LTHS Projects

Having restored horse car 107 the LTHS is now actively involved in helping two other museums to restore their horse cars.

We are working with the team at the Ipswich Transport Museum to help them restore Cambridge No 7.  This is a Starbuck built car that dates from 1880 when it was constructed as a single decker for the Bath Tramway Company.  It was then sold to Bradford where it probably worked as a steam tram trailer on the Bradford and Shelf Tramway.  Whilst there it was converted to a double decker using a kit supplied by G F Milnes and Co who by then had taken over Starbuck's.  This conversion included new heavier running gear.  It was later sold to Cambridge.  All three tramways were four foot gauge.  It survived as a garden shed and is now being restored.

The LTHS is using the patterns and designs that they made for 107 to produce another set of running gear and brake gear for Cambridge 7.  Even though the gauge and wheelbase are different the design can be adapted and production is now under way. One peculiarity is that the brake shoes are between the wheels rather than outside them.  I will post some photos and updates in due course.

We have also been asked to assist the Beamish Museum to help them restore the Leamington and Warwick car they they got from Summerlee.  This has wheels and suspension but no brakes.   As I write a set of brake columns are being made by the same engineers who are assembling the brake columns for Cambridge 7 thus taking advantage of batch production.

The LTHS is again being assisted by the Middleton Railway Trust who are kindly letting us use their workshops for assembling the running gear for No 7.  They are also doing some of the machining work.

Here is one of the collars that the suspension trunnions slide on being machined to size.  The second picture shows the four trunnions with the machined collars in place.   There is still more work to be done on the trunnions.

 

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For more information aabout the Cambridge horse tram that worked in Bath and Bradford before coming to Cambridge follow this link to the Ipswich Transport Museum site.  

Further information about this project is now on the news pages.