Auckland 1993 page 17

Fell-type Locomotive with fully working inside and outside valve gear and cylinders. It is a fascinating model to watch when it is running. A Fell railway once operated on the Rimutaka Hill between the Wairarapa and the Hutt Valley in New Zealand. The model is based on the first set of drawings of the proposed locomotive, and does not have the rear bunker, which makes it easier to view the fully detailed cab.

Fell Locomotive Assembly

Left: Fell Locomotive detail showing how one bolt holds the body to the chassis.

The 'Fell' system uses a central rail between the running rails. Engines and other vehicles have rollers with vertical axes arranged in pairs so that they can grip the central rail - the gripping force is very large so that braking or tractive effort can be much larger than can be achieved through the running wheels. Locomotives use the gripping rollers for traction and braking - other vehicles for braking.

The last remaining engine from the Rimutaka line is preserved in a museum at Featherston. For more information on this railway visit Volker Grunert's excellent webpage. There is also an article about this railway on pages 476 to 478 of the September 1955 Meccano Magazine.

For further photographs, including construction details, photographs of the prototype, Fell locos climbing the Rimutaka Incline and a couple of photographs of the one remaining engine as it is preserved, in a very clean and proud state!, click for the next page.