Post #7

 I am still in the transitional stage where I will start to downsize my previous layout and sell it all off. Once this is done then I will be able to fully concentrate on the tramway layout. Removing layouts and all their sundries takes time but there is no rush.

In the meantime the hunt is on for items for the new layout. One great source of items comes from BNA Model World and is some flexible cobblestone sheeting that is designed to go in between HO track. It only turned up today, so haven't had time to test it. BNA seem to be set up as aligned to the military modelling fraternity. The range of products is emormous and some items seem obscure to a railway modeller but with some imagination they can work. One item I noticed was a packet of one thousand HO bricks and then there were all the different colour to select from. Have fun gluing them all into place!

In the mean time I am still following the traction modelling via three facebook sites. It is good to be able to see what others are doing and get ideas.

Post #6

 Wow Post Number 6 already and not a new track laid yet. It is all about the planning that needs to be done.

I have previously posted photos of my two freight cars. They are the two unpainted models that will need painting one day. I have been planning to start posting the photos of the painted models next. Now I have to admit that I am certainly no expert on the history of the prototypes of these models. There was no choice when I picked out the painted models in the sellers collection. But what I can gather is that most of these painted models are from the Chicago Surface Lines. So I am not fussed what system they came from, my first models were all from different operators (see video on previous Post #5) The models were tested on a set track circle on the dining room table and two are no goers at the moment, hopefully just a loose wire. I have left this issue till another day.

Another day two mates and I did a hobby shop crawl. We started off at Bergs Hobbies at Parramatta, then moved onto Woodpecker Hobbies at Pendle Hill. This is the hobby shop Rod Stewart dropped into on his last tour of Australia. And they have  photos on the wall to prove it. After this we moved onto Blacktown where we visited Model Railroad Craftsman. I purchased some Walthers Town series building kits and they are safely in the 'trolley' draw waiting to be assembled.

No overhead yet but looking happy amongst the scenery

 

Now according to the box the green trolley is a PTC 'Nearside' car and made by KMT in Japan. The first thing you notice with most of these trolleys is that they have no glazing in place. Must have been very draughty in there. I hope this will be a quick fix later on. You can see how thins with models have now improved - underfloor power truck instead of a big motor visible and they now come with seats. I have plenty of work ahead building the layout before I worry about providing seats for passengers.

The red and cream car box shows the model was used on the Chicago Surface Lines. Also from the same manufacturer as the green model above. You can see that the model was fitted with glazing from the factory but you can't see in. Don't know what's better, being able to see in or not?

The photos have been taken on my current O scale layout so please forgive the lack of overhead wiring at the moment. Another four cars to show on another blog.

Post #5

 I wrote on Post #4 that I had taken some 8mm footage of my HO tramway when I was constructing it probably in the late 70's. So the project today was how to digitise the movie.

A second 8mm projector was sourced as a spare backup and after testing with the seller and all OK it was brought home. It was an Eumig Model 610D, the D standing for dual usage meaning it will show both regular 8mm and Super 8 film by merely moving a slide switch. Eumig are Austrian and it is the same brand as one I previously owned. The crazy thing is that it is cheaper to source second hand projectors just for the lamp and are often sold at a price less than the cost of a new lamp.

I was given a gizmo from a friend long ago which is basically a box where the projector is shone onto screen and then the image is reflected at a 45 degree angle to another screen at the front. This is where you are supposed to capture the image onto another format.

A random pile of 8mm film was selected from many to look at and almost unbelievable a film of some of my HO tramway was found. In todays world with the internet everything has to be digitised, so my first attempt was made to transfer by using the projector showing into the 'gizmo box' and then setting my phone up on a tripod. The projector was turned on along with the phone but for some reason there seemed to be a flickering issue which transferred over to the recorded video on the phone. A fail, so then I shone the projector onto the nearby door but there was a reflection due to the gloss paint on the door but the flickering was absent. I eventually found a spot to reset the projector and with the tripod and phone I was able to record the film taken over forty years ago. The end result may be taken crooked, in and out of focus and not as crisp as a 4K video these days but to view again this footage was a magic moment.

 Back then to lay my track I cut cut up shim brass and glued it down to the baseboard which from memory was Pliobond that I was told the bond got stronger from heat applied, not sure if that was true. Although this video doesn't show any movement of the trams it eventually came at a later stage, I hope I can find footage of that moment. Most of the track appears to be completed even if it looks a bit flimsy. The baseboard looks like it was made on a normal door. This was actually the second portable tramway layout built on a door as space was not really available for a permanent layout. Brass trams at the time were considered a step above any plastic tram around but one annoying thing it why didn't they supply any glazing in their trams?? Would have been on drafty trip for any passengers. So top prices but no glazing, was it too hard to do? Or did the manufacturer state that the models need painting so we won't put glazing in as you would only need to take it out to paint?

I was also able to receeive a few more packets of overhead wiring hangers courtesy of Brian Weisman (Jason's Brass Poles) when he attended the recent West Penn meeting. I presumed he sourced them from that meet. They are now safe in the draw waiting for the time to be hung up. But that's still a little way off.

So enjoy the video a big nostalgia hit for me.

Post #4

 I previously mentioned that my returning inspiration to tramways was the chance viewing of an old tramway layout I had built around forty years ago on an 8mm movie I had taken. I have hundreds of feet of 8mm silent film taken from the early seventies that have been lying around, probably fading and covered with mould. I must admit I haven't taken as good care of the film as I should have. One of the issues was finding a suitable movie projector to enable viewing. Stupidly I had given away my Eumig projector years ago as I had copied most of the film onto VHS tape and thought I would never need another one. I reclaimed the family projector but the bulb was blown, another one would for some reason chew all the film, then another would take the film through the gate but then all of a sudden stop winding onto the back reel. And another issue is going to be the finicky nature of the mercury vapour bulbs designed for the projector. They can blow at any time and currently around $80AU it might make this project very expensive.

 I eventually found a projector at a garage sale and thought I would give it a try. I even got a second projector thrown in for $50 but then when I got it home out of the box found it was a Super 8 model, which had completely different sprockets, so now that needs to be disposed of.

Back in their day when this was the only form of achieving a 'moving film' the 8mm film was good and I am pleased I got footage of various subjects that now deserve some preservation. When you consider the ease of pulling a phone from the pocket and pressing a button to record 4K clear resolution film it certainly has come a long way in forty years since the old windup movie camera. Later changes were to invent Super 8 film where most of the film width was altered to give a bigger picture achieved by redesigning the film and providing smaller sprocket holes closer to the edge. After all 8mm film was actually 16mm film cut down the middle. Sound Super 8mm came along by actually gluing a narrow magnetic strip down the edge of the film. Although this was an improvement it then required you to buy a sound 8mm projector which were not cheap at the time. So with todays technology via phones and digital editing platforms we are very spoilt for choices. Any way I know that amongst all the piles of film I have stashed away I have more film of my early model HO tramway, I hope one day to find it.

When my old HO tramway was in full swing I had around 8 to 10 trams for the layout. These were purchased over a period of a few years, mainly from the Model Dockyard Hobby shop that was on Swanston Street in the  heart of Melbourne. It was usually one of the first stops after arriving there either by train of other trips when we went by car. Rows and rows of brass models filled the showcases and model trams featured well, spoilt for choice, but always limited by how much I could afford. You drooled over the choices but always happy when you could leave the shop with a model tucked under the arm or in the bag, no matter how small the model might have been.

THE MODELS

After I got all excited about modelling some trams, it was trams that I needed to obtain to run (doh). This wish is harder to achieve in 2024 than it was back in 1975. Brass trams were readily available, Suydam was in full swing producing their overhead wiring frogs and wire hangers, and I had taken out a subscription to the Traction and Models magazine which I eagerly waited for to be posted out from the states for me to read. Sadly now my big pile I had of the mags was handed over to the purchaser of my model tramway layout, they have been probably been put into a skip bin long ago. How I wish someone had digitised these mags as I believe they are no longer produced and I don't think there are any pure traction model magazines out there.

So as luck would have it, while I was on a high on traction motor fumes on Facebook Market place I noticed someone had put up some brass model trams up for sale. So to cut a long story short in a deal I managed to obtain a total of eight trams which will be enough to start off my empire for now. Out of the eight, two were raw brass which were freight cars and the remainder were beautifully painted models from the Chicago Surface lines. I must admit when I first started modelling I wasn't fussed where the models came from as I had a Hollywood car and also a New Orleans car and a Birney which could have come from many US cities, indeed we had four models running right up to the end of the Bendigo trams in 1972.

So I need to start studying the Chicago system and start learning how to identify one from the other.

MODEL 1 - BRILL WATER SPRINKLER CAR.

After the seller had sent me a photo of many boxes of trams he had, I was able to spot a box containing a sprinkler car. I had fond memories of this model years ago as being something different to a passenger car. It could run around the layout with an imaginery different purpose for being there rather than having to stop and pick up passengers. I remember that I painted my first model black which I suppose it was in real life. I don't know if the Chicago system had one of these in their fleet yet, that is all part of the research that needs to had. I had set up a circle of set track to test the trams I purchased, this one ran OK and I don't think I will need to fit a sound decoder to it as it has its own unique trolley sound.

The box it comes in has stamped on it "Model Tramway System, Wilton, Connecticut, and for the princely price of $19.75. I think I paid a little bit more than that! One thing I used to do was run all of my trams without crew, so now at the second coming I will try and get some figures to put at the controls when the time comes for it to spin around the layout. I will have to see what is in the Modelu range from England, the beauty with 3D printing now is any scale models can be printed. I have a very talented figure painter from Queensland who may in the future get a few jobs from me.

MODEL 2 - BROOKLYN RAPID TRANSIT SOUTH BROOKLYN RAILWAY, DOUBLE DOOR FREIGHT MOTOR

 When I asked the seller if he had any freight cars besides the sprinkler car he stated he had this freight motor which I was happy to get. I took the above photos without the poles but be assured they are in the box ready to be fitted. On this model one of the bogies needs resoldering and more major at this stage is it doesn't operate. It was just admired, put on the track to test and put back in the box for another day after it wouldn't go. I am just hoping it will be a loose wire and nothing major. I am sure once it gets painted it will fit in quite well. I am planning to have a freight track on the proposed layout so it may see many visits there. When you consider how beautiful a virgin brass model looks it seems a shame to paint it, I don't feel the same way about a 3D printed model.

Well thats the two freight models dealt with, I will show the others on a later posting.

 

Post #3

 Its been a while since the last post how time flies. For the time being it is a case of Hunters and Collectors i.e. obtaining all the items required to start a layout. The main source (probably the only one) has been the US. It has meant a return there where years ago you could get any product freely available. This was the time before the internet where these days everything is available from the comfort of home and all you need is a keyboard and internet connection (plus a linked card)

The power of the internet has come to the fore this week or mainly today. A few weeks ago I was lucky to find a copy of the second book I was searching for namely 'The Time of the Trolley' by William D. Middleton. I was lucky to get a copy of 'The Interurban Era' book by the same author earlier. I located a copy of this book in Tasmania, listed on E-bay in some obscure book shop. Not sure how it got there but I didn't care, I soon knew it would be  mine. When I received the copy I glanced through the pages but it had been so long since I had a copy that it was hard to recollect any images that I could remember. Who cares, it was good to be able to re-enjoy its contents. So that was book one.

A while later while viewing a Facebook Market site I came across a copy of the Time of the Trolley book which was located in the States. Originally I was enquiring if I could get it sent out to Australia but posting was going to be awkward so I let it go stating I would try and locate a copy in Australia. I didn't have any luck but I was recontacted by the original owner and asked again if I was still interested. So after saying yes and three weeks packed in the bottom of an Ebay container, today the book was delivered here in good condition. So thanks Paul.

The second gem received

 I was happy to receive this book for its general overall coverage of all things traction, trolleys and trams. Although I haven't looked through the books 436 pages yet I remember that there are photos of world wide trams even from Australia! One of the reasons I got these books is to be able to extract ideas for the model. I will try and make the end result as realistic as I can, so to be able to view many photos and then be able to use all the best parts for a model is the way to go. Finding the time to read the book will now be the hard part. The best part about this book is it is mainly pictures, the type I like.

Most of the fleet of trolleys I have are from the Chicago Surface Lines so I guess a book on that system is something I should look out for. What is killing it all is the savage postage and exchange rates, so I will be very selective in my imports.

Today the book arrived and it was sitting at the front door unannounced and it wasn't until an email was read stating 'your package has been delivered' that I realised it was here. So at the same time it was brought inside I was busy waiting for an Ebay auction to finalise where I was about to bid on a box of 12 overhead wiring frogs. It had only attracted one bid as the time was nearly up and as it is hard to readily get the items here I put in a bid in the last 40 seconds that secured the item. (Sorry if you were the other bidder). Maybe I was lucky because I had rested the still unopened book below the desk - my lucky charm?

 So being able to acquire these frogs will help towards the number of frogs I will need for the layout. I had not seen this brand of frogs before, I was only familiar with the Suydam brand. I don't think either brand are still active producing them so you just have to wait until these items come up on the net. It will be interesting to see if when they arrive here the Department of Agriculture/Customs see the label 'One dozen frogs' and open up the package - ha not what you thought.

And in the mean time I will keep looking for more frogs and ears for the upcoming layout.

Post #2

I have finally made a start gathering together the bits and pieces required for the tramway layout. The addition of overhead wiring makes another layer that has to be completed. Should I switch to cable tram modelling and forego the overhead? It is also true that now light rail systems have been built without overhead wiring. Sydney and Newcastle are two examples but there is a certain fascination with the effort that is gone to getting the overhead up and working.

Look - no overhead

When you think about it, not having overhead means - cheaper, quicker and nothing to break and damage/repair. But overhead is part of the fascination of model tramways.

Newcastle trams - no overhead, just battery.

The copy of the 'Interurban Era' has arrived and I have been through it at least once rekindling my photo memories from long ago. Certain photos stick in your mind, mainly ones that have lots of detail in them.

I have also been looking at many Youtube videos from the 40's, 50's and 60's to try and absorb details that can be squeezed into a layout. The good side is that many of these films have survived and can still be appreciated. Sadly the means that they were filmed in really lags behind what we are spoilt with today for film recording. Films recorded in 8mm and 16mm were really the only format available in the past and just any mobile phone will give you crisp 4K resolution results. But we have to be thankfull with what we have got. I think we faired better with still 35mm colour and black and white photos from the long ago. I often see photos from the past that were taken on glass plates and the quality is brilliant and have sharp results. And not forgetting that many blemishes on old photos can now be modified using photo editing programmes such as Photoshop. There is also the ability to colourise black and white photos.

If people living in the past could have seen the future they would loved to have had our technology in video cameras, phones etc but we envy them in wishing we would have lived in their era to see what they witnessed every day, imagine riding Pacific Electric to work everday. Next project - build a time machine.

While I am hunting and gathering bits and pieces, I am thinking what type and size of layout I should build. Although I have plenty of room for an empire I am just considering a small layout something around the 8' x 4' size. I reckon I can fit a lot in that size. It may come down to a 7' x 4' size.

What I will try and fit into my empire are features that I feel give variety into the build, such things such as:

• Double track in roadway
• single track in roadway
• reserved track
• a crossing loop in the reserved track
• a combination of single and double arm trolley poles
• a depot/trolley barn
• a balloon loop
• reversing loop for single poled trams
• a freight track and building
• a run through passenger terminal
• and try to incorporate a few grades so it is not all flat

Looks a tall order to fit onto a small board but the beauty of a traction layout are how sharp curves can be and therefore squeeze more in. These trials of curve radius have yet to be made.

I enjoy designing layouts and have come up with the following plan which looks ambitious but features most of the dot points above. It is always different drawing up plans with a pencil or on a computer but until it is all laid out onto the actual board then that is the real test to see if it all works. I roughed out the following plan on paper then drew the rest on a computer programme. So this could be the plan or very likely there will be more changes. The dots represent where motorised point/switches will be, all the others can be sprung

Plan 1

 Well that's it for this post, more next time

The First Post

 Yes this is the first post of the blog for the South Coast Traction Company. As with many companies this blog will start slow and gradually get bigger.

My 're entry' to traction modelling came about after a long break of around forty years of doing other things in between. I had been traction modelling back in the mid 70's till the early 80's. I then turned to model trains for probably the 4th time in my life. What I liked about the traction modelling was the challenge of construction and scratch building. 

The only thing you could purchase was the brass trams that were primarily made in Japan and later in Korea. The issue then with most brass models whether they were trams or trains was that they came in their raw state i.e. just brass. So they had to be painted to your favourite colour scheme. US models dominated the market but every now and then they made some European models.

There was also another issue with them in that for some reason they never provided any glazing in the models. How draughty can that be. I would like to know the reason that this couldn't have been supplied even if it was separate and the modeller inserted it after painting. They probably thought once your model was a few feet away, you wouldn't know any way.

What sparked this return to my tramway days was I was looking at an ancient 8mm roll of movie film. It was unlabelled and became a lucky dip when I ran it through the projector. And what should be on it but a very small segment of a model tramway I had built way back. The scene lasted all of around 10 seconds and was of a single truck freight car rumbling past the camera. I then remembered that I had taken more film of the layout but it could be amongst thousands of unlabelled 8mm movie film. At my time of life and many projects on the go it may never be found.

After discovering this movie film find I then started to research model tramways again. If any readers of this are from the US forgive me for referring to them as 'tramways' and not 'trolleys' as in Australia thats what we call them.

Modern trams in George Street Sydney (or light rail as they are now referred to)

My first tram layout was made on a flat door that was cheap as there was a big dent on one side, which wasn't a worry. (I was only going to build on the one side anyway) It was also rigid and didn't need any framing. At this was my first attempt at tramway modelling I had to go my own way, remember this was well before the internet so unless it was in a book or Model Railroader/Model Railroad Craftsman had done an article you were on your own.

I decided to cut up some brass sheeting and glue this to the door following the track layout I had decided on. Pliobond glue held the brass down as I had heard this formed a stronger bond under heat when the rail was soldered to it. Must of been true as none ever lifted up. Wow what sharp corners you could get in tramways. I used code 100 rail and it was soldered to the brass sleepers.

 Infrastructure

It was one thing to have the track finally laid but no tramway is complete without overhead wiring. Luckily there was a local wire manufacturer (back in the days when you could buy locally made products) In my youthfull innocence I entered their doorway where I saw a worker and told him what I was after. I am sure he was totally confused trying to picture a HO tramway. So after selecting a fine wire he then picked up an empty reel and promptly wound enough wire onto it to be able to produce a layout around three actual miles long. That roll disappeared when my whim changed and I ditched tramway modelling and was onsold with the layout.

I came across a few Model Tramway/Trolley Facebook sites and joined them to get the flavour back in my veins. I came across a guy named 'Jasons Brass Poles' and when he advertised some Suydam wire hangers for sale I was straight onto it. Sometimes I think going back to tramway modelling is like stabbing yourself with a knife - Don't do it! Eventually I had to go through the saga of the exchange rates and in the end the seemingly excessive postal rates to Australia. What choice do you have? But the internet is great, you can find this stuff readily and have it sent here. Traction modelling seems to be a very niche market, similar to narrow gauge modelling. Jason also produced some brass poles so as a time saver I ordered some single, side and double poles for a layout.

The other find was some overhead frogs and wire hangers which I call ears. When I was modelling all that time ago these items were readily available to purchase but everything had to be ordered via the postal service. It seems now that any of these items able to be purchased now are 'leftovers' from someones dreams from long ago. When you see a packet on line the way cheaper price on the package sticker has been crossed out. But I suppose the thrill of the chase is still there. So all of these part orders are on their way across the Pacific.

Research

With everything I have modelled in the past, I have tried to gather as much prototype material on the subject as possible. This is always a help to get the feel of how things were done such as colours, style, structures, design etc. Although tramway modelling was a fringe selection there was plenty of material. Firstly books were written about the systems of each state and regional cities. Problem being forty years ago was that there  were no Australian models available, there were maybe some English models mainly double deck trams. Then there was the brass US models which were popular and readily available. One major importer of brass into Australia was the Model Dockyard in Melbourne. As an occasional visitor to the southern capital, the Dockyard was usually the first stop after alighting the train at Spencer Street station. Located in Swanston Street you entered the shop and then proceeded down stairs and once below you faced an incredible showcase full of brass trains, carriages and of course the 'trolleys' tucked up on a row or two. I didn't have any particular system to model and follow and my budget was tight at the time. Over time I aquired a PE Hollywood car, a New Orleans car (painted up to look like an Adelaide H car) a Birney car and for the works side of things a Brill single truck sprinkler, a single truck freight car and a bogie flatbed motor.

Apart from the prototype books on traction, I discovered a magazine called Traction and Models. I think it was sort of every month or two months and was eagerly waited on when modelling. Wall to wall traction.

"The magazine for Traction Modellers"

 

I think as time has passed since its publication there has been a loss of traction modellers and the likes of this magazine will never be seen again. I now regret passing my pile of these mags on when I surrendered interest, I had plenty of issues. What I would love now is if someone could scan the old issues and make them available digitally for newcomers and for the sake of nostalgia. There were so many model traction layouts back then. If you have a scanned collection please let me know.

There were two 'bibles' amongst the books I previously had, both written by William D. Middleton. The first one was 'Time of the Trolley' which had world wide photos of tramway systems and the second by the author was 'The Interurban Era'. An internet search actually revealed an obscure bookshop in Tasmania actually had a copy of it, so with the ease of Ebay purchasing, one click later and it was on its way to me. It arrived today, its musty smelling pages attest to its probable life on a shelf for the last half century. I think I'll soon get over that once I start recognising past outstanding photos I am recollecting. Book number 1 is now on the shelf. So I will keep a look out for the 'Time of the Trolley', a copy will turn up one day.

 

George Street trams in Sydney

 Well hope thats a good introduction to my return to tramway modelling. The tram in the header photo is part of a collection I was able to obtain recently. It's an excellent start to more modelling ahead.