H0(me)

Welcome to SKIPtram, the website for tram-models.

SKIPtram is a a enthusiast modeller for streetcars only in the scale H0 ( 1:87) since 1960

His favorite subject is the one axle radial truck always an inspiration in the real streetcar world but never sucsesfull. always accompanied with a lot of troubles although the wheels did steer in the curves and often resulting in changes for fixed axles.

In novenber 1889 an article of William Robison was produced in the "Street Railway Journal" about "radial trucks".  After this article many streetcar engineers discovered several solutions for radial trucks. Examples are the "Swiss lokomotive and Machine Works" , engineers like "Büchli" and ¨Liechty¨and the works of ¨Rathgeber¨, ¨Westwaggon¨ and later on the ¨SIG¨. 

Everywhere you can find experimental streetcars with radial trucks even at the RET in Rotterdam the first ZGT were equipped with these trucks as at the HTM in the Hague in the firts 800 series. Mostly a failure and resulting in a fixed truck with a to wide base and therefore rusulting in high wear of the wheels and the track. Even on the "Alstom RET CITADIS with her "Corege" trucks you see this problem. The ultimate of experimental on streetcars you can find in the Swiss steered Be 4/4 401  called the "Muni" resulting in the Swiss Zuerich "Cobra".

The nicest streetcar according to SKIPtram is however the "Cape Hope" a double artyiculated car built in 1930 by "Christoph und Unmack" in Niesky Germany for the home market. This car has also been in the Hague holland during the "International Streetcar Conference" in 1932 for testing. Its profile could match the old standards, the "Peter de Witt" passengersflow was very modern and the steered single axeles under the middle part designed by "Liechty" were revolutional. It had telescopic doors and automatic steps to facilitate the passenger flow. The AEG cotroller with many shifts was new.  After several test rides the car was dismatled in Dresden shortly after.  

The prototype of the H0 model was biult in 1997 by my brother K.J. Sassen who lives in Vienna Austria from a brass 0.4 mm sheet and was powered by an old Lilliput unit.

On the exibition in the Swiis Luezern "Verkehrs Museum" it was a remarkable piece awarded by a bronze plaquette. Anyway it was a start for a better model made in etching technique. A drawing fron Cw models was the enext base for the following models. Now it is powered by a  geared PMT unit and the overhead power supply unit is specially made for this car by "JDK".

The coilor of the "Cape Hope" is problem, because nobody can tell me the right shade. TRhe is no color print available and the people who have seen the car in real are msotly dead. I´am now in contact withe the "Niesky Waggonbau" for help.

The following H0 models are equipped with a PMT power unit.

Front view of tyhe brass model

The Berlin version

H0 model in the the Hague modified version with the power supply in the front car.