My North American Streetcar Layout

[bill937ca]

I have started a small North American streetcar layout on my coffee table.  Eventually when time and a bad knee allow this layout will reside on a 18 x 24 inch bulletin board. For now a sheet of black art paper increases contrast.

 

For now the basics are 18 x 24 bulletin board base, Tomix Wide Tram Track, and 3/16 balsa for block fillers.  My current rolling stock is two Bachmann Peter Witt streetcars with a third on the way.

 

This layout is intended for simple running only.  The crossovers add a bit of background track noise.  The track plan reminds me of mid-sized cities with large commercial centers in the 50s, places like Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles and the streetcar lines in those places.  In some ways this layout is a nostalgia for the sounds of streetcars--singing trolley wheels, clattering through crossovers-- that have disappeared on a warm summer night.  Even if the streetcars are still there the sounds aren't always the same.

 

More stuff is on order and should arrive soon. I may add a rooftop sign to the diorama later on.  Another element that has disappeared.

 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2017 by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

The Bachmann Peter Witt is a one city prototype.  That city being Baltimore, Maryland.  But there was a trend to flat front streetcars in the late 1920s.  Cincinnatti had the first fleet in 1928 with 100 cars built by the Cincinnati Car Company.  Baltimore's 150 cars followed in 1930.  

 

Other cities had plans for large fleets of flat front streetcars but economic conditions intervened.  Philadelphia had plans to order 500 cars as the plan below shows:

 

http://www.trolleyville.com/tv/school/lesson5_4/PRT9000.htm

 

Los Angeles Railway had double-ended cars 2601 and 2602 built in 1930 and 2601 is preserved.  The LARY had plans to order more of these cars had the economy been better.

 

http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr2305.htm

 

 

[velotrain]

The Bachmann Peter Witt is a one city prototype.  That city being Baltimore, Maryland.

 

 

Bill - is there something specifically different about the (Bachmann) Baltimore cars?

 

Wiki mentions Cleveland, Philly and Tororto - plus Milan (200 still in use) and many other cities.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Witt_streetcar

[bill937ca]

I don't know if there is something specifically different other than is design is a bridge between traditional trolleys and the PCC.  6119 is at the Baltimore Trolley Museum. 

 

Cleveland was the origin of the design.  Peter Witt was  Traction Commissioner in Cleveland. 

 

https://archive.org/stream/electricrailway451915newy#page/364/mode/2up

 

https://archive.org/stream/electricrailway511918newy#page/n55/mode/2up

 

Peter Witt called his patented design the Car Rider"s Car.

 

https://archive.org/stream/electricrailway481916newy#page/239/mode/1up

 

6119 at Baltimore Trolley Museum

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65881702@N00/albums/72157661628910539

 

Toronto had 350 Peter Witt cars and still has one operational today.  Philadelphia had 535 and Milan had 502 all built in Italy.

[kvp]

The milan cars have 3 doors (front, center and aft), unlike the 2 door variant above, but that's pretty much all i know.

Edited June 23, 2017 by kvp

[bill937ca]

The milan cars have 3 doors (front, center and aft), unlike the 2 door variant above, but that's pretty much all i know.

 

The Milan cars now have three doors, but were originally built with two doors.  ATM 1503 has been restored to its original stale. The change occurred during the early 1930s. Its all covered in Un tram che si chiama Milano by Guido Boreani an out of print 345 page book just on Milan's Ventottos (28s).

 

http://www.milanotram.com/Foto1503.htm

Edited June 24, 2017 by bill937ca

[velotrain]

Bill - I'm curious why you called the Bachmann Peter Witt "a one city prototype" ?

[bill937ca]

Bill - I'm curious why you called the Bachmann Peter Witt "a one city prototype" ?

 

That specific square body design was only built for Baltimore, but the Brill and PCC designs operated in a large range of cities.  Most of the color schemes Bachmann offers the Peter Witt in are not prototypical to the square body design.  Yes, generally they were cities that operated Peter Witt cars.

[velotrain]

Thanks for the explanation.

[serotta1972]

Hi Bill, I have a couple of the Peter Witt Trolleys - what's the purpose of the full length screen on the windows and why is it on just one side?  Thanks for the information on the Peter Witt and will plan to get the Baltimore livery.

[bill937ca]

Hi Bill, I have a couple of the Peter Witt Trolleys - what's the purpose of the full length screen on the windows and why is it on just one side?  Thanks for the information on the Peter Witt and will plan to get the Baltimore livery.

 

Hi Junior.

 

Its a window guard.  The prototype Baltimore Transit 6119 on has it only on one side.  This was generally because there were places on the system where clearances between streetcars passing were only a few inches. Without air conditioning you couldn't just seal the windows.

 

Here are some photos from my visit to the Baltimore Trolley Museum years ago.

 

 

The last photo shows how the screen covers the entire window opening, but allows air in and keeps body parts in the car.

 

Here is an example from the Trolleyville School showing a location in Philadelphia where there were only 5 inches between trolleys.

 

http://www.trolleyville.com/tv/school/lesson2_2/index.7.jpg

http://www.trolleyville.com/tv/school/lesson2_2/index.htm

[bill937ca]

Some trolley history web sites:

 

Philadelphia Trolley Tracks    http://www.phillytrolley.org/payenterB.html

 

Los Angeles Railway  Types of Passenger Cars 1944   http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/lary/1944_types_of_passenger_cars.pdf

[velotrain]

Hi Junior.

 

Its a window guard.  

 

 

I'd be tempted to say that it's more of an arm guard.  With the two tracks so close together, and the windows open, someone could easily suffer serious injury with their arm out of the window and another streetcar passing.  Since these are single-ended cars, only one side of it required this protection.

[serotta1972]

Awesome, thanks Bill! Ah, now I see the need for the screen.  Also, thanks for the links.

[bill937ca]

Not doing much with my Japanese trains these days.  But that happens from time to time.  A couple of photos of recent additions.

 

First is a 1939 Ford sedan. I bought the car assembled and painted, but I believe it maybe a Fine N Scale Products kit.

 

The second is a Wheels of Time C-50 Mack bus in front of my new Tomytec bank. I like the look of the soiled bank.  These particular buses had a very short life in Chicago, built in December 1951 and authorized to be scrapped December 1958.  But its a very nice looking model that captures the lines of a 1950s Mack bus.

 

I added a small section of Wide tram stone pavement track and noticed the flangeway appears to be wider on the stone pavement track than on the original Wide Tram tracks.

 

Edited July 1, 2017 by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

I transferred the layout onto a bulletin board today.This is a 17 x 23 inch bulletin board from Walmart rather than the 18 x 24 bulletin board from Staples I have used previously. Walmart was $8.27 Cdn. versus $20 plus at Staples for essentially the same thing.  With the bulletin board it is much easier to take the layout over to the table for working on the layout (coffee table is too low to be comfortable) and it is easier to spin a bulletin board around when taking photos.

 

With the slightly smaller size I had to make a couple of adjustments to the track plan.  One thing this plan does use a good number of small Wide Tram Track pieces which are only sold in sets.  But I have a large inventory of Wide Tram Track on hand and I raided the extra track box this morning.

 

Revised track layout on the raw cork bulletin board.

 

 

With the black art paper background in place again.

 

 

With the 3/16 balsa block base completed so far back in place and buildings and vehicles back on the layout.

 

Edited July 4, 2017 by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

[bill937ca]

After hiatus I have started working again on my bulletin board streetcar layout.

 

Under base is 3/16 balsa with .020 sheet styrene as a moisture barrier. The laneway is another piece of styrene painted gray. Sidewalks are Smalltown USA sidewalks cut in half. To fit the Tomtec bank I had to shave off about 7-8mm on each side. I like the way this center block is coming along.  The far end needs a 2-3 story retail building which I will probably have to build from parts on hand.

 

[PaulJ]

nice looking layout! Have you considered enlarging the base and making a loop out of the two static tracks? 

 

p.s the tomix cobblestone-style tram track in your earlier post, am I right in thinking the paving stone design is just printed on, or is it embossed in some way? I have some of the grass track and that's just printed, but it looks good anyhow

Edited March 5, 2018 by PaulJ

[bill937ca]

6 hours ago, PaulJ said:

nice looking layout! Have you considered enlarging the base and making a loop out of the two static tracks? 

 

Not at this time, Paul. I'm happy with the small layout as it stows on a shelf under the coffee table.  But that is an interesting idea.  I do have a 36 x 24 bulletin board that's not in use.