Trumpeters 1/35 Loco

Something I have to add to the list .... did I mention the mantle is 'only' 8 ft long!!

and extra to that .. vague memories of a car before the engine in case the track was mined ??? doesn't seem to make sense, train couldn't stop in time anyway but still seem to recall it.

There is a cable car.. had the model yrs ago. bought 2nd hand at an op shop ( thrift, community, ummm charity shop). I think 1/48 and it's probably still in the shed i left behind with the ex. never did get to finish it.

There is a whole world of models that no-one will produce, trains and trollies are but a small part. While the bottom line is $ they never wil be either. which is even sadder.....

"e" wrote

That's a bit off in three respects, I believe.

1. The apex of the interurban system when such feats were (almost) possible was in the early 1920's, IIRC.

1. There were no interurban lines through the Rockies, or much west of the central plains, so "across the country" travel solely via "electric railways" (to use the ICC term) and transit systems wasn't possible. (There had to be "urbans" to be "inter".) The long route I have heard of was from southern Maine to Minneapolis, St Louis, Omaha, or something like that.

2. Interurbans typically were not "trolleys". Interurbans were essentially small regular railroads running between various towns and cities. "Trolleys" were usually mass transit systems within a city or between a city and it's suburbs. A distinction without a difference, perhaps.

Well, actually they were. Buses used a free and expanding RoW. Rail systems had a much more limited and expensive infrastructure. If buses - or more importantly trucks - had to pay for their own RoW, rail vehicles would be much more plentiful today.

BTW, the Greyhound fare from Portland ME to Los Angeles CA for military personnel is $198. I believe that this represents their typical 10% discount to the military, so let's say regular fare is $218. That (apocryphal) 1946 fare of $22.11 would be $229.60 today. . .

The fare is not that stunning a number for the time. In 1954 you could go from NYC to New Orleans or Miami in a coach on a "steam" (regular) railroad like the PRR for $39. Even the top-end Pullman car "drawing room" fare was only $98, or $71 in 1946 dollars. For 50 bucks I'd gladly shave 27 or so days off my trip, as well as all the meal and hotel costs.

KL

"e" wrote

If you could, please find out how exactly they got from, say, the 100th meridian west, without riding a "steam" railroad.

I think I have a pretty good appreciation of the system. I would not extrapolate the traffic density in 1960 Boston (at the time the 13th largest US city and bigger than Dallas) to rest of the country, however.

KL

From Wikipedia, (FWIW):

"In the late 1890s, electrified systems called streetcars, which had been developed by Frank Sprague, expanded rapidly. By 1900, just over 2,100 miles of track had been laid, and by 1916, at their peak, over 15,500 miles were in service. Most of the interurban track that had been laid was located in Ohio and Indiana; both states had 3,000 miles of track. In Michigan and Illinois there was another 2,000 miles of track which was interconnected. In Texas and in California thousands of miles of additional track was also laid down by different companies. In Central Virginia, interurban lines connected City Point and Hopewell with Petersburg, and Petersburg with Richmond. Another connected Richmond with Ashland.

"In the early 1900s, interurban transportation was very popular in both rural areas and cities. Although slower in speed than steam driven passenger trains, the interurban system made up for speed by increased frequency of service. After 1910, the popularity of the Ford Model T automobile began to diminish the interurban passenger load, and during the 1920s, many interurban systems were declared bankrupt. As a result of this shift in transportation methods, the small and unprofitable lines were discontinued. By the 1930s, the interurbans began to disappear, although some of their rail lines were taken over for the use of freight drawn by steam engines. Most were replaced with buses. By the 1960s, very few lines remained; the Pacific Electric Railway in California was abandoned in 1961, and the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad near Chicago in 1963."

KL

do it yourself.

boston was pretty typical of n.e. i remember seeing many trolley remnants in ny as well.

wikicrap.

"e" wrote

OK, what specifically is incorrect about what they've written, and can you give sources for your info? Do you call it crap because they have mileage figures wrong, dates wrong, general trends wrong, or simply because it contradicts your previously stated views? (Note that this article was not the basis of my postings, simply an easily postable source. I does however agree with what I have read over the years.)

And don't forget to look up the interurbans west of 100 W while you are digging through your references.

KL

"e" wrote

The northeast US, the most densely populated region of the US, was not typical of the entire country, however. Once you got west of the Susquehanna, things thinned out quite a bit (or north of the Maine/NH border, for that matter.)

Can you post or reference an interurban/trolley map of the US?

KL

i'm digging through some crap. i don't believe the is was as dismebered as they claim until later.

lets try that again. i don't think the interurban system died that early. i don't trust wiki......they lie. i once hung out at seaside trolley museum and picked through their books. i don't think there's a national interurban map. but that sure would be cool. say 1935 or so.

Oh ja! It was difficult but with the jury-rigged pantographs....... ;)

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

..Electric Railway Fan..

So, then, Have we decided yet??? Where there any BR52's running on the interurban????

"john" wrote

Oh pffft on DRB stuff .... European railways are so wimpy, I'll bet a typical US interurban COULD outpull a BR52. That is, if the interurban didn't shatter the euro rail just by sitting on it. What did they use over there, 45, 50 lb rail?

I am convinced that one reason American rolling stock has never been kitted in 1/35 is that the WW II armor world simply couldn't deal with a "heavy metal" subject where the US technology was not only bigger and badder than the German stuff, but markedly better as well.

KL

The other reason of course is very little "home front" stuff if any gets kitted.

what fo the rolling stock center over in both ww wars? was that all copies of euro stuff? i'm sure we didn't send any big boys, but american locos ran on euro rails.

i would love to see the tiny ww1 trench railroad stuff out. how cool would a little rr going past an aerodrome be?

"Ron Smith" wrote

Unless German.

KL