October 2006 Trolleyville Times

!!!!!Notice!!!!!
Due to SPAM, email service to/from trolleyville.com has been suspended effective October 6, 2007. A similar notice will be placed here when service is reinstituted. For more information please contact 310-475-5597.
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______________________________

Southern California Traction Club Welcomes Foreign Member
***

On Thursday, September 14th, the Southern California Traction Club hosted Toshisuke Matsumoto and an associate, Daisuke Sugo at a special luncheon at the clubhouse in Baldwin Hills, CA. Toshisuke had been a crucial member of the club from 1995 to 1998 while attending school at Harbor College. But, he graduated in 1998 and returned to his home in Tokyo, Japan. Once each year, usually in September, he returns to the United States and visits selected traction and narrow gauge operations along with a fellow model railroader. Toshisuke works as an International Freight Forwarder for the Shin-yei Shipping Co. LTD while Daisuke provides Computer Support for the Shoko Chukin Bank. This was Daisuke's first visit to the United States and he spoke very little English. But communication went on anyway. Toshisuke and Daisuke are pictured below examining the DCC operated subway module.

After returning to Japan in 1998, Toshisuke continued to assist the club in obtaining detail parts, traction side frames and power trucks not commonly available here in the United States. It was his discovery of the HO scale automatic traction coupler now sold by Custom Traxx as SCTC-40. A few years ago, he obtained some Darumaya Brill 76E and 77E power trucks for he club that had been imported by Ken Kidder over twenty years ago. These items had not been generally available in the United states since that time.

Lunch was prepared and presented by John McWhirter, who has become the club culinary artist for special occasions. The menu consisted of a tossed salad containing blackberries and mango, marinated in grand marnier, grilled salmon, basmati rice with saffron and Chardonnay. Club members George Jones, John McWhirter and George Huckaby (not pictured) represented the club. Due to the Thursday noon time of the luncheon, most club members could not be present.

______________________________________________________________
The United States Post Office
[An example of utter incompetence and being happy with it!]
- A Trolleyville editorial -
***

Custom Traxx recently notified the Times of an incident that clearly demonstrates how asinine the United States Post Office (USPS) operates and how little they care about performing their assigned jobs. One of their customers tried to order some items in June 2006. Late that month, the customer asked for and received a quote for some Bowser parts by email. The next day, the customer mailed their order with an international money order from Canada. That mail never arrived, so a second letter, containing another money order was sent by registered mail. The Canadian Post Office has records of the letter being processed and sent to the United States on August 21st. The USPS system also shows them accepting the letter on August 21st. But as of September 30th, the USPS could not state where the letter was. Remember, this is a registered piece of mail with a tracking number, RT19 1524 436 CA, which must be signed for by each employee that handles it. But with all this, the now proven proud USPS incompetents could not tell anything except that they had received the letter as a "Foreign International Dispatch" at Puro Vanco, Canada on 8/21/06 at 8:32 A.M. So nothing is safe with these clowns. Soon, the length of time waiting in their lines will be greater than the time to deliver a letter. Moreover, none of the employees which which this problem was discussed showed any concern for the situation. Most of them just pointed to someone else and even though the USPS system shows that they have the letter, their final reminder to me was that the sender ( in Canada) must file a claim. We even filed an official complaint on September 8th and were given an "official" complaint number, #CO28653974, and a promise that we would get a response by September 11th. As of September 30th, we have yet to hear anything from any of these incompetents. In other words, NO ONE CARES!

The lesson is obvious. If there is any other reaonable choice, use any other service. Even registered mail can not be counted upon. So if a carrier pigeon or slow turtle is available, you will probably be in better and more intelligent hands!
______________________________________________________

Narrow Gauge Bowser Truck
***

During the Orange Empire Railway Museum Swap Meet, reported in column one, an unidentified modeler provided us with photos of the Bowser traction power and trailing trucks that he modified from standard (56.5") gauge to the 42" gauge used by the Los Angeles Transit Lines. Since Los Angeles had the only narrow gauge PCC cars in the United States, there have never been any commercially available narrow gauge trucks. Notice how the bearings have been reversed and the brass bearing retainer has been moved from outside of the truck frame to within the truck frame.

We can only hope that the modeler, as we have requested, will provide us more details of the conversion and the methods that he used to make the excellent wheel covers, brake shoes and track brake assemblies shown in the photo below.

From our examination of the photos, it appears that these units will operate on two-rail track just as well as from overhead wire. Hopefully, we will hear more from this excellent modeler!

________________________________________________________

Great Train Expo visits San Jose
***

The expert model train show promoters of Competitive Intelligence Advertising (CIA), Incorporated gave their first Great Train Expo in San Jose during the weekend of September 23-24. As expected, the show was an unqualified success for most attendees and vendors. It was also a welcome success for the brave vendors that endured the last feeble attempt at a train show put forth by the now defunct Great Western & Atlantic Train Show in September 2005. At that show, we took photos of the hall interior before and after the show opened and dared anyone to tell the difference without looking at the file names.

To help ensure a great train show, CIA Inc. believes that successful advertising is a must. Trolleyville learned that CIA, Inc expended almost $16,000.00 promoting this show in the following manner:

1. Five newspaper ads in the San Jose Mercury-News - $3,000.00;
2. Three newspaper ads in the San Francisco Chronicle - $3,000.00;
3. 1/2 page ad in Model Railroader Magazine - $4,000.00;
4. 1/2 page ad in Classic Toy Trains Magazine - $2,000.00;
5. Radio campaign on KITS-FM, including a live remote from the show on Saturday - $3,500.00;
6. E-mail messages three times to 8,000 past show attendees, with show information - $400.00.
7. PR campaign to all major media outlets.

This show was NOT on the Great Train Expo schedule initially, but there was a strong desire for this show expressed by many exhibitors and local train buffs, so CIA responded. They had a short lead time to promote the show and, of course, the memory of the 2005 disaster was assumed to be fresh in the minds of many local vendors and patrons. Both Dave Swanson, CIA President and Frank Hicks, Regional Show Manager, were on site for both Friday set-up and Saturday to assess the impact of their advertising and to ensure that all went as desired. We thought that the on-site radio broadcast produced many Saturday afternoon and Sunday sales as the crowds were consistent up to about one-half-hour before the show closed at 4:00 P.M. on Sunday. The hours 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. were great, especially for vendors. We were back in Los Angeles on Sunday evening by 11:00 P.M.

Trolleyville was represented by Custom Traxx, Holland Traction Products and Railway/Traction Miniatures. There were several traction items available at the show and a lot of them left with happy purchasers.

All three Trolleyville vendors were satisfied with their sales by the end of the show. This has NOT been the case after many recent shows. So California train lovers should make sure that they are on hand for the December 2006 Great Train Expo in Del Mar and the January 2007 Great Train Expo in Anaheim. If you miss one that you could have attended, you may lose!


October 2006

San Francisco Adds Another PCC! * September 7th was another red letter day for the San Francisco Municipal Railway when former Newark PCC arrived adorned in the colors of the Detroit Department of Street Railways. Comparisons with photos of Detroit PCC cars revealed that MUNI is very accurate on this one. The car, now Muni 1079, joins other ex-Newark cars 1080 (Los Angeles Transit Lines) and 1070 (New Jersey Public Service). Car 1080 will eventually be returned to Brookville for the interior upgrade and Car 1070 is already in revenue service. Car 130 usually does the honors towing the just arrived car into Geneva Car house for final checkout prior to test running. After considerable maneuvering, car 1079 took its place in front of Car 1080 (Los Angeles Transit Lines) at Geneva. Also shown in the next photo are cars 1063 (Baltimore Transit) and 1008 (Muni Wrecker). The F-line and the PCC trolleys are so popular in this city that every car that is added is welcomed with urgency. There has been so much development along the Embarcadero that the cars are often loaded similar to Japanese Subway Trains. But before we leave this subject, we must pause to thank those transit officials that are making this dream possible. At the top of the list are those stellar, forward thinking individuals in the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) who provided cars 1050-1064 for "peanuts" just to get rid of them. Because of their ignorance, these wonderful cars are here for intelligent public to enjoy in much more esthetic surroundings. Honorable mention goes to the transit officials in the Twin Cities and Newark, NJ for the latest gifts. These three cities have helped make San Francisco even better! _________________________________________________________ Orange Empire Fall Swap Meet, Another Winner! * Since most model traction shows occur on the East Coast in cities like Boston & Philadelphia, it is a must for traction fans to attend any traction activities that occur elsewhere. One of these occurs every September and March at the Orange Empire Railway Museum. On a certain Saturday morning, model traction and train vendors will assemble on the grass across from the Los Angeles Railway Car Barn where they may enjoy views like that shown in the next photo: No Southern California traction modeler can afford to miss this swap meet, as almost everyone of them show up for this one. Although the Museum does not open until 9:00 A. M., vendors are lined up starting at 6:00 AM as the first in get the best spaces. The next views are just small samples of the variety of items available. There were model trains in all scales, brass traction, and railroad memorabilia of all types including china from old but elegant dining cars. Most of the Southern California Traction Club members attend this meet and many of the models running on their modules have been obtained at this and the Spring meet. As usual there were many different items at this meet. Toshisuke Matsumoto, a member of the Southern California Traction Club who lives in Tokyo, Japan was at the meet. He was caught in the next photo with all the goodies that were going home on the following day. __________________________________________________ For Yakima, WA Trolley Fans *** Last month, Trolleyville reported that Custom Traxx has released a decal set for the three Yakima American Car Co. Master Units. Recently, we received a photo of a car finished with this set. The car was on a test run on one of the modules of the Southern California Traction Club at the time of the photo. The decal set is cataloged as set CN-022 and retails for $7.95. The set will also finish the Yakima cars in the original dark green scheme that they briefly wore upon delivery. Accurate destination signs are also provided in the set. There are limited numbers of this set available, so if you have any interest, order early!	!!!!!Notice!!!!! Due to SPAM, email service to/from trolleyville.com has been suspended effective October 6, 2007. A similar notice will be placed here when service is reinstituted. For more information please contact 310-475-5597. !!!!!Notice!!!!! ______________________________ Southern California Traction Club Welcomes Foreign Member * On Thursday, September 14th, the Southern California Traction Club hosted Toshisuke Matsumoto and an associate, Daisuke Sugo at a special luncheon at the clubhouse in Baldwin Hills, CA. Toshisuke had been a crucial member of the club from 1995 to 1998 while attending school at Harbor College. But, he graduated in 1998 and returned to his home in Tokyo, Japan. Once each year, usually in September, he returns to the United States and visits selected traction and narrow gauge operations along with a fellow model railroader. Toshisuke works as an International Freight Forwarder for the Shin-yei Shipping Co. LTD while Daisuke provides Computer Support for the Shoko Chukin Bank. This was Daisuke's first visit to the United States and he spoke very little English. But communication went on anyway. Toshisuke and Daisuke are pictured below examining the DCC operated subway module. After returning to Japan in 1998, Toshisuke continued to assist the club in obtaining detail parts, traction side frames and power trucks not commonly available here in the United States. It was his discovery of the HO scale automatic traction coupler now sold by Custom Traxx as SCTC-40. A few years ago, he obtained some Darumaya Brill 76E and 77E power trucks for he club that had been imported by Ken Kidder over twenty years ago. These items had not been generally available in the United states since that time. Lunch was prepared and presented by John McWhirter, who has become the club culinary artist for special occasions. The menu consisted of a tossed salad containing blackberries and mango, marinated in grand marnier, grilled salmon, basmati rice with saffron and Chardonnay. Club members George Jones, John McWhirter and George Huckaby (not pictured) represented the club. Due to the Thursday noon time of the luncheon, most club members could not be present. ______________________________________________________________ The United States Post Office [An example of utter incompetence and being happy with it!] - A Trolleyville editorial - * Custom Traxx recently notified the Times of an incident that clearly demonstrates how asinine the United States Post Office (USPS) operates and how little they care about performing their assigned jobs. One of their customers tried to order some items in June 2006. Late that month, the customer asked for and received a quote for some Bowser parts by email. The next day, the customer mailed their order with an international money order from Canada. That mail never arrived, so a second letter, containing another money order was sent by registered mail. The Canadian Post Office has records of the letter being processed and sent to the United States on August 21st. The USPS system also shows them accepting the letter on August 21st. But as of September 30th, the USPS could not state where the letter was. Remember, this is a registered piece of mail with a tracking number, RT19 1524 436 CA, which must be signed for by each employee that handles it. But with all this, the now proven proud USPS incompetents could not tell anything except that they had received the letter as a "Foreign International Dispatch" at Puro Vanco, Canada on 8/21/06 at 8:32 A.M. So nothing is safe with these clowns. Soon, the length of time waiting in their lines will be greater than the time to deliver a letter. Moreover, none of the employees which which this problem was discussed showed any concern for the situation. Most of them just pointed to someone else and even though the USPS system shows that they have the letter, their final reminder to me was that the sender ( in Canada) must file a claim. We even filed an official complaint on September 8th and were given an "official" complaint number, #CO28653974, and a promise that we would get a response by September 11th. As of September 30th, we have yet to hear anything from any of these incompetents. In other words, NO ONE CARES! The lesson is obvious. If there is any other reaonable choice, use any other service. Even registered mail can not be counted upon. So if a carrier pigeon or slow turtle is available, you will probably be in better and more intelligent hands! ______________________________________________________ Narrow Gauge Bowser Truck * During the Orange Empire Railway Museum Swap Meet, reported in column one, an unidentified modeler provided us with photos of the Bowser traction power and trailing trucks that he modified from standard (56.5") gauge to the 42" gauge used by the Los Angeles Transit Lines. Since Los Angeles had the only narrow gauge PCC cars in the United States, there have never been any commercially available narrow gauge trucks. Notice how the bearings have been reversed and the brass bearing retainer has been moved from outside of the truck frame to within the truck frame. We can only hope that the modeler, as we have requested, will provide us more details of the conversion and the methods that he used to make the excellent wheel covers, brake shoes and track brake assemblies shown in the photo below. From our examination of the photos, it appears that these units will operate on two-rail track just as well as from overhead wire. Hopefully, we will hear more from this excellent modeler! ________________________________________________________ Great Train Expo visits San Jose * The expert model train show promoters of Competitive Intelligence Advertising (CIA), Incorporated gave their first Great Train Expo in San Jose during the weekend of September 23-24. As expected, the show was an unqualified success for most attendees and vendors. It was also a welcome success for the brave vendors that endured the last feeble attempt at a train show put forth by the now defunct Great Western & Atlantic Train Show in September 2005. At that show, we took photos of the hall interior before and after the show opened and dared anyone to tell the difference without looking at the file names. To help ensure a great train show, CIA Inc. believes that successful advertising is a must. Trolleyville learned that CIA, Inc expended almost $16,000.00 promoting this show in the following manner: 1. Five newspaper ads in the San Jose Mercury-News - $3,000.00; 2. Three newspaper ads in the San Francisco Chronicle - $3,000.00; 3. 1/2 page ad in Model Railroader Magazine - $4,000.00; 4. 1/2 page ad in Classic Toy Trains Magazine - $2,000.00; 5. Radio campaign on KITS-FM, including a live remote from the show on Saturday - $3,500.00; 6. E-mail messages three times to 8,000 past show attendees, with show information - $400.00. 7. PR campaign to all major media outlets. This show was NOT on the Great Train Expo schedule initially, but there was a strong desire for this show expressed by many exhibitors and local train buffs, so CIA responded. They had a short lead time to promote the show and, of course, the memory of the 2005 disaster was assumed to be fresh in the minds of many local vendors and patrons. Both Dave Swanson, CIA President and Frank Hicks, Regional Show Manager, were on site for both Friday set-up and Saturday to assess the impact of their advertising and to ensure that all went as desired. We thought that the on-site radio broadcast produced many Saturday afternoon and Sunday sales as the crowds were consistent up to about one-half-hour before the show closed at 4:00 P.M. on Sunday. The hours 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. were great, especially for vendors. We were back in Los Angeles on Sunday evening by 11:00 P.M. Trolleyville was represented by Custom Traxx, Holland Traction Products and Railway/Traction Miniatures. There were several traction items available at the show and a lot of them left with happy purchasers. All three Trolleyville vendors were satisfied with their sales by the end of the show. This has NOT been the case after many recent shows. So California train lovers should make sure that they are on hand for the December 2006 Great Train Expo in Del Mar and the January 2007 Great Train Expo in Anaheim. If you miss one that you could have attended, you may lose!