I started the SunTran Demonstration Project five years ago. It represents my third - and best - layout in the past 15 years. It is a U-shaped around-the-room layout, approximately 9' by 9' by 9'. over the years, I have accumulated more than 100 trolleys/trams/interurbans from around the world. Twenty-two are American PCC painted in a variety of paint schemes--few prototypically.

My layout has prototypical overhead, but I chose to run two-rail. In designing my layout, I decided to run everything with a pantograph. Positioning ands adjusting frogs to meet the pole swing of 80 different cars seemed more than I wanted to deal with. I like prototypical looks, but did not want the hassle. The layout is a contemporary expression of a city-- like Tucson--that chooses to do its own version of San Francisco's varied fleet of cars.

Regardless of the direction that I have chosen, I have great admiration and respect for those who meticulously strive to achieve as near as possible an expression of a particular line or car. I pursue this hobby for the pure enjoyment of crating my own little world. My cars need to be painted and glazed well and they need to run smoothly. Over the years, I have devised my own way of powering cars using BEC motors, Bachmann Cable Car motors, or the motors from the older Spectrum 44-ton switcher. My cars do not have interiors unless them came that way, e.g., the new Bachmann Peter Witt. M cars are designed so that I can lift the bodies off and have instant access to the motors with minimal muss or fuss

There are many things that I would be happy to share but the point of this article is to talk about a special collection of cars in my fleet. In addition to the models of cars that actually existed, I have over 30 cars that have been "imagineered" by me. They are cars that might have been. I have often read that trolley lines would frequently make "one-of-a-kind" cars to meet a special need or to recycle cars damaged in mishaps. For fun and to get the most of my hobby dollar, I have used what I have to make something. Vane Jones used to urge "Scrounge" - and so I have! All cars are powered and run well. I hope you enjoy looking at them and maybe they might inspire you to "imagineer" a bit yourself.

The following are some of my "imagineered" cars. By clicking on the name of each car, a photo can be viewed:

Note:

Bob Heslinga lives in Tucson, Arizona and refers to himself as "...the only active HO trolley modeler in Southern Arizona...".
If you can prove him wrong, contact the Troilleyville Times or email Bob at reh178@aol.com.