There is a series of plans being published in the American magazine &--8216;Garden Railways&--8217; for Horse Drawn vehicles. So far two have been published the first was for a Surrey, in the Sept/Oct 2005 issue: with modifications this plan can also be used for a &--8216;mountain wagon, which as used in mountainous areas. I have built a couple of surreys, from which I found out the &--8216;caveat&--8217; below, that needs to be taken into consideration. Now I have modified the second plan, which is in the Nov/Dec 2005 issue, to make a Business or Pleasure Buggy, with a Concord style of chassis.

Kits are also available from Northeast Narrow Gauge (web - www.nemodel.com), who in addition sell 4 laser cut wheels, in the 2 sizes for the models. These wheels are superb, when assembled they look really good. American horse drawn vehicle wheels, especially the passenger vehicle ones, had very light looking wheels, and these are the style that they sell.

A caveat is needed for these plans &--8211; they are scale plans and are drawn from actual vehicles, of about 1880 I think, this means that they fitted the people of the 1880&--8217;s who were tiny. Ted Stinson&--8217;s (the plan drawer) grandparents werSe 4&--8217; 10&--8221; tall. Modern model figures are somewhat like us; we are much larger, and especially have larger backsides! This means that if you want your vehicles to fit two persons side by side, and are using commercial figures the vehicles need to be widened to fit them Be aware of this and make your own adjustments, I suggest starting off with a couple of your figures, measure them and adjust the seat width to fit them. Then if necessary adjust any other measurements to tie in with this new seat size. The plans are superb, and most useful, as they give measurements for early vehicles. Please bear in mind the caveat as above.

The second plan is for a chaise, this is a 2 seat, 4 wheeled vehicle, and is shown on a Concord Chassis. Concords are the renowned builders of Stage Coaches, but they also built other vehicle, and developed a chassis design that was made up of three parallel rods. The body was then fitted onto a couple of lengthwise springs. The plan shows a single seat; from looking at my references I knew that this could be replaced with a &--8216;buggy&--8217; body; in addition I could add a small &--8217;boot&--8217; behind the seats. My model of the buggy has an inside width for the wheels of 75mm.

For references I suggest the following books, which are all published in the USA by Dover Publications &--8211; 1) American Carriages, Sleighs, Sulkies and Carts: 2) Horse Drawn Commercial vehicles: 3) Horse Drawn Carriage Catalog 1909 ( this is of the Elkhart manufacturing Co.) . All of these books are available from Amazon either in the USA or in the UK and all a re very reasonably priced. With these books which include some plans you will have ample material for building. I have no connection with Dover Publications by the way. In addition there are plenty of photos available on the web.








Now back to the buggy &--8211; get the plans &--8211; extra copies can be obtained from Side Street Bannerworks in Denver, Colorado. &--8211; (web www.sidestreet.info for what is available). They have all measurements in Imperial, but these are easily converted to millimeters. Order some wheels from North East Narrow Gauge Models, who accept credit cards and will post to the UK; there is nothing like them and have been designed for these vehicle.

Build a chassis; the plan suggests flat wire is used for the springs, I have never found this wire in the UK; instead I use .75mm (.030&--8221;) aluminum strip that I cut from a sheet of it. It can be cut with a heavy &--8216;Stanley&--8217; type knife, and will ruin the blade! But blades are cheap and I find this method the best, mark out 2mm wide strips with a pair of spring dividers, and cut the strips with the knife. Smooth off the cut edges with either a file, or better still (using eye protection) a rotary sanding drum. For the rods used in the Concord chassis I use Plastruct white styrene tube ¼&--8221; tube. To stiffen it fill the centre with a piece of wire. Then plans call for cotter pins (UK split pins), again small ones are not easily available here, so I use the copper wire that is used in mains cable &--8211; you want the 3 core conductor per colour stuff, not the single conductor style. This is very bendable (ductile) and using a pair of round nose pliers it can be bent to small eyebolt style which is as good as the split pins. Again these are glued into the hollow centre of the Plastruct tube.

I think the end to end springs have been simplified and may have a too sharp a bend on them; looking through my reference books, in the Elkhart catalog I found a business or pleasure buggy on page 116 (page 118 has a vehicle very close to the plan by the way). This is the vehicle that I was going to build. Make your springs from the aluminum strips &--8211; I used two plates; add on the top a fixing plate that will allow the body to be fixed to the springs; this plate provides a flat surface, and it can be made from plastic, though it is a fiddly thing as it is so shallow. Glue them both on and ensure that they are both the same level. Use the axle shapes provided in the plans, this should give you a level vehicle; mine needed a slight tweak of the end to end springs to get this. I modified the step location as it seemed to be a bit far from the front of the body &--8211; see later for the new location. The width of the chassis is 41mm, I added a couple of diagonal braces to the rear axle; these are made from 1mm square plastic strip, they can be seen on the Elkhart catalog print.

The body is made from a combination of 1 and 1.5mm plastic card, the seat base is 52mm wide, which is required to fit a couple of my people side by side, this is wider than the plans for the reason given at the start of this article. Assemble the body completely with the exception of the pieces for the seat; I made mine a different colour to the body color and added to them with a piece between the base and the rear squab, and a couple of side pieces in a thinner 1mm thickness for the sides. Also I left off the seat rail s(on top of the seat sides) as I was going to fit a top to my vehicle. The front dashboard is made from .75mm (030&--8221;) plasticard, with some added paneling strips, and a couple of cut outs on the ides, these has a couple of pieces of 030&--8221; rod added to make handholds for the driver to haul himself(or herself) on board. Also add an upper rail for the reins to rest on (or under). The thickness was determined as it is an easy thickness to bend the upper edge, to produce a gentle curve.

The steps were next, these are fitted forward of the position shown on the plan, and a slightly different shape for variety; they are fitted just in front of the front edge of the seat, and sit in a half groove on the underside of the body, and another half groove on the front half of the body fixing plates that were added on top of the end to end springs. I cut them with a small burr, do it with care especially on the fixing plates. Leave them off till final assembly, but do check that they do not obstruct the front wheels when these are turned.

The top was built next; these are described as rubber tops &--8211; to my UK eyes this would mean that they were canvas impregnated with a rubber solution; the canvas giving some strength to the hood. I started with the roof bows; these are all the same width, but the height varies slightly, again this is from my reference books, there is a plan in the American Carriages (etc) book. They are bent by hand, from 1mm diameter plastic covered wire (or rod); the front and rear ones have a bend near to the bottom of them, in opposite directions. Glue them together, and then reinforce the joint with a two part epoxy resin to stiffen it as it will be rather delicate! I also added a drop of superglue to add more strength. I held my top bows in a small vice which means that they were somewhat protected, when working out the difficult bit &--8211; the top.

This is a fiddle &--8211; with some measurements being worked out in position; it is made from two layers of heavyweight envelope paper. Using the plans and rough measurements over the top of the bows (72mm across the top) cut a piece and ascertain that the bows are in the right place, and cut a piece to fit; glue it to the top of the bows, making a slit by the side of the centre one so the roof will drop down to the front . At the front wrap a small amount over the roof bow and again glue in position. The sides forward of the centre bow will need the bottom edge trimmed to be level with the rear section, cut it level, I added a stiffeners (of 1mm square plastic strip) inside to make a stiffer edge here. Let it dry, and meanwhile cut a vertical piece for the back of the hood. To have some extra stiffness I made this from a piece of (from a Food Tray) aluminum foil. Cut the bottom edge to match the upper portion of the seat rear and projecting downwards about 3mm or so. The upper edge matches the curves of the roof bows; cut a small rectangular hole (it&--8217;s easier than an ellipse!) for a rear window, and add a strip around the outside edge. For more stiffness add 1mm x 1.2mm strips down the outer edges leaving a gap at the bottom where the edges of the seat will fit. This back piece which is eventually glued vertically at the back of the seat backboard is glued to the top section of the rear roof bow. Mark the edge where the top of the seat back is on the inside and add a piece of 1mm square plastic strip &--8211; this will make it easier to finally (not yet!) glue the hood in position.

The roof bows and the single paper layer for the roof now have some stiffness to them &--8211; add another layer of paper over the first, using plenty of glue to ensure a completion join between the layers.. To locally double the thickness, add on the outside a 1mm wide strip of paper on the lower edge of the hood sides, this should cover any slight irregularities and make a level edge. Paint the interior a creamy white, and the exterior a slightly brownish black colour. When dry repeat the colors, stippling the outer paint layer to ensure a matt finish, also paint the roof bows black at the same time. This will add a lot of strength to the assembly. I am not sure about the inner color, but the creamy white give the interior some light to display your passengers.

When dry trial fit the roof, ensuring that the rear piece is vertical, and mark where the roof bows will fit on the seat sides. A difficult bit here &--8211; I took off half the vertical portion of the two outer roof bows, which leaves just the central one at the correct height &--8211; add a small disc at the join to replicate the pivot for the roof bows. This is to match the drawing I was using. To regain some stiffness for this joint I did the following add a couple (one each side of the vertical piece) of tiny triangles from 1mm strip. One is fitted to the mark you made as above, the other to the opposite side of the single roof bow. This triples the area for gluing and still gives a view as the drawing. Add the rear window from a small piece of clear acetate, with black strips for the sides to the inside of the hood.

Put the hood on one side, and glue the cushions to the seat; mine are a deep blue made from ultramarine blue and a thin wash of black to darken it down slightly. The plans show just adding pins to these cushions: I added some very simple pleating by adding horizontal and vertical grooves, with the pins being replaced by small (1mm) discs of plasticard in the cross joins of the lines. This is a very simple thing, I decided not to have a full tuck and pleat system with diagonal lines etc, as it is too, too complicated!

Fit a carpet to the front foot well, using a piece of wet or dry emery paper painted to match your colour scheme; this can be left without carpet or some rub strips could be fitted instead. Now at last the roof can be fitted; fit the side bows against the tiny stop that was fitted earlier and glue the back to the outside of the seat back.

The curved hood bows, that fit onto the sides of the hood are now required &--8211; mine are made from my plastic covered 1mm diameter wire. First glue some pins in location so that they will lie straight &--8211; there are two on the hood and one more each side at the rear corner down by the side panels for the seat. The inner end where the glue is going to be will be at an angle, and will need some care in cutting it correctly. I made these from small pieces of 1mm plastic rod and I suggest that they are cut a bit long; they can be reduced later. The hood irons are bent to shape by finger pressure the shorter ones first (these are the ones on the front portion of the hood side) and then add the longer ones. The ends of the longer ones will need the bottom end cut at a very sharp angle; glue them to the pins that were added earlier. Add the pivots by fitting a small disc at the centre of each hood iron. Add some more glue to ensure the small fixing points are well covered, and then (when dry) paint them dull silver so they can be seen against the black of the hood. You do not want a bright effect, just sufficient so they can easily be seen.


The body and hood are now complete, before gluing the body to the chassis, I went back to it, and completed the final assembly of the chassis. Ted Stinson suggest for wheel stops (to stop the wheels moving down the axles, and also to keep the wheels on the axles) using his small eyelets &--8211; 4 are supplied with each set of wheels, I used two tiny pieces of tube glued onto the axles, at each location; the larger outer one providing a larger area, that the wheel sits against; these look very like the eyelets when covered in paint. We do not have these eyelets in the UK (well I suppose that should be I have not yet found them!) so this is what I did instead, an additional piece of the smaller tube also holds the wheels on. I found that the look of these superb wheels can be enhanced by adding a paper (those envelopes being used again!) tyre around them. Blacken the tyre with a black marker pen before fitting, cover the cut edges as well, and glue them on. When dry add some bits of rust and finally add a layer from a black graphite pencil this will give them a dull silver sheen like a well used tyre. To replicate the brass outer hub, I added a pre-painted gold bit of plastic tube that fitted nicely over the one that holds the wheel onto the axles.

The cross bar between the shafts holds two straps from the horse, to accept these straps drill the two outer marks of the upper piece to accept tiny wire hooks; mine are made from 1/2mm brass wire. The two steps can now be added into the grooves that were cut for them, and at last the body can be glued onto the two upper spring beds.

This vehicle can also be built with the same style of chassis as the previous plan for the surrey &--8211; or also with a very American design using a double set of cross springs front and rear, with a single bar (called a perch), running from front axle to the rear axle, this bar then being braced with a couple of angled braces to the rear axle, these are basically the same as the ones fitted to this chassis, but fitted inside. The double spring units can be made from the same strips as are used for the springs on this vehicle, and I have started making some sets these already.

The vehicle is now complete, and I have made a set of harness for the (Papo) horse, which has been fitted between the shafts. The entire ensemble has been glued to a piece of (1.5mm) plastic sheet, both for safety, and portability.

Here is a final photo, of the rear of the buggy, glued to its board.


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©Peter Bunce 2005