For any of the trolley experts out there, I have a Bowser PCC DC (I believe) that has both live wire pick up and I assume track pick up. Is there a switch that changes the pick up from live wire to track when no live wire is available?
Send them an e-mail and ask for a full instruction manual. They probably have one for the "undecorated" model which is a complete assembly manual. Whenever I've asked for a manual from anyone, they e-mail me the manual as a PDF right away.
I have an older DC version of a Bowser PCC car. The overhead trolley pole is functional, but you would need to wire your own switch to use it. I think my Bachmann Peter Witt trolley does have a switch as delivered.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
gthomson Is there a switch that changes the pick up from live wire to track when no live wire is available?
Mine is DCC sound and there is a small switch on the PC board labeled ANT- RAIL.
I assume ANT was supposed to be PANT (for pantograph?). I've seen this mistake on the Con-Cor MP54s IIRC also labeled ANT.
You can (just barely) see the switch in the photo of the chassis here:
http://mrr.trains.com/news-reviews/staff-reviews/2010/03/bowser-ho-scale-presidents-conference-committee-streetcar
It is the smaller black spot in the center of the board even though the version shown in the review has non-functioning trolley poles.
There are four clips extending from the window glass which will release the floor to open the PCC car.
Good Luck, Ed
Language barrier - ANT for "Trolley Pole". Well, it looks like an antenna....
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinkerLanguage barrier - ANT for "Trolley Pole". Well, it looks like an antenna.... --Randy
Curiosity got the best of me so I had to pry my PCC open to see the DCC PCC PCB board:
BOW_PCC_PCB1 by Edmund, on Flickr
BOW_PCC_PCB by Edmund, on Flickr
Soundtraxx must import this one?
I'll have to check, too, and see what other board I have that is marked ANT. Like I said, I think it was the Con-Cor PRR MP54s.
Anyway, there's the switch. I found my lube instructions but misplaced the DCC instruction sheet for the PCC.
Cheers, Ed
gmpullmanAnyway, there's the switch. I found my lube instructions but misplaced the DCC instruction sheet for the PCC.
Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone. You guys always have the answers. The guy who sold it to me has the Peter Whitt car and said it should just be a switch on the bottom but as seen above, it's on the board.
Works great and will bring me much joy over the little Bachman cars I have.
Live wire is a long way off for me.
Glad to help.
I didn't plan on getting one of the Bowser PCCs but I stumbled across one at a closeout price and couldn't resist. I rode the Shaker Rapid in Cleveland as a youth and loved the sights, sounds and smells of riding into the big city on these solid-riding, Pullman built cars.
I have fun with my little PCC and sometimes put it on the main and run it around when I have a few friends over. It scampers around clanging its gong, dodging the BIG trains and we all have a good chuckle.
IMG_5616_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
If you have a hankering to ride a PCC car still working in service, you can visit San Francisco:
https://www.streetcar.org
If you poke around the site, you can find a map that shows which cars are in service at the moment, and where on the trackage they are.
Ed
Here is my Bowser PCC car:
I bought it as an undecorated, bare-metal DC model and painted it myself with rattle-cans and blue tape for masking, plus home-made decals from my computer.
I remember riding PCC cars on the Boston MBTA in college in the 1960s. They're no longer running in Boston, but I got to ride some in San Francisco much more recently. The car I was on was rescued from New Orleans as they tore out their trolley system. It was beautifully restored by true craftsmen in San Francisco, and the conductor was a wealth of knowledge about the system in general and that car in particular, knowing it's original dates of service in "Norlens" and the routes it served.
7j43kIf you have a hankering to ride a PCC car still working in service, you can visit San Francisco:
Yes, I did that back in 2003. Great fun.
Toronto is closer to me and if I recall, every Sunday the TTC would dust off some vintage cars. TTC ran the largest fleet of PCCs somewhere around 744. They wisely bought up many cars from several US cities as they were being relinquished. I was last there in 1987, time for another visit!
Toronto_PCC_1987 by Edmund, on Flickr
I see they resumed a similar program last year:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/05/23/vintage-ttc-streetcars-are-back-every-sunday-this-summer.html
Great Stuff, Ed
gmpullmanToronto is closer to me and if I recall, every Sunday the TTC would dust off some vintage cars. TTC ran the largest fleet of PCCs somewhere around 744
Yup, that's my city. I grew up riding those cars and grew to love them. I'm a real nerd with tolley cars and read books, watched videos, etc.. and agree with a lot of people that say the PCC trolley was one of the nicest looking designs ever.BTW love all your pictures
gthomsonBTW love all your pictures
Thank you!
Room for two more?
TTC_2766 by Edmund, on Flickr
TTC_2766int by Edmund, on Flickr
Enjoy, Ed
No, this is not a trolley graveyard. It's the restoration shop at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. One of these days, that car will pull out of the barn and once again carry happy passengers around the excursion line at the museum, just like this one:
I visited the museum on a chilly day in late fall, just before they closed for the season. There were very few visitors that day, so I had the place to myself. I walked all around the shops and yards. I probably should not have gone into the pits below the trains to take pictures, but there was no one around to stop me, so I carefully climbed down and back again. Fascinating.
Then I took a ride on the trolley down to the end of the line, which came with a history lesson.
gmpullman Glad to help. I didn't plan on getting one of the Bowser PCCs but I stumbled across one at a closeout price and couldn't resist. I rode the Shaker Rapid in Cleveland as a youth and loved the sights, sounds and smells of riding into the big city on these solid-riding, Pullman built cars. I have fun with my little PCC and sometimes put it on the main and run it around when I have a few friends over. It scampers around clanging its gong, dodging the BIG trains and we all have a good chuckle. IMG_5616_fix by Edmund, on Flickr Regards, Ed
Ed, besides Whiskey Island, are you trying to model CUT too? Ambitious.
Modeling the Cleveland and Pittsburgh during the PennCentral era starting on the Cleveland lakefront and ending in Mingo junction
ruderunnerEd, besides Whiskey Island, are you trying to model CUT too? Ambitious.
Hi, Ruderunner
I'll always have a soft spot for CUT. As for modeling, you might see anything from Metroliners, heavy Pennsy steam, "BeeLiners", the U-A Turbotrain, MP54s, streamlined Century Hudsons and of course, ore drags with anything from E-L SDP-45s to a PRR N1a or Alco Centuries on the head end.
I like it ALL
IMG_6785_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers! Ed