Category Archives: Traction
Off my trolley – North Hollywood yet again
Noticed recently that the restoration of the old Pacific Electric / Southern Pacific depot at North Hollywood has been completed and reopened as a commuter café on the Metro Orange Line. This article gives the details, including: The official grand … Continue reading
Off my trolley – redux – interurban branchlines – 1
This post has always been popular, too…. A good, if rather conventional, place to start with interurban layouts, is the conventional branch line. Some electric railroads were no more than a branch line in total. Others, like the Pacific Electric, … Continue reading
Off my trolley – redux – streetcars and trolley layouts
As I’m in Stuttgart this week, I thought I’d repost the three most popular posts since I started blogging three or more years ago. I’ve updated them a little, too. One difference I note from starting blogging – I cut … Continue reading
Off my trolley – wig wag’s
And our UK readers will say, “What’s a wig-wag?” Well it’s not related to a wigwam, or even to wiff-waff (better known as ping-pong or table tennis. It’s s visual and audible signal for ungated railroad crossings. The … Continue reading
Off my trolley – a bargain (I think)
Reading a blog recently, the writer recommended the ‘Model Train Stuff’ shop and internet shop. I couldn’t resist a browse, and the site made me an offer I couldn’t refuse – Bachmann ‘Peter Witt’ trolleys in Los Angeles Railways livery … Continue reading
Off my trolley – North Hollywood revisited
A frequently-used phrase in railway modelling is ‘selective compression.’ Most usually it applies to station track layouts, shortening them and losing a few sidings to fit a reasonable representation of a piece of railway in our usually too small rooms. … Continue reading
San Fernando Valley Branch, 1973 (Part II)
Originally posted on Rails West:
In an earlier post, I shared B. Smith’s excellent coverage SP action in the San Fernando Valley in the early 1970s. In this post, we will drill down a little further into the nuts and bolts…
