Tramcar
Built by Chris Warrell in June 2026 for the More Oldest Set Manual Models Secretary’s Challenge
This model was built for ‘Your Earliest Meccano Manual’ Secretary’s Challenge. I chose the blue/gold era № 6 set (mid 30s to mid 40s), model 6.9.
It was only when I started construction that I noticed that the model is an impractical 4” wide – not sure why! I reduced it to 3½”, making the scale approx ½ inch to 1 foot.
Using the set 9 parts to build it, I’ve made some improvements (window spacing, shortening the wheelbase, floors, wheels etc) and have based it on an Erith Council Tramways vehicle (details in a Middleton Press book).
The wheels shown in the manual are 1” Pulleys which are rather under-scale, so I have used 1½” Pulleys with a 42mm wheel flange — a special part bought from dealer Dave Taylor. The model runs on G-scale track which, at 45mm, is nearer to a scale 3’-6” instead of 4’-8½” (standard gauge) or 60mm in the model.