Trolleyville Times - November 2006

"Toronto" PCC arrives in San Francisco
***

November 20, 2006 saw the arrival of yet another PCC for the growing marvelous streetcar fleet in San Francisco. This time it was another ex-Newark, ex-Minneapolis PCC, now Municipal Railway car 1074, dressed in the original sand and dark red Toronto colors. The car is shown arriving on the trailer and then being towed by Muni 130 to the Geneva facility.

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HO scale PSTC "Brilliner"
Coming soon from MTS Imports, Inc!
***

On November 7th, Custom Traxx evaluated the pilot sample of the HO scale model of the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Co. (PSTC) "Brilliner" that should be available sometime during 2007. These cars, numbered 1 to 10, were delivered by the J. G. Brill Company in 1941. Car #10 is reputed to be the last trolley that Brill ever built. These were the only double end "Brilliners" ever built. The "Brilliner" was J. G. Brill's answer to the PCC car. There were features of the car that, in some minds, made these cars superior to the PCC, but with only 40 produced, parts were a serious problem. Single end versions were built for Atlantic City, NJ (25), Philadelphia (3), Baltimore (1) and Cincinnati (1) along with these 10 double enders.

These ten new lightweight cars along with the ten 1932 Brill lightweight cars allowed the PSTC to provide base service totally with these cars with great power savings. These cars allows the PSTC to scrap one-third of the power-hungry but crowd swallowing center-door cars. Unfortunately, this action would be deeply regretted the following year when World War II traffic demands taxed the transit company to the limits.

Custom Traxx had the pilot sample, shown in the next photograph, for two days to ensure that the decals that they are producing for the model will fit correctly. For a pilot sample, this model had very few major errors. Those noted were reported to MTS when the car was returned. The decal set, CN-007, under development for some time, will allow the modeler to finish cars in all four PST schemes, (1) the original all dark red scheme, (2) the modified dark red scheme with cream window area, (3) the cream top and red bottom scheme and the final red and white scheme. We will be reviewing the production sample when it is available later this year.

Most of these cars lasted to the end of their service in 1982 and many want to trolley museums. Car 10 was involved in a "meeting-in-the-cornfield" in July 1963 and was scrapped shortly thereafter.

The arrival of these cars will permit HO scale traction modelers to model four of the PSTC cars joining previously produced models of the 1932 Brill 77-86 series (MTS), 1949 St Louis Car Co 11-24 series (WP Car) and the Brill Center Door Cars, series 65-76 (MTS).
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Thomas Visits Orange Empire Railway Museum
[A Trolleyville Editorial]
***

For the fifth November in a row, Thomas the Tank Engine paid his annual visit to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA. For six days, over two consecutive weekends, sixteen trains ran each day filled with up to 500 ardent Thomas fans.

So it now appears that almost 37,000 people took that drive out to Perris, CA, which is about 90 miles from Los Angeles to ride this train. It is not a particularly long ride as trains depart every half-hour and must be loaded and unloaded. We noted that almost every child on the on site had some Thomas memento, whether it be a costume, hat or balloon. Most of the children were very behaved and had a great time.

Couple this level of enthusiasm with the popular support of San Francisco's F-line and the number of attendees at the World's Greatest Hobby on Tour Shows, it can only be the fault of the major model train manufacturers why participation in model railroading is declining.

A glance of the December 2006 issue of Model Railroader magazine shows models of New York R21/R22 subway cars on page 3 (delivered 1956-58, last revenue service 1987), D&RGW 4-4-0 steam locomotive and Overland Passenger Cars on pg 7 (last seen in revenue service in 1920) a USRA 2-10-2 on pg25 and even another Big Boy from Hornby on pg47 (both of which have not seen revenue service since the 1950s). While all these are great models and have meaning to modelers over 50 years old, I can find no Ready-To-Run (RTR) models of current subway cars or light rail vehicles or even the colorful and extremely popular PCC cars of San Francisco. Today's potential modeler would have significantly more familiarity with these newer items. Since modelers tend to model items which which they have experience, there is little to nothing for these younger folks to model, even if they wanted to. The public sure seems to still love trains as much as it ever did. And the younger children seem to love Thomas enough to get their parents to drive out to Perris in large numbers to take a very short ride behind a Thomas facsimile. Something does not seem to add up here. Would it be great to see some RTR PCC cars in the increasing numbers of paint schemes worn by the cars in San Francisco. How about just one RTR Light Rail Vehicle from any U.S. city (Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City or San Francisco). It seems that the model train manufacturers have "written off" the younger generations and at the same time any future of the hobby!


December 2006

The Northern California Model Train Show - Always Worth the Drive! * November 11th & 12th found many California model train enthusiasts at the Placer County Fairgrounds in Roseville, CA for what has turned out to be one of the best West Coast train shows. We have always thought of this show as one for other show promoters to emulate. See our evaluation of this show in our December 2004 issue. We have been attending this show since 1992 and have always found it to be worth the long drive from Los Angeles. This is a show promoted by a group of model railroad clubs, supported by the community and has something for everyone. there are four buildings of model trains and live steam operation for those buffs also. Trolleyville vendors, Custom Traxx, Holland Traction Products and Railway/Traction Miniatures were present. As can be expected, the Rainbow Girls provided tri-tip sandwiches on Friday evening during vendor set-up, breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday for vendors and lunch and snacks for the general public during the show. We reviewed this wonderful organization in our December 2000 issue. Model Railroad clubs have a really hard times in the current real estate market finding places to house their layouts so it is very nice to report when a club finds a really nice location. Such is the case with the Roseville Roundhouse Model Railroad Club. This club is one of the clubs that sponsors the Northern California Model Railroad Show each November. Since The November 2005 show, they obtained a lease from the Placer County Fairgrounds for the Annex to Johnson Hall. They have developed very nice layouts in both HO and N scale as shown below: This annex makes an extremely ideal clubhouse. It is secure and affords the club many opportunities to display their modeling talents. This year, the miniature outdoor railway rides were pulled by the live steam 4-6-0 engine shown below: While we were in the area, we went to the Sacramento Rail Museum and observed a portion of the many models donated by Bill Everett of Santa Barbara, CA. Bill and his fantastic traction layout were featured in our September 2006 issue. _______________________________________________________ Southern California Traction Club unveils new subway train module! * After almost ten months of continuous effort, the Southern California Traction Club, displayed their new subway train module at the Los Angeles Arboretum on November 4-5, 2006. This module, known to the club as 061A, is placed beneath module 060, which was also used for the first time. Module 060 is the first half of a larger downtown trolley loop that will be operational when the next module, 062, is completed next year. Since the subway module is at most children's eye-level, it was a complete hit with them. The public view is of a typical northeastern U.S. subway station with two trains leaving and arriving continuously. The two by four foot module consists of two ovals which two three or four car trains run continuously. Digitrax DCC equipment is used to control the trains and ultimately a computer program will be used to slow the trains, stop them at the station and start them again. An elevated line is also under consideration. The rear of the two modules appears as shown below: The club has expended over $1,300.00 on this module and has overcome many technical difficulties in this first venture into DCC. For those members who have been involved in this project, it has been a rewarding experience. The next two appearances of the club, including this subway module, will be at the Great Train Expo Train shows on December 2-3, 2006 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, CA and at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA on January 6-7, 2007. Hope to see you there!	"Toronto" PCC arrives in San Francisco * November 20, 2006 saw the arrival of yet another PCC for the growing marvelous streetcar fleet in San Francisco. This time it was another ex-Newark, ex-Minneapolis PCC, now Municipal Railway car 1074, dressed in the original sand and dark red Toronto colors. The car is shown arriving on the trailer and then being towed by Muni 130 to the Geneva facility. ____________________________________________ HO scale PSTC "Brilliner" Coming soon from MTS Imports, Inc! * On November 7th, Custom Traxx evaluated the pilot sample of the HO scale model of the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Co. (PSTC) "Brilliner" that should be available sometime during 2007. These cars, numbered 1 to 10, were delivered by the J. G. Brill Company in 1941. Car #10 is reputed to be the last trolley that Brill ever built. These were the only double end "Brilliners" ever built. The "Brilliner" was J. G. Brill's answer to the PCC car. There were features of the car that, in some minds, made these cars superior to the PCC, but with only 40 produced, parts were a serious problem. Single end versions were built for Atlantic City, NJ (25), Philadelphia (3), Baltimore (1) and Cincinnati (1) along with these 10 double enders. These ten new lightweight cars along with the ten 1932 Brill lightweight cars allowed the PSTC to provide base service totally with these cars with great power savings. These cars allows the PSTC to scrap one-third of the power-hungry but crowd swallowing center-door cars. Unfortunately, this action would be deeply regretted the following year when World War II traffic demands taxed the transit company to the limits. Custom Traxx had the pilot sample, shown in the next photograph, for two days to ensure that the decals that they are producing for the model will fit correctly. For a pilot sample, this model had very few major errors. Those noted were reported to MTS when the car was returned. The decal set, CN-007, under development for some time, will allow the modeler to finish cars in all four PST schemes, (1) the original all dark red scheme, (2) the modified dark red scheme with cream window area, (3) the cream top and red bottom scheme and the final red and white scheme. We will be reviewing the production sample when it is available later this year. Most of these cars lasted to the end of their service in 1982 and many want to trolley museums. Car 10 was involved in a "meeting-in-the-cornfield" in July 1963 and was scrapped shortly thereafter. The arrival of these cars will permit HO scale traction modelers to model four of the PSTC cars joining previously produced models of the 1932 Brill 77-86 series (MTS), 1949 St Louis Car Co 11-24 series (WP Car) and the Brill Center Door Cars, series 65-76 (MTS). ____________________________________________ Thomas Visits Orange Empire Railway Museum [A Trolleyville Editorial] * For the fifth November in a row, Thomas the Tank Engine paid his annual visit to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA. For six days, over two consecutive weekends, sixteen trains ran each day filled with up to 500 ardent Thomas fans. So it now appears that almost 37,000 people took that drive out to Perris, CA, which is about 90 miles from Los Angeles to ride this train. It is not a particularly long ride as trains depart every half-hour and must be loaded and unloaded. We noted that almost every child on the on site had some Thomas memento, whether it be a costume, hat or balloon. Most of the children were very behaved and had a great time. Couple this level of enthusiasm with the popular support of San Francisco's F-line and the number of attendees at the World's Greatest Hobby on Tour Shows, it can only be the fault of the major model train manufacturers why participation in model railroading is declining. A glance of the December 2006 issue of Model Railroader magazine shows models of New York R21/R22 subway cars on page 3 (delivered 1956-58, last revenue service 1987), D&RGW 4-4-0 steam locomotive and Overland Passenger Cars on pg 7 (last seen in revenue service in 1920) a USRA 2-10-2 on pg25 and even another Big Boy from Hornby on pg47 (both of which have not seen revenue service since the 1950s). While all these are great models and have meaning to modelers over 50 years old, I can find no Ready-To-Run (RTR) models of current subway cars or light rail vehicles or even the colorful and extremely popular PCC cars of San Francisco. Today's potential modeler would have significantly more familiarity with these newer items. Since modelers tend to model items which which they have experience, there is little to nothing for these younger folks to model, even if they wanted to. The public sure seems to still love trains as much as it ever did. And the younger children seem to love Thomas enough to get their parents to drive out to Perris in large numbers to take a very short ride behind a Thomas facsimile. Something does not seem to add up here. Would it be great to see some RTR PCC cars in the increasing numbers of paint schemes worn by the cars in San Francisco. How about just one** RTR Light Rail Vehicle from any U.S. city (Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City or San Francisco). It seems that the model train manufacturers have "written off" the younger generations and at the same time any future of the hobby!