trolley streets

[Anonymous]

Hello there i was wondering how do you make lionel tubular track look like it is sunk into the street like a real trolley


-thanks

[thor]

If it was up to me I'd glue the track onto some thin card and with masking tape hold strips of thin (1/8") balsa to the inside of the two outer rails to allow clearance for wheel flanges, carefully wrapping the tape over the the conducting surface.

To the outside of the ties I'd fasten another balsa 'wall' and then I'd pour plaster of Paris to immerse the track in it to a depth enough to leave the rails just about proud (1/32").

Removing the tape when it was almost set, should give you clean rails with the needed flange gap. You could leave it plain for asphalt or get all fancy and scribe it for cobblestones or brick.

Another way that occurs to me, less messy but more work, is to use foamcore cut to fit from the centre to the same 1/8" shy of the conductors and use pen and watercolor to get the finish of your choice. Ditto for the sides of the rail to the edge of the ties. You'd have to cut pieces to fit between the outside ties then more to cover the height left from the top of the tie to the rail height which prototypically should be flush with the road surface.

The reason why I advise pouring plaster such that the rails actually protrude a bit above the surface is to ensure clearance as its a pretty permanent solution whereas with the foam core method you can make adjustments afterward if there's any problem.

I wouldnt be surprised to learn that theres some kind of commercial product made that might facilitate this job as trolley systems are popular especially in Europe and it may be that this ones been solved for you though I doubt its been done specifically for Lionels tubular steel coarse track.

Actually I quite like the sound of this and might go ahead and make a test section myself to see how it works out.

[Dave Farquhar]

I have a friend who did it with vinyl placemats. He cut strips to fit inside the track and outside, curved it to fit, then painted it a charcoal color to look like road.

If you'd rather have something ready-made, the K-Line Superstreets have 3-rail O gauge track inside them. It plugs together like slot car track, but obviously costs quite a bit more than O27 tubular.

[Anonymous]

For a 3' bumper-trolley line I took a 027 3' track section, removed the ties, and glued the rails to a strip of basswood. Added "brick" paper between the rails, but you could build-up the base with more wood or plastic. For a power connection, I used an old Marx connector since they are flat, and the 2 prongs go up and into the bottom of the rails. Joe

[Anonymous]

My own remembrance of trolley track in streets is from NYC pre 1950. The rails were flat with a groove split in each for the wheel flange, 3 for underground power, 2 for catenary. Basically, there was metal on both sides of the groove for each track.
Try to get some photos of the New Orleans tracks for old time likeness. The Canal St leg is like above, way out on Carondolet it's 2 rail track on raised roadbed. San Jose put in a new lightrail around 1980, and Philadelphia still has some running, maybe Pittsburgh too.

[Dr. John]

N scale cork strips fit perfectly between the rails of O gauge track. Just paint them a grey or weathered black and insert them. No need to glue- just press them in place upside down. They fit low enough not to interfere with flanges but give a good look. You can add more cork on the outside of the rails or use other materials such as foam-core board, plaster, or plastic brick sheets.