February 2013
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February 2013 |
Anaheim Great Train Expo The Great Train Expo rolled into Anaheim at the beginning of 2013 under the direction of the company owner, Bill Grove. As usual, the line to get into the show is long and takes the best part of an hour to eliminate.
Custom Traxx, Alpine Division Scale Models, Railway Traction Miniatures and Holland Traction Supply were all at the show.
Custom Traxx was demonstrating a model of a Muni PCC with an experimental Train Control Systems double end PCC decoder with operational and directional headlights, brakes lights and tail lights on both ends.
Watch for the availability of this new decoder as soon as testing by the Southern California Traction Club is completed later this year. Holland Traction Supply displayed a pair of custom painted Pacific Electric Railway Valley Sevens, excellently finished and shown below:
These shows are getting fewer each year so it is a good thing not to miss them when they come close to you! ________________________________________________ Another Tip for Bowser PCC users with TCS decoders! *** We have become aware that there is a little confusion on the operation of the tail lights and brake lights on the Bowser PCC cars equipped with the TCS decoders. Models of San Francisco Muni PCC Cars should have both operational tail lights and brake lights. Most other PCC cars should have brake lights only. Setting CV8 = 11 should normally get the brake lights operating plus eliminating the reversing headlight. CV 61 must be set to 137 to get the taillights to operate. In the recently released decoders such as the KAT14, KAM4 and M4P, this is done easily by setting CV8=12. If that does not work, [Some of the early production runs of the KAT14, KAM4 and M4P decoders exhibited this quirk!] set CV 8 equal to 11, then ensure that CV61 is set equal to 137. [Note: Do not bother to try and read back CV 8. It will normally read as 153. The CV8=11 and CV8=12 are in fact alternate factory reset codes.] The taillights work only when the headlight is on, that is Function 0 has been activated. Brake lights work when function 3 has been activated. When function 6 is activated the car will slow down, the brake lights will come on and stay on until function 6 is activated again. Brake lights will also activate is the motor voltage is decreased but they will not stay on. We hope that clarifies any confusion! The 2013 East Penn Traction Club Meet! The 21st East Penn Traction Club Meet will be held at the Philadelphia EXPO Center at Oaks, 1601 Egypt Road, Phoenixville, PA 19460 Friday, May 3, 2013 and Saturday, May 4, 2013. The theme of this year's Meet is "Cars of the Cincinnati Car Company". The Meet will feature operating layouts in all popular scales, modeling contests, how-to clinics, and dealers with a wide variety of products for the trolley modeler and fan. Set up for dealers and layouts will be Thursday, May 2, 2013. Informative entertainment will be offered on both evenings of the Meet. More than 55,000 square feet of exhibition space will be available. Home layout visits and a light rail fan trip will be offered on Sunday, May 5th. In 2011, approximately 600 people participated in the Meet. This will be an opportunity to meet with many like-minded fans and hobbyists and modeling professionals from a wide geographic area. The Meet is a premier trolley event, always much anticipated, and not to be missed. For information about registration, hours of operation, hotel recommendations and dealer tables, go to www.eastpenn.org This link is also accessible via the Trolleyville and Custom Traxx web sites. We very much hope that as many of you Trolleyville Times readers can attend! |
Central Coast Trains! Central Coast Trains is now the only model train hobby shop within 100 miles of Atascadero, CA. Bill & Anita Walter opened the shop at the current location, 7600 El Camino Real, Suite #3, Atascadero, CA 93422 on September 5, 1995 and has been in continuous operation ever since. The shop is located just east of US Highway 101. Use the Curbaril Avenue Exit to reach the shop.
We became familiar with the Walters and their store as they used to participate in the Great American Train Shows in California. By their thirteenth year in operation, everything was working satisfactorily for them when Bill suddenly passed away in June 2008. Without the revenue from the train shows, Anita did not feel that she could not work the store alone and be successful at it. Anita and her customers came up with a novel idea. The store would be staffed with volunteer labor so they have no employees. Anita told us that without the volunteers, she would have had to close the store. There is a minimum volume required to maintain such a business and the arrangement is working. Not only is the business working but Anita was re-married to one of those very volunteers, Karl Kvilvang, in October 2011.
Karl is also an avid modeler and his excellent layout is also shown on the store web site. Some views of the store were taken when we stopped by the store on our way back from the 100th Anniversary of San Francisco Municipal Railway operation. the store has much more than we thought. All the items that one might need a there for you. First of all, most of the latest rolling stock and engines are available.
The N-scalers are not left out here. There is a great N-scale section and a huge layout for those modelers.
For reference, there is even a rack of old Model Railroader (MR) magazines. This is useful for those modelers who remember a past article in MR that they could really use right now.
There is an ample supply of ready-to-run structures in the shop.
We would not steer you wrong here. If you are driving on US101 through Atascadero, the stop is worth it. You will be surprised. |
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