Fast forward to 2010…and the build starts

After three house moves and six years, I finally bit the bullet and decided to start building the simulator proper.

With the wife’s encouragement (she was sick of hearing about how I was going to get to it one day) – I started the build.

Some compromises had to be made – the simulator slightly narrower and is about half the length of the original cab – in other words, it is the portion of the cab facing forward from just behind the driver’s seat.

As I was expecting my first attempt to fail – I neglected to take any pictures during initial construction – however the simulator is basically a wooden frame on which I have nailed up coreflute as a lining material. Coreflute is a great material – it is light, easy to paint (if you use the correct plastic primer) and I got most of it for free.

After I had completed the frame, lined it and installed the basic cab equipment – I started to believe that my first attempt would result in a working sim!

Simulator Construction - Brake stand and master controller

Note the brake stand above is mounted on a wooden frame – the original frame is the one part we couldn’t get out of the cab of C7487 as it was piped below the carriage and we didn’t have an oxy to cut the bolt that wouldn’t budge. However I have the original cover and it is indistinguishable when the cover is on – it also serves as a useful place to house the electronics.