We are in the process of building a wheelchair accessible carriage for Karen's Little Railway. The aim is to build an end-loading carriage with a completely flat floor, rather than the more usual side loading well-wagon type (with a lowered floor between the bogies) which is a more common design. This is a work in progress and we do not know whether we will be successful in meeting all (or any) of the design criteria outlined below.
The idea is that such a carriage should safely accommodate all sorts of wheeled vehicles including wheelbarrows, wheelchairs (both pushed by a helper and occupier-propelled), electrically powered wheelchairs and scooters, and even the ancient ride on lawnmower that we hope to convert as Karen's 'garden mobility aid'.
We believe a level floor and a shallow sloped, end-on approach ramp will be needed to make the carriage accessible to such a wide variety of vehicles using a 'roll on, roll off' concept. Also, if a vehicle can be loaded towards the end of the carriage it may be possible for the occupant to either reach the controls of a locomotive or be in a suitable position to at least drive electrically controlled locomotives via a remote hand controller.
Ideally we would like to be able to load/unload all types of vehicles anywhere around the railway, but it may be that we have to compromise and use our existing barrow crossings, a (yet to be built) station platform with appropriate loading/unloading facilities and have some kind of board or feathered edge available for use elsewhere around the railway where the rails create an obstacle.
A major priority is to try and avoid the carriage looking like some kind of 'special' carriage. Indeed, the ideal would be to make it a 'standard' design for all bogie carriages and wagons on Karen's Little Railway. To that end, we intend to design some quick release seats that can be positioned in different places within the carriage fixed to the same fittings (probably Unwin rail as used in road vehicles) that we intend using to hold the parked wheelchairs etc. in place once loaded on the carriage, thus making it a multi-purpose carriage accessible to all.
10 фев 2024
