The Gauge II Railway Project
The Girl on the Train was engaged, too.
Gauge II (64 mm, or approximately 2-1/2 inches) is probably the most practical Meccano scale. You can make the track of Flanged Plates and Angled Girders. The "electrical locomotive" is basically a Meccano E20R motor on wheels!
Note that the the Braced Girder car is the same as in the Gauge S Railway Project, but with the Flanged Wheels placed outside of the Trunnions.
Furthermore, the Boiler can be used as a boiler and the Sleeve Piece as a chimney ...
The Spoked Wheels look stylish, don't they? But alas, they are a trifle too large. And yes, the Multi-Purpose Gear is indeed a multi-purpose part. Here it is used as part of a "spoked flanged wheel".
Finally I chose this design.
The Gauge II locomotive and a small passenger car.
But it was more fun building a freight train.
Close-up of the Blue and Gold flat car (yellow trunnions barely visible in the picture).
This tank car may look "monochromic," but actually, four different colour schemes were combined.
Now it's time to put some power into this model, using a modern Meccano 3-6 Volt motor and a worm drive. Note that the big wheels are journalled in the slotted holes of the Flat Girders.
And this is how it looked after the Railway Workers' Union demanded a driver's cab.
This four-wheel drive unit turned out to be a lot more powerful ...
... and when properly "belted down," it rolled along at a pleasant walking speed.
And yes, it managed to move this fairly heavy tramcar with decency and dignity. (Confer the Gauge 0 Tramway Project.) In other respects, this design may be seen as a crude sketch, not to say a caricature of a tram, reminiscent of the early Meccano manuals.