Latest Update - May 23, 2022

Custom Traxx
..."For the Dedicated Urban Rail Vehicle Modeler"...

Our Current Catalog:

Our Current Business Plan:

Custom Traxx was founded in 1992 to support the contemporary group of HO scale urban rail transit modelers by developing and supplying authentic detailed decal finishing sets, heralds, destination signs, parts and other markings for streetcars, and interurban railway vehicles as they ran and were still running in some American and Canadian localities. We concentrated on decal sets for the many largely unpainted off-shore fabricated brass traction models that had been imported the previous thirty years. While we mainly made decals in HO scale, we did make a small number of decals for electric railway vehicle modeling in 1:50, O and 1:24 scales.

In 2015, we started to see some very well detailed 3D-printed models from Volkmar Meier of the San Diego Siemens S70 and we helped design a Bowser traction drive for that car. But when we started to see desperate modelers trying to make their own models of current light rail equipment such as Darrell Clarke with his laser cut stainless steel model of a Los Angeles KinkiSharyo P3010 and John Partridge conversion of a toy into a Boston KinkiSharyo-built Type 7, both powered with the Bowser traction drive, we hoped that a revolution in model railroading was just around the corner. In 2018, Bowser almost produced an HO scale model of the San Diego S70 Ultrashort but issues with the manufacturing plant folding late that same year and the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled that idea for now. However, last year Bachmann announced an HO scale S70 model. Let us see if that comes to fruition especially since the S70 has been upgraded to the S700.

ALPINE DIVISION SCALE MODELS!!! The owner of this business, Michael DeGhetto, suddenly passed away on February 1, 2021. His widow graciously passed some of his HO scale traction parts and overhead wire fittings to Custom Traxx at the beginning of May 2021 so we will make those items available to traction modelers until they are gone, as follows:

SKU	ITEM DESCRIPTION	PRICE
1164	Hangers, 10 per package, intended for pantograph straight track only. Intended for use with span wires to keep the hanger perpendicular to the contact wire.	$9.95
1165	Hangers, 10 per package, intended for trolley pole and pantograph straight track only. Intended for use with the forner Suydam bracket arm line poles.	$9.95
1166	Hangers, 10 per package, intended for trolley pole only curves wire. Can not be used with pantographs or bow collectors	$9.95
178	Special bracket to allow the use of rubber belts in place of spring belts in Suydam powered cars	$12.95

Please use the SKU identifiers when ordering.

NEW HO SCALE MAGNETIC TRACTION COUPLER FROM WCTS!!! West Coast Traction Supply (WCTS) has developed a traction style coupler that uses magnetic force to couple together. Custom Traxx tested the coupler and it has worked flawlessly for coupling powered cars. Our two and three car trains of powered LRVs run great and they couple together so easily. At this point the WCTS coupler has passed all tests. We have not had one undesired or unexpected uncoupling using powered cars. Testing of towing unpowered cars has resulted in the estimation that one car can be safely towed but this is highly dependent on the weight of the car and it rolling qualities. The couplers are now available in Section VI of our website as SCTC-41.

Decals Marked Out-Of-Stock in Our Catalog:

Custom Traxx had all of our decals made by RailGraphics in South Elgin, IL from our beginning in 1992. The proprietor of RailGraphics retired at the end of 2017. We obtained most of our artwork and have engaged HighBall Graphics of Ossipee, NH as our new supplier. If anyone is interested in those decals marked out-of-stock, we will re-run them if there are a minimum of 10 sets required. We will get a quote on the set and may require a down payment of 50%.

Special Items:

1. FOR OWNERS OF BOWSER HO SCALE RTR PCC CARS.....

Have you lost one or more of the super resilient wheel covers?
Custom Traxx has replacements........
Just order part 1397, $.75 each or 8 for $4.00 (Add $1.00 for postage!)

Have you broken one or more of the trailing truck axle centers?
Custom Traxx has replacements........
Just order part 1291, $.75 each or 2 for $1.00 (Add $1.00 for postage!)

Have you lost one or more windows or other body parts?
Custom Traxx may have replacements........
Contact us for availability!

Decal Issues:

1. DECALS MARKED OUT OF STOCK IN OR CATALOG:

Custom Traxx had all of our decals made by RailGraphics in South Elgin, IL from our beginning in 1992. The proprietor of RailGraphics retired at the end of 2017. We obtained most of our artwork and have engaged HighBall Graphics of Ossipee, NH as our new supplier. If anyone is interested in those decals marked out-of-stock, we will re-run them if there are a minimum of 10 sets required. We will get a quote on the set and may require a down payment of 50%.

2. THE FOLLOWING NEW DECAL SET RELEASES ARE NOW AVAILABLE:

SPECIAL: In early April, we were presented with a limited number of copies of an HO scale decal set made for the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit 300-306 series double end cars by Circus City Decals & Graphics. Destination signs and heralds are also included. Details on building this Volknar Meier (Interurban Model) 3D printer car were contained in the East Penn Traction Club June 2022 Newsletter. A photo of the decal set is shown below: The striping is red with a black strip at the bottom. These sets were made for 3D printed shells made by Interurban Models (Volkmar Meier) and are now available as set CN-305 at $14.95.

CN-105 - Los Angeles Metro P865/2020 Light Rail Vehicles (1990 to 1995) - HO scale: - $13.95.

The 54 P865 cars, built by NipponSharyo, were the first Light Rail Vehicles in the Los Angeles area and began operating on the Blue (A) line of the Los Angeles Metro in their original Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC) three-striped paint scheme. 15 additional P2020 cars almost identical in appearance to the P865 cars but designated P2020 started operation on the Green Line in 1995. All theses cars except for a few in museums have now been removed from service and scrapped. These decals provide that original pre-Metro paint scheme and were made in support of 3D printed models of these cars currently available on Shapeways in the West Coast Traction Supply store.

CN-112 - Atlantic City & Shore Railroad (to 1995) - HO scale: - In Work, Price TBD.

At the request of members of the East Penn Traction Club, these decals have been made to support the 3D printed models being imported from Volkmar Meier (Interurban Models) of Paris, France. These cars were somewhat unique in that they could take power from overhead trolley and third rail.

CN-115 - Cincinnati & Lake Erie "Red Devils" - HO scale: - $12.95.

This set is for the twenty cars built by Cincinnati Car Company in 1929 for express passenger service on the C&LE. Although the C&LE was bankrupt by 1939, nineteen of the cars went on to service the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City (CRANDIC) and Lehigh Valley Transit (LVT). These decals were made in support of Interurban Models' (Volkmar Meier) 3D printed models of these cars.

CN-126 - Los Angeles Metro P865/2020 Light Rail Vehicles (2000 to 2019) - HO scale: - $19.95.

These decals provide the very last schemes that the P865/P2020 cars, built by NipponSharyo, wore until 2019. See Section I, (Traction Vehicle Lettering Sets) of our catalog for photos and more information! These decals were made in support of 3D printed models of these cars currently available on Shapeways in the West Coast Traction Supply Store. Not all cars were repainted in the same schemes so check photos before decal applicaton as there were variants..

CN-144 - Los Angeles Metro P865/2020 Light Rail Vehicles (1990 to 2019) - HO scale: - $19.95.

The P865 cars, built by NipponSharyo, were the first Light Rail Vehicles in the Los Angeles area and were operating on the Blue (A) and Expo (E) lines of the Los Angeles Metro until 2019. See Section I, (Traction Vehicle Lettering Sets) of our catalog for photos and more information! These decals were made in support of 3D printed models of these cars currently available on Shapeways in the West Coast Traction Supply store.

CN-303 - Dallas (DART) Brookville "Liberty" Streetcars - HO scale: - $19.95

This set is for the four cars built by Brookville Equipment Corporation in 2017 for the Dallas Streetcar. These were the first modern streetcars placed in service in the USA with in-service battery capability. These decals were made in support of Interurban Models' (Volkmar Meier) 3D printed models of these cars.

CN-1051DC- Washington D.C. Pre-PCC Cars: - $16.95.

These are the twenty cars, 10 built by J. G. Brill Company and 10 by Saint Louis Car Co for Capital Transit in 1935. Decals for lettering the cars in both Capital Transit and D.C. Transit are included along with numbers 1001 to 1010 and 1052 to 1060 and destination signs for the front and side windows. These decals were made in support of Interurban Models' (Volkmar Meier) 3D printed models of these cars.

CN-3010 - Los Angeles Metro P3010 Light Rail Vehicles (2014 to present) - HO scale: - $9.95.

The P3010 cars, built by KinkiSharyo, are the latest Light Rail Vehicles in the Los Angeles area and are currently operating on all four of the current (Blue, Expo, Green and Gold) Los Angeles Metro Light rail lines.
See Section I, (Traction Vehicle Lettering Sets) of our catalog for photos and more information! These decals were made in support of 3D printed models of these cars currently available on Shapeways in the West Coast Traction Supply store.

March 2022 Update!! - Los Angeles Metro has begun the transition on the rail lines from color identification (Blue, Expo, Green and Gold) to letters (A, E, C, L ). The colored dots corresponding to the former line designated color that were at the extreme left of all destination signs have been removed so the destination signs have changed. The CN-3010 sets produced before February 2022 still have the older destination signs. Modelers who have these sets can order the new CT-3010 set that only contains these new destination signs. (See Next Item)

CT-3010 - Los Angeles Metro P3010 Light Rail Vehicles (2021 to present) - HO scale: - $4.95.

This decal destination sign set contains only destination signs used by the Los Angeles Metro P3010 cars beginning in late 2021 and continuing to the present day. Each destination sign is presented in three modes with either red, yellow or green running lights on the extreme left and right since these lights are part of the electronic destination signs. This feature seems to be a KinhiSharyo-unique item going all the way back to the 1986-87 era Boston Type 7 cars,

CN-3738 - Boston Type 7 and Type 8 Light Rail Vehicles - HO scale - $9.95.

The Type 7 cars, built by NipponSharyo, were the first Light Rail Vehicles to replace the ill fated Boeing SLRVs, in 1968-1988 when 100 vehicles (series 3600-3699) were acquired. They were so successful that twenty more almost identical cars were acquired in 1997, (series 3700-3719). The Type 8 cars, built by AnsaldoBreda, were the first low floor Light Rail Vehicles acquired by Boston. 95 vehicles (3800-3894) were acquired in 1998 through 2007. Common practice now is to run one Type 8 in each two-car train, with a Type 7. These decals were made in support of 3D printed models of these cars currently available on Shapeways in the Tramspotter store.

4. AVAILABILITY OF CURRENT LIGHT RAIL VEHICLE MODELS:

We are pleased to announce that the availability of HO scale 3D printed models of modern Light Rail Vehicle are increasingly now available on Shapeways and other sources. And this list is not complete and continues to grow as more drawings are made. The following models that we know are available now on Shapeways.

Los Angeles Metro P865 (1989-1990 vintage-series 100-153) and P2020 (1995 vintage-series 154-168) Light Rail Vehicles used on Los Angeles A-Line (Blue) and E-Line (Expo), and at one time on the Green Line. As of today only 1 of the P865s is still on LA Metro property but all 15 of the P2020s have been sold for scrap. See the WCTS Store on Shapeways!

Los Angeles Metro P3010 (2014-present) Light Rail Vehicles (series 1001 through 12XX) used on all four Los Angeles Light Rail Lines (A-Line, E-Line, Gold and Green Lines). As of today over 200 are on the property and most are in service. See the WCTS Store on Shapeways!

WCTS assembled and finished model of LA Metro 1014 currently operating on the Los Angeles Expo Line.

San Diego MTS S70 Ultrashort Partially Low-floor Light Rail Vehicles (series 4001-4065).
See the Interurban Models Store [https://www.shapeways.com/shops/interurban on Shapeways.
For the HO scale S70, see http://shpws.me/OUnl

HO scale Test Unit #2 with Bowser power under testing - November 2015!

HO scale unit 4, in SDMTS colors along with N scale unit 1, which has since been completely lettered as SDMTS 4011!

Boston (MBTA) KinkiSharyo Type 7 (series 3600-3719) and Breda Type 8 (series 3800-3894). See the Tramspotter Store on Shapeways.

We are now providing a powering kit for most three-truck LRV models, SKU 125158, for $59.95. A Flywheel Upgrade Kit is also available for $8.00. See more about these items in Section VI (Other) of our catalog. We have been told that there are floors compatible for the Bowser drive available for both the Tramspotter Boston Type 7 and Type 8. The type 7 floor that we obtained needed some modifications to use the Bowser truck in the C unit. Specifically, we cut off the base of the C unit and fastened the remaining upper section (above the arrows) to a Bowser traction trailing truck

HO scale and N scale Decals for the SDMTS S70 and the LA Metro P3010 are already available and we are now offering HO scale decals for the LA Metro P865/2020 vehicles. Both of those sets, CN-105 for the original "Blue Line" cars with the four color striping, set CN-126, which will decorate models in the later white and gray Metro schemes and set CN-144 which will do all the paint schemes since 1990 should be available before spring 2018!

Originally these 3D printed models were very expensive in HO scale but the engineers have modified their drawing techniques and competition in the 3D printing field has continued to increase so prices are starting to come down. But the models still have to be painted, lettered and powered after the shells and floors are obtained. We continue having discussions with current model railroad manufacturers but it is an uphill battle to convince them to consider making models of these new transit vehicles. They are completely unaware that the anti-transit mentality has vanished with the younger generation.

Meanwhile modelers are going to great expense and labor to have a model of some of these new vehicles on which they currently enjoy riding!

In 2017, John Partridge of West Roxbury, MA took a toy Boston Type available in the Boston Transit store, drew and 3D printed a chassis that accepted the Bowser traction mechanism and produced this model. He is still working on the model but here are some shown to Custom Traxx for testing last year with his 3D printed chassis in the background (below left) and one provided to Custom Traxx for extensive testing that we painted the red door, changed the car number to 3711 and are working on perfecting this model.

Directly below are three examples of current urban rail transit:

Custom Traxx embraced Digital Command Control (DCC) and participated with Train Control Systems in the design of their M4T, the first decoder designed for HO traction. We also worked with Soundtraxx for the first high-quality sound decoder for PCC cars and with ESU LokSound the sound for the New Orleans 900 series streetcar. We are now working with ESU LokSound for a new generation of decoders for the next traction projects. We would be interested in discussing these possible projects with you. Look us up on our Facebook page. For up-to-date happenings in the HO traction world, check the monthly Trolleyville Times, normally uploaded on the first of each month. For hands on traction activity, check out the Southern California Traction Club's new E-Membership, described in recent issues of the Trolleyville Times. Feel free to contact John McWhirter, SCTC.

Custom Traxx still offers traditional traction parts including selected A-line traction repowering items; Bowser HO scale traction mechanisms, drives and parts and HO scale ORR girder rail, turnouts and crossings. Also available are special parts from Bowser and other manufacturers for the operational trolley modeler.

We have several Bowser HO scale streetcars available for sale. All of these streetcars are equipped with the latest Bowser drive at the time of production with dynamically balanced flywheels. They are either DCC ready or equipped with DCC and Sound by either Soundtraxx or ESU LokSound. Send us an e-mail for the current constantly changing list of available models and prices.

Beginning in May 2015, we stepped up our program to attract tomorrow's urban rail transit modelers. These hobbyists will come from the increasing numbers of persons riding our increasing numbers of light rail, modern streetcar and commuter lines. With new electric rail transit already operating or coming to localities that had not seen electric transit in 50 years, the possibilities for substantial numbers of new hobbyists are fantastic.

Accordingly, we remain totally committed to the active pursuit of the development and production of scale models of Light Rail Vehicles and/or Modern Streetcars. We have considered the BROOKVILLE Liberty streetcar (Dallas, TX, Detroit, MI; Oklahoma City, OK; Milwaukee, WI...), the United Streetcar/Skoda/Inekon 10T (Portland, OR; Tucson, AZ; Seattle, WA; Washington D.C.) and the C.A.F. Urbos (Cincinnati, OH, Kansas City, MO). As a result, we have partnered with Volkmar Meier of Paris, France who has created excellent 3D drawings of the BROOKVILLE Liberty streetcar and with West Coast Traction Supply thus far has produced excellent 3D printed models of LA Metro P865 and P3010 high floor light rail vehicles and some of the historical Los Angeles Transit, Pacific Electric and Illinois Terminal vehicles in the same high quality. We recently (May 2019) had the privilege of visiting the BROOKVILLE plant in Brookville, PA on a data gathering trip.

We still aim for complete customer satisfaction. Prompt service is the norm not the exception. Orders are often sent within hours of receipt and rarely later than next day. We do not keep orders in suspense for days and weeks at a time and we try never to be too busy to talk to customers, trolley fans, and traction modelers. We encourage traction-related calls at 310-990-5422 during normal business hours (Pacific Time). Our business number is a mobile phone to avoid missing your call but we can not take orders when mobile. Our main purpose is to assist you in getting the information that you require for your hobby enjoyment! We encourage you to fax your order to 310-475-5597 or e-mail your order to decals@customtraxx.com at any time. We will acknowledge your order as soon as possible.

Custom Traxx accepts Mastercard, Visa and Discover credit cards for your convenience! See our catalog, section VI, Ordering Procedures, for more details!

Our official catalog is now on-line and is updated constantly so the latest information is always on this site. Accordingly, we have ceased maintaining and publishing printed catalogs.

For our complete six-part catalog, click here!