2 3 4 5 This scale is in
feetThe spacing of the wheels is based on
Bachmann trucks.52 GARDEN RAILWAYS FALL 2019I positioned a pair of trucks on some rail until they looked similar to
the prototype plow illustrations in my book, then measured the dis-
tance between them. I wanted the front truck as close to the angled
plow blade as possible, and the frame as low as possible for stability.
CREATING THE DESIGN
A Using DraftSight, free CAD software similar to AutoCAD,
I added the wheel dimensions and heights of the truck
bolsters to start my drawing. The body is approximately
the basic size of an Fn3 boxcar shortened to fit the length
of the plow. I outlined the bottom of the frame, the plow,
and the windows until they looked approximate.B Layers with color coding help in setting up the drawing. One
color notes size reference, such as wheels, rail heads, and the
frame’s steel components (black). Another color separates
the lines to be engraved by the laser cutter (red), and a third
color notes lines to be cut by the laser cutter (blue).