Tomytec power chassis...There are ways to modify the truck center to center spacing so that it fits whatever prototype interurban or trolley you are modeling. That drive shaft can be shortened & spliced back together using thin walled K&S tubing, the flywheels can be pressed off the motors & use a dremel to cut off the back nub. Then the motor shafts can also be shortened (using dremel cutoff disk) & reattach flywheel. You will need to fabricate a floor from styrene that fits into your Shapeways shells, has keyhole shapes to accept the Tomytec trucks and spacing to attach the newly shortened phosphor bronze pickup strips. One functioning master could be built/tested and then simply make a mold to resin cast as many you need to complete your fleet. Some of the shorter wheelbase Tomytec power chassis only have one drive shaft & the motor/flywheel is angled downward so the above photo & procedures need to be adjusted to fit that power train.
The gas refiners and auto manufacturers convinced the cities that streetcars/interurbans weren't needed because gas was cheap and plentiful. Cities like Toronto Ontario were smart enough to see through the smoke screen and thumbed their noses at them.
I would buy a couple if someone made a decent quality version that looked reasonably like a Midwestern road.
Don't forget- The tire manufacturers were also a part of it. I recall CBS did a report many years ago, for their "60 Minutes" show, detailing that conspiracy and the outcome in court.
The courts ruled that companies controlled by Harvey Firestone, Henry Ford, and John Rockefeller all were guilty of conspiracy. Sadly, WW-II delayed court action, so by the time those rulings were handed down the damage had been done and most interurban companies had disappeared.
Update: I'm still working on a large fleet of North Shore interurbans. I have a want list of parts to complete the cars: 2 Chime air horns. I have a bunch of N scale atlas 2 chime horns from the GP parts list but although I can use them on the roofs of the interurbans the are a bit too big to use on the dash of the cars. I am looking for a smaller set of horns for dash mounting. I have not been able to find Z scale 2 chime horns. I am at an impasse. Truss rods: I have 20 wooden merchandise cars and all of them need truss rods. I have not found a source for some nice looking ones. I did buy some brass turnbuckles for wire truss rods but the castings are intended for HO scale so they are a little large. I E Mailed Fine N Scale models and they MAY sell some etched ones but so far nothing is forthcoming. Randy
Wow! These are incredible. I'm having trouble believing some of these are N scale! 3D printing really is taking off. I'm still waiting to see a really good looking PCC, though. I had one of the Bachmann ones, but in typical Bachmann fashion, the gears started refusing to much, and it was too heavy to move with only one working truck. Still looking in to getting a Tomix chassis for it, but I would really also prefer a much better representation of a PCC in general.
This was a fiasco that all of us are still paying for!! We live in Peoria, IL; I see in the history reports there was a wonderful street car system here that carried works to major employers such as Caterpillar. We lived in Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN area for 28 years; street car system there was also wonderful based on what old timer at 3M who rode it told me. Come back is slow and expensive. Lines there ran out to Stillwater, MN on the St. Croix river and out to Lake Minnetonka on the west. Illinois also had the Illinois Terminal which was very extensive. GONE!!!!
So sadly true. Often the operations which we lost were private enterprises. Now the taxpayers have to pay enormous costs to even try replacing anything. Wasted decades of planning, forced "studies", complying with ridiculously complicated regulations, repititious litigations which all skyrocket costs. Before one rail is even installed. Utter stupidity.
When they were working on Snelling Ave a couple years ago, I was driving by and saw the old tracks still under the pavement! Jason
When BART was in the early talking stages, SF's mayor commissioned a study to determine why the Key System and other transit systems in the Bay Area had failed. The study found that a shadow corporation ultimately controlled by Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and John Rockefeller had taken over those companies in the 1930's. That company then siphoned off all profits, deferred maintenance, and generally ran the systems into ground with lousy service which caused the users to abandon public transit in favor of their personal cars. This company's control and damage was more widespread than just the Bay Area, but the SF study is what brought its actions into public view. Yes, GM busses were involved also, but not directly. They just filled the void of failed local transport systems.
I am interested in eventually building some Oregon Electric models in N scale. It's on my list of eventual projects. http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/oregon_electric_railway/
Add to that even when transit systems failed on their own (and a lot did fail on their own or not through direct conspiracy), the auto manufacturers were quick to jump in to buy the right-of-way and constructed buildings on it so that it could not possibily be returned to rail use.
I must say Randy, that is quite the menagerie of North Shore interurban cars. Very Nice! And yes, one of those ex-Oregon Electric electrics would be mighty interesting to see!
