Burrell Passenger Trolley

Friday 17th November: I am nearing the completion of the trolley and I have begun fitting out and final assembly.

Today I made and fitted the cushions to the bench seats. The cushions are made from 2" foam covered with black leatherette. When I made the cushions for my POP I roughly made the corners by folding and stapling the excess leatherette around the corner. This time I decide to to the job properly and got out the sewing machine.

The plan was to sew the leatherette into a shallow box and staple it to the base board trapping the foam cushion inside. I deliberately made it 5mm undersize to allow me to stretch the leatherette taut.

After cutting a notch of leatherette out at each corner stitching the seam was easily accomplished with my sewing machine.

Cutting out the leatherette

Stitching the corners

My local outlet only sold the foam in 2 foot squares so I was forced to use two pieces. To ensure that the joint was compressed I made the total length 30mm longer that the base. I found I could easily cut the foam with a serrated kitchen knife.

I was forced to use two pieces of foam to
cover the seat base

I stapled the cover to the front of the base and tucked foam in place. I then stapled the back of the cover in place followed by the sides. To enable me to pull a consistent tension I had marked a line on the inside of the leatherette indicating 5mm compression of the foam.

Stapling the cover to the base trapping the
foam inside

I applied upholstery nail strip to the edges to make them more durable. These are in the form of a long strip of dummy nails heads which is secured in place with a real nail at every fifth head.

Applying the nail strip to the edge of the seat

It took me about two hours to cover the seat and I am very pleased with the results.

The finished seat

I have not previously written up details of the tow bar so here goes. The tow bar is made from 20x20mm 2mm square tube. Since the axle of the trolley is lower than the hitch on the Burrell the tow bar needs

to slope upwards. I cranked the tow bar so that so that it is horizontal at its ends.

I am particularly pleased with the towing eye which I made from a M12 lifting eye. It is free to rotate in a bush welded in the end of the tube.

The trolley's tow bar

Monday 20 November: Today I finally finished the trolley and took it to the bottom of my garden for a photo shoot. Since I do not plan to use it as a driving trolley nobody will ever sit at the very front of the trolley. Rather than upholster the seat all the way to the front I have included a tray for bit and pieces including a resting place for cups of tea.

Burrell Passenger Trolley

Fitting Out