Mystery WAMU 49000 Anybody got a photo of one?

[kevsmiththai]

Hi all

 

I've got this drawing of a WAMU 49000 but can't work out what is happening at the right hand end with the different contour section and the hand wheels.

 

Anybody got a photo of one or can explain what its about?

 

 

cheers

 

Kev

[Junech]

I think the hand wheel is most likely for the brakes since there is also more going on around the axles as well. But I don't know how it would connect there.

 

Could you color the lines that confuse you on the contour section?

 

Junech

 

 

[KateM]

Nice ワム49000 drawing you got there! It's an interesting mix of open car and box car in the same body.

 

To work as an open car, it has an openable roof. Opening and closing it is done by operating a rotating handle which seems to be the hand wheel at the side of the car. The special part behind it is probably the storage room for the folded roof. Like a cabrio car! The bottom part are three openable flaps to empty it. 

 

The only prototype of this series was built in 1960 and scraped in 1972 so photos might be difficult to find. There are some photos of the other two related prototypes (ワム49100 and ワム49200) to be found on internet, but they have a different roof solution. I was not able to find any photo of ワム49000. There is a drawing here though, apparently it has been painted in brown. 

Edited September 30 by KateM

[kevsmiththai]

Wow. Was not expecting that. The roof must have been like a roller shutter door

 

Did not realise it was a 'one off' 

 

Going to keep searching because I would really like to scratchbuild one in 1/50th scale at come stage

 

Thanks for your help

 

kev

[lighthouse]

Hi, I found some Informations about this type.

 

Photos:

 

http://satoyama.in/auto/sharyo/auto220.html

 

https://rail.hobidas.com/library/34776/

 

Info:

 

The three types, WAMU 49000, 49100 and 49200, are advanced prototype vehicles with one car per type (manufactured by a railway company in 1963). The roofs of all three types could be opened and closed in different ways, making it an ambitious freight car that had both Wham and Tom functions. The 49200 in the photo had a sliding roof and was an application of a technology put into practice in Germany. Unfortunately, due to the high manufacturing costs and complicated structure of the three types, only prototypes were produced, and the WAM 49000 was discontinued in 1971 and the other two types in 1978.

[kevsmiththai]

Thats a lot of over engineering for a simple problem. No wonder they never went into serious production

 

Got a good idea how to make one now

 

thanks for all your help

 

Kev