Tag Archives: interurban

Off my trolley – interurban branchlines 3 – the Sacramento Northern

Posted on February 27, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

Despite the fact that the Sacramento Northern boasted 183 miles of track around San Francisco it was really just a long, glorified branch line.  Even in 1940, long after most other interurbans had degenerated into poorly-maintained shadows of their pre-WWI … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, Layout design, Traction | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Off my trolley – branchlines 2 – North Hollywood

Posted on February 4, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

One of my many diversions away from railways is reading (almost anything).  This includes crime fiction.  One of my favourite authors is Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch police procedurals – set in Los Angeles, and especially in the Hollywood area.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Layout design, Traction | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Off my trolley – interurban branchlines – 1

Posted on January 29, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

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, had twigs off the branches off the … Continue reading →

Posted in Layout design, Traction | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Off my trolley – interurbans

Posted on January 18, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

WARNING – if you are from North America, please look away.  This is a confirmed UK resident writing about US railroads, so total accuracy is unlikely!  But I hope in this post to give some idea of the breadth of … Continue reading →

Posted in Jon's layout ramblings, Layout design, Traction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Off my trolley – streetcars and trolley layouts

Posted on January 9, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

Again we need a cultural translation here: trolley = streetcar = tram.  Streetcars tended to be smaller that the big interurbans running between towns.  But you could find an interurban winding its way through the city traffic on its way to … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, Jon's layout ramblings, Layout design, Traction | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Off my trolley – a new design series

Posted on December 29, 2013 by snitchthebudgie

As I continue to make good progress on my modules, the armchair modeller in me is already thinking about another layout.  I have this irrational urge to build an N-gauge US trolley or interurban layout – sometimes known as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Jon's layout ramblings, Layout design, Traction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment