RE: Fwd: [Eurotrams] Lisbon museum trams on the street (1/2)

Hi Mal, Mick & All,

For the sake of completeness, I recount here how I went about securing 4 ex-Lisbon traction motors. It’s so long ago, they might’ve actually come from another tramway in Spain, or perhaps even Portugal.

I learned from a British tram restorer that another British chap had done a deal with a tramway (somewhere on the Iberian Peninsular) to purchase a quantity of traction motors that were so clapped out they weren’t worth overhauling.

I got in touch with the new owner of the traction motors who was amenable to selling Qty 4 of them on an “as is, where is” basis. The ‘where is” turned out to be a small coastal village in (I think) Kent called Walton-on-the Naze. I took a train from London to (I think) Colchester where I picked up a hire-car and headed for Walton-on-the Naze, navigating (flying blind) via country roads. Reaching my destination, I booked into the pub (got ripped off) and then met up with the new owner of the traction motors. That evening, I had dinner with him, the sole subject of conversation limited to how shitty British food really is. Next day I finally saw the traction motors, all stacked up with minimal protection from the weather. I estimated approx 40 or so, and I identified the four of my choice.

Now back home I had to arrange shipment of them back to Oz. The only practical way was via sea-freight, and I had to arrange for them to be crated up. So far so good, they arrived crated up at a seaport on the UK east coast.

Shipping documents identified the port and date of unloading as Sydney but then the shit hit the fan. Inspection by Import officers revealed that all four crates had been dragged across bare dirt prior to loading in UK, leading the possibility of them being contaminated. The only recourse was to have them de-contaminated by immersion in some kind of high-pressure spray jigger.

Having finally cleared Customs, they were dispatched by coastal shipping from Sydney to Hobart where they were refused entry until production of a UK decontamination certificate. There was a further delay while this was assessed but finally all four crates were released.

There must be easier ways of obtaining second-hand traction motors for use in narrow gauge trucks.

Roger Greenwood

Gday  Mal,Roger, All

Thanks for the Lisbon 21e pic

I wonder if a BTH265 motor would fit that truck

Cheers,   Mick

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