A Stanton drive and Thaddeus Lowe’s personal trolley

I’m out of the groove model building wise these days. I did manage to put in an order for a small (33 inch diameter wheels and 7 feet between wheel centres) Stanton drive from NWSL. I’m trying to figure out how I can build some sort of model of Thaddeus Lowe’s personal trolley. It’ll likely be more caricature than replica – first of all, his car was narrow-gauge, and the Stanton drive is standard gauge. I’ve never scratchbuilt a piece of rolling stock, let alone anything powered, so it’ll be an adventure. All I can say is that from all the reading of old model train magazines I’ve been doing for the E. L. Moore series, some model railroaders of earlier generations didn’t seem at all reticent to attempt to scratchbuild running locos or trolleys, so maybe there’s hope for this project :-) Right now it’s just dreaming and planning until I can get back to ‘serious’ model building.

[Sourced from the excellent Thaddeus Lowe website. They state the photo is from the Los Angeles County Library]

Bachmann Spectrum Peter Witt streetcar in TTC colours

Last year around this time I wrote a review of my HO streetcar fleet. One of the members was a Bachmann Spectrum Peter Witt streetcar in Chicago Surface Line colours. Last November I finally picked one up in Toronto Transit Commission colours to go with my small collection of Bowser and Con-Cor PCC TTC streetcars. Unsurprisingly, the colour of the body doesn’t change the operational behaviour of the model :-) The TTC and CSL versions perform the same. Serviceable, but not near as well as either the Bowsers or Con-Cor. Although, I’m happy to have a TTC version of the Peter Witt.

A review of some Bowser, Con-Cor, and Bachmann HO-scale streetcars

With the layout board upstairs in the living room during December I had a lot of opportunity to run my rolling stock. Over the course of the month I probably ran my small fleet of streetcars and diesels far more than at any other time.  Everything ran well, but they all had their own operational characteristics, so I thought I’d write a few notes about what I observed.

First, some ground rules and my biases.

I’m not going to analyze the fidelity of the models to their respective prototypes. Visually, they all look fine, and do a good job of evoking their full-size counterparts without seeming overly toy-like. Some have one or two visual quirks that could use some tuning up – I’ll point those out in due course – but generally, they all look good.

I don’t model a particular prototype, although I’m biased to models and colour schemes based on the Toronto Transit Commission’s streetcar fleet.  If anything, my Lost Ocean Line takes the San Francisco's Market Street Railway as its spiritual muse with its mixed fleet of streetcars. 

My DCC system on the LOL is very simple: an MRC Prodigy Express system with two wired hand-controllers. I chose this system for ease of setup and its relatively low price. The LOL is a very simple layout, and the Prodigy Express system handles it just fine. Although, if I were to do things over, I’d probably go with a system with wireless hand-controllers because it’s easy for two operators to get tangled up as they run the layout. The LOL is a free-standing layout that allows operators to walk completely around the setup; hence, the tangling problem.

Over the Christmas holidays I looked into running JMRI on my laptop as a better way to program and control my fleet. It turns out that according to the JMRI website, JMRI doesn’t support MRC DCC systems since MRC won’t release certain proprietary information to make support possible. Apparently MRC does have its own DCC software for laptops; however, it only runs only on PCs, so isn’t of much use to this Mac user. According to the JMRI website, JMRI runs on both PCs and Macs. I can understand the business rationale behind the MRC position on this issue, although I’d encourage them to consider future support for JMRI.

My layout doesn’t have overhead streetcar wiring. All models draw power from the rails. Hopefully I’ll add overhead wires in the near future to make things look more realistic, but I doubt I’ll electrify them as I think that is currently outside my skill level.

Bowser’s TTC Postwar PCC streetcar with Tsunami Sound

This one is my favourite. I didn’t think sound effects such as motor noise, doors opening, passenger stop request bells and so on would make much difference, but I was wrong. They’re definitely fun, and add a lot to the overall ambiance, especially when guests are perusing the layout. On the operational side, it’s smooth running, very responsive to commands, and runs well at low speeds. The only odd thing I encountered was that, try as I might, I couldn’t change its loco ID from the factory preset of 3. No doubt I’m likely doing something wrong on my end, but I haven’t experienced this issue with my other DCC equipped rolling stock – I’ll look into this further once the layout is back up and running in the basement.

Bowser’s non-sound TTC Postwar PCC streetcar

One can’t run a transit company with only one streetcar :-) , and even though I very much like Bowser’s Tsunami sound PCC streetcar, it’s too pricey for me to have more than one and still be able to build out the fleet a little. Although they don’t come with DCC decoders, they do come from Bowser DCC-ready. All I had to do was open them up and install a DCC decoder. For that I chose to outfit them with TCS's M4T. These two silent partners run just as well as their sound equipped cousin. 

Con-Cor’s TTC Air Electric PCC streetcar

This is the model that started me down the highly enjoyable path of streetcar-oriented modeling*. One day a couple of years ago Debra and I were visiting George’s Trains and she saw that they were taking pre-orders for these Con-Cor streetcar models. I was intrigued as I hadn’t come across these sorts of models before, and was glad to see these old TTC icons in miniature form. After a little humming-and-hawing, I put down a deposit and placed an order for one.

This was the first model I installed a DCC decoder into. When I ordered the model I didn’t realize that it didn’t come with a decoder pre-installed. I was not savvy to DCC and thought all DCC locos and streetcars and such had decoders pre-installed since up until then all I had purchased were Bachmann Spectrum line items where pre-installed decoders is the norm.  So, after receiving my new streetcar, I had to plunk down some more cash for a decoder. A TCS M4T was recommended, and not knowing anything better, that’s what I bought. I could have had the store install it, but I wanted to save some money and decided to forge ahead and install it myself. It wasn’t hard to do – it took maybe only 20 or 30 minutes – but it was a little nerve-wracking. It worked alright, but the interior lighting stayed on all the time the streetcar was sitting on powered track. It couldn’t be switched off or dimmed. I figured I had done something wrong. After some internet searching it turns out that is one of the ‘features’ of that decoder when installed in this particular streetcar. It is possible to modify the car’s electronics a little to allow the interior lights to be switched on and off, but the procedure is currently beyond my skill level. The model runs just fine – just as well as the Bowsers – so I’m just going to live with the ‘lights on all the time’ feature.

One thing I rather like about this model is that when it’s in motion it seems like it’s gliding down the track not just carried on its wheels. No doubt it’s an optical illusion caused by its smooth stop and start performance combined with its body shape and stance on the track.

As for overall looks, the only odd thing is the disk at the end of the trolley pole. Doesn’t seem like a scale-item, although it’s not horrible to look at. For a while I thought it might be the basis of some overhead visual effects.

Bachmann Spectrum Peter Witt streetcar

I’ve been looking for one of these in TTC colours – and I’m still looking – for a while. Yeap, this one is in Chicago Surface Lines colours. Turns out it was on a sale table at a price I couldn’t walk away from. Model streetcars aren’t popular items – especially those in US colours for sale in Ontario – so bargains can be found from time-to-time when sellers want to be rid of them. I liked the colour-scheme of this unit, and with the good price, it became a new addition to the fleet in the summer.

I had been spoiled with the smooth running of the Bowser and Con-Cor models. Even after some initial lubrication and breaking-in, the motor growls and is a little hesitant to get rolling at times. Sometimes a finger or two must reach down from the sky to give it a little nudge to get it in motion. But, even with these caveats in mind, it seems to run ok. But only ok. The Bowser and Con-Cor units are definitely a cut-above. I’m pretty sure this was a new, ‘never been opened item’ when I bought it, so I felt it should have ran a little smoother than it did. Bachmann diesels I had bought a few years ago ran very well – and still do – right from the box without issues.

On the looks end of things, the thread used on the power pole needs to be replaced with something that hangs in a more realistic manner.

Bachmann Spectrum Birney Safety Streetcar 

I wrote about some issues with this model last year. Suffice it to say, after a little work, it runs fairly well now, although I should point out that its lightweight and short wheel-base make it fairly sensitive to imperfections in my track work. I also found that it’s important to be a little extra scrupulous and make sure the wheels and pickups on this model are clean and free of dirt and oil. This car is a sentimental favourite – I like its size, shape and colours - even though it can be a little cantankerous if operating conditions are not perfect.

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*I don’t know if ‘Streetcar-Oriented Modeling’ is the best phrase for what I have in mind, but I’m using it as a placeholder until I can figure out the correct term. Recently I’ve been thinking that SOM can be – maybe is - fundamentally different from Classic Model Railroading even though aspects of SOM are usually cast as sub-fields since they share some superficial similarities. I need to get my story together on this.

Tsunami sound on the Bowser PCC TTC Streetcar

This is Bowser’s HO-scale PCC TTC streetcar equipped with their Tsunami sound. I don’t think the sound comes across all that well with my modest camera, but in person, it’s quite good.

Also, the platform at the Cedar Heights stop is a bit too high. It’s more suited to passenger cars than streetcars.

Breaking in Bowser's TCC PCC streetcar

I've been working on getting my fleet into running condition. One task has been installing a DCC decoder into the Bowser TTC PCC streetcar I bought back in March. Following the instructions enclosed with the model are just about all that is needed to detach the body from the running gear and get it ready for decoder installation.  One thing the instructions don't show is a lead that runs from a light in the roof to the top of the car's circuit board. So, remember not to pull the body away from the frame once it comes free after careful prying in order not to damage that lead. Just carefully let the body droop to the side and disconnect the light lead's plug. 

Once the decoder was installed, I oiled the moving parts as per the instructions and let body-less streetcar run for an hour on the layout. 

Bowser's Postwar TCC PCC Streetcar

I was in Toronto this weekend and was lucky to find a Bowser postwar PCC streetcar in TTC colours at George's Trains. All it needs is a DCC decoder and it'll be ready for service on the Lost Ocean Line.

United Transit Lines trolley

I bought this AHM trolley back in the late '70s. Surprisingly, it still runs today - the best runner of the few locos I have left from that time. The detail is not up to today's standards, but it does have crisp lines and a purposeful look, as well as a certain charm when it's running down the track. Problem is it's DC and I have no intention of trying to convert it to DCC. But, when I was installing the track on the Lost Ocean Line, I put in some extra terminals for running the layout on DC. Basically, the idea was I would have some sort of master switch where I could switch the layout between either pure DCC or pure DC so I could run my old DC equipment. I just need to get the wiring in place.

Bachmann Birney Blues

Early last December I bought one of Bachmann’s Birney trolleys, and it got its first run at the 2011 Christmas Rusty Spike party. It was a bit of a disappointment because it didn’t run well, and considering what it cost, I was expecting at least the basic function of running around the track without constantly stopping to work just fine. I had cleaned the track, and my other locos were running ok, so the signs pointed to the Birney.

[These are the wheels after I had done an initial stripping in December and run the Birney for many loops on the layout. I was a little too enthusiastic with the gear oil, so they got a bit gloppy and picked up gunk during the course of operating. So, this is what the wheels looked like prior to another round of cleaning last weekend.]

Yeap, the store where I bought it did run it up and down its test track, but I should have paid more attention that it had to be given a little nudge to get it going.

Long story short, it was only picking up power from one pair of wheels, and it looked like all the wheels had been completely coated with paint in the factory: fronts, which is ok; backs, where the pickups touch the wheels to draw power; and treads, the wheel surfaces that contact the rails. Basically, not much power was getting to the motor because paint was insulating the flow. After the Rusty Spike event I lightly sanded the wheel backs and treads, and oiled the gears a bit. This fixed things somewhat. I also found that the instructions recommended - on a back page - running the model for several loops at moderate speed to break it in, which I did. Frankly, although it was much better, it still seemed to run rather erratically compared to my other locos.

[The Birney also had a couple of minor aesthetic issues. One was the cords to the overhead pickups. You can see there is untrimmed thread which looks a little unsightly. Also, the opening picture shows the thread to be so stiff that it twists in such away to not obey the laws of gravity. Actually I should replace both the stock threads with something that droops properly - that's for next time, this go round I just trimmed off the excess at each end.]

Erratically enough that I didn’t feel it warranted - even after what I feel was unusual maintenance work on a brand-new loco - lifting my C grade on it. You know, I’ve had lots of good experiences with Bachmann locos. The two CN diesels, that I still own, that were given to me as presents 40 years ago, still run fairly well, and my current 70 ton and 45 ton HO Bachmann diesels run very well (I rank those two as solid Bs, not because they have any problems, but simply because they are solid performers and have an average level of detail, no flaws per se, simply that they don’t have something special to push them to an A grade). I was rather disappointed. For comparison, the Con-Car PCC TTC streetcar I bought last spring is an A. Clean and precise detail, combined with excellent operational performance. Debra listened a lot to my whining about its cost, but at least it’s an excellent product.

[As well, those slat panels running along the lower half of the windows were warped on both ends, and they wouldn't snap into the corresponding window holes. I carefully used small dabs of glue to flatten them out and hold them in place.]

I finally decided to remove the Birney’s wheels again, soak them in SuperClean over night to try and strip more paint from them, and sand them a little more, because I was still bothered that it didn’t run properly. I also fiddled with the power pickups a little to make sure they all contacted the wheel backs. All this seemed to have done the trick. After re-assembling the power truck, and applying a dab of oil to the gears, the Birney ran smoothly and picked up power from both wheel sets. Now I’d give it a B.

President’s Choice Organics Caboose

I liked this little P.C. Organics caboose, and wanted to run it on the layout, but I thought it needed a little sprucing up first. I should mention before getting into the details of the upgrade that this thing is more a toy than a model for serious model railroaders, so it doesn’t have the basic detail that is commonplace on today’s model equipment. Several years ago the Loblaws grocery chain sold HO-scale train sets around Christmastime. One year they featured a set that contained cars printed with logos and advertisements from their then new Organics line of products that featured, you guessed it, organic foods. Well, we eat lots of organic vegetables, so it seemed like a natural match and I bought one. Most of the cars aren’t anything special, and are rather bland, but I’ve always thought the design of this caboose was well done. And as luck would have it, while I was thinking about how to upgrade the caboose I had from the set, I saw another one for sale in the used items bin at my local hobby store for $2.99, which I immediately bought so I’d have a spare in case I messed up - which is my code for accidently broke ! - the one I had on hand.

Basically all I did was a little painting, changed out the horn-and-hook couplers, and added some window glazing. Not a lot. It didn’t change it into a highly detailed, prototypically accurate prize-winner, but it cranked up its look a bit to make it somewhat more believable, and a little more interesting to look at. These simple changes can improve many older resale items and cast-offs into more interesting models, but one can’t expect miracle transformations.

The first step is to pry it apart and separate all the pieces. Nothing is glued to together, so this step is fairly easy. Turns out that is the hardest part, and the rest is even easier (in no particular order):

1. Paint the inside of the body flat black. This reduces the translucency of the body giving it a little more solid appearance as well as obscuring lines of sight into the interior space.
2. Paint the doors, window frames, chimney, and end hand-rail assemblies flat aluminum.
3. Paint the body-mounted hand rails and rear platform safety chains flat yellow.
4. Paint the roof-top walkway flat aluminum, and wash it with thinned flat black to make the grid stand-out a bit.
5. Paint the underside of the floor assembly with a loose mixture of flat aluminum, flat black and brown.
6. Pop out the horn-and-hook couplers and replace them with Kadee knuckle couplers.
7. Put a thin plastic backing behind the molded holes – inside the body – to form the red end lights, paint the resulting cup bright red and then fill with Micro Krystal Klear to form the light.
8. So, I lied a little, there is one tricky part to this conversion. The fore and aft windows on the cupola don’t have ledges. Meaning, any glazing added won’t have the affect of sealing off the body to the elements. I had to cut some styrene pieces and glue them in to serve that purpose; however, I cheated and didn’t fit them so they’d be level and seamless with the top of the roof. I merely inset them. This seals things off, but in a prototype this would create an artificial tray where rain and snow would collect.
9. Cut and glue clear plastic glazing into the window openings.
10. Add black cardboard view blockers to the interior so viewers can’t see right through the body. This, along with the inside walls painted black and glazing added to the windows gives it a little more solid appearance.
11. After snapping all the parts back together, I applied some loose weathering washes to the body and undercarriage to make it look like it has been in service for awhile.

That’s it. It’s not a perfect model, but it’s interesting. To wrap up, I thought I’d end with this ode to vegetables by Brian Wilson from his Smile album.

Fair weather excursion car

In the fall of last year I accompanied Debra to a conference in Orange County. While she conferred, I went to the beach and visited some model train stores. I think I visited a total of three and they were all good. I saw the Bachmann Excursion Car at one. It was one of those things that spoke to me even though I didn’t have a specific plan for it, so I went ahead and bought one - and they were on sale too, so all was good.

This conversion was dead simple and all it involved was cutting off the part I didn’t like all that much: the roof. Its molding seemed too simplistic, and it was so large it blocked the view of the interior as well as casting it in a perpetual gloom. It was easily severed with sprue cutters in a few satisfying seconds. My dremel and some sanding sticks made easy work of cleaning up the stubby remains on the main body.

After the surgery I did a little painting. Green on the passenger bench to match the green of the diesels in my fleet; a loose brown and black wash on the floor boards and externals; and some rusty red and black wash on the undercarriage. The undercarriage might get a little more weathering in the future depending how it looks in photos.

The only addition I made was an advertising sign-board on both sides of the body. It’s made from 0.012 inch styrene. The Highlander decal came from a 1/24 scale car kit, and the 4 is from a 1/72 scale model airplane kit.

All it needs are some paying passengers and a sunny day.

Before: Gulf tank cars

If I was a real model railroader I should discard these old tank cars. They are a little beat up with age, and the detail is not up to today’s standards. However, they were given to me by my father back in the 70s when he was a Gulf employee. Since model railroading has a big nostalgia and sentimentality component to it, I thought I’d try and refurbish them. They won’t be perfect little gems when I’m done, but with some new wheels, couplers, and a little painting, they should be serviceable.

You can see from the top photo one has already been started. I did a coupler replacement - swapped out the old horn-and-hooks for Kadees - just to see if upgrading was possible. It seems to handle well on the tracks, so I’ll try fixing up the other two.

30 Squares Line diesel fleet

Well, a 'fleet' of two diesels is something of an exaggeration, but the layout isn't very big, so two small switchers is plenty. The one on the left is Bachmann's GE 70 ton switcher, and the one on the right is Bachmann's GE 45 ton switcher. I bought both of them last year, and they run fine on the 30 Squares Line's DC setup. I have a few diesel relics from layouts built in the 70's, but after all these years they don't run reliably even after cleaning and a tune-up. I guess I shouldn't expect them to after around 40 some-odd years. Ok, I should be a little more specific, two of the oldies are also Bachmann diesels, and they do run in a reluctant sort of way, with lots of grinding and groaning noises - so I hope for a long life from these two little switchers.