I can recall having seen some accounts in the past but cannot remember where I would have seen them.  All hints and suggestions most welcomed.

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Have a look at the “Blondihacks” YouTube channel.  Quinn has just made a simple one that may suit your needs.

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

These are what I knocked up for a  5″  0-6-0.  The rollers are 1.25″ diameter and spaced so that they bear on the wheel “tyre” and have about 1/16″ clearance on the flange.  The side plates (Which rest on the sleepers) should be deeper so the rollers clear the rail head but these were made for my transporting frame where the rail is 15mm angle.  The lower bolts can be used to align the three sets of rollers but are free to slide longitudinally.

 

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

The above designs for a rolling road work well for the smaller, lighter moðlels where the loco can be lifted on̈ to and off the rollers but present problems with the larger units. What I am looking for is a design of rolling road which would allow the loco to be pushed onto the rollers via a length of transfer track without any need for lifting. I fear however any such design would be quite complicated to make up. Interested however to see what might be out there.

[stephen goodbodyParticipant @stephengoodbody77352]

Hi there: please see your PM.

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

Speedybuilder5    I think I may have misinterpreted your photos. Am I right in assuming that your design does permit the loco to roll onto an off the rollers?  If so, please accept my apologies.

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

How can it be possible for the loco to roll onto the rollers as they are considerably higher than the track the loco is on??. surely you would need a set of rollers that could be jacked up after the loco is rolled over but i still fail to see how you roll a loco over the gaps in the rail where the rollers are situated.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Give us a clue as to what gauge 5″ or 7.25″ and a wheel plan ?  What I think you want would be complicated and may still not work that well. I made one for 5″ out of a section of hot rolled channel 8″ wide 3″ deep and about 2′ long. 3 pairs of slotted holes to allow for axle spacing and wheel size. I used conveyor ball races about 50mm dia and bolted to the slots, washers between the race and channel brought the spacing to 5″ gauge. The slots were made by drilling 2 holes a suitable distance apart and then joined by using a 1mm slitting disc in a grinder to cut top and bottom. One could put track between the rollers and just below the height of the tops of the rollers but then it would only suit the wheel plan it was made for and not be adjustable. It could be set up at the end of a line but getting the wheels to ride over the bearings may not be easy. Noel.

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>The loco is a medium  size 5″  gauge 4-6-0. It has been pointed out to me that the article published in ME 4758 would provide one answer to the problem.</p>

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Many years ago one of the SADMES members made the type you desire. (Alan Ashbury who won Gold for his tram loco about 1990)
Start with a length of track made from flat bar not extruded rail profile. At the position of a wheel cut a gap the width of your ball bearing and position your bearing top just 1/16″ above the track. On the outside of the track make support for the bearing and joining across the gap you made in the track. No need to run an axle across between bearings – they are independent.
Since the wheel sits on top of a single bearing not in a gap between two the loco has to be positively constrained longitudinally once in position.

[ChrisLHParticipant @chrislh]

This problem has been solved in full size at both Swindon and Rugby testing plants. I don’t know the details but a bit of research could provide you with a starting point – probably along the lines described by Bazyle above.

[Author]

Posts