Thanks Mal.  As usual, mass produced beats hand crafted!

Regards

Dudley

On 5/04/2021 10:05 am, Mal Rowe wrote:
> On 04/04/2021 18:44, Anthony Dudley Horscroft wrote:

>>

>> Now the question is, why was the L class design considered too

>> expensive so the MMTB built the W1 class?

>>

> The L was built by James Moore and Co.  The company was a large timber

> merchant based in City Rd South Melbourne and were the first company

> to build electric trams in Melbourne.

>

> They were very proud of their work and their timber - using the

> highest quality and the most complex joints to show it at its best. 

> They aimed to impress - firstly with what became the B class and then

> the Ls.

>

> Those joints were largely due to the complex curves in the body. See

> the pic attached, showing the drop centre of L 103 at MTPA, Haddon.

>

> One of the ways the MMTB saved money on the W design was to simplify

> the shapes - with straight panels - enabling mass production of timber

> parts rather than hand fitted wood pieces as in the L.

>

> James Moore did build Ws - but the craftmanship required was well

> below what they put into the Ls.

>

> A second was probably to go for licensed manufacture of a mass market

> MCB type truck design rather than the Brill 77E.

>

> Mal Rowe - who thinks that the original MCB pattern truck probably

> came from American Locomotive Co of New York.

>