Running trolley/superstreet cars on DC?

Bob
Are you or Wendy going to be near me? I can give you a few misc transformers.

Steve

Stock 'Streets cars and trucks have rectifiers built into them.  They will run forward only regardless of if they are given AC or DC or either polarity.  Many trolleys will also run on DC, but not all.

 

K-Line and K-Line by Lionel RTR sets came with DC power supplies.  It just doesn't matter to the stock vehicles.

 

I remove the rectifiers from all my 'Streets vehicles.  As a result they run only on DC, but they will back up if the polarity is reversed.  

 

I discuss power supplies and running trolleys in my book 'Streets for . . .   If you don't want to buy it from Amazon you can download if for free from my website.  it lists some really inexpensive DC units that will do it well enough.

Thanks guys,

 

Steve: I appreciate the offer, but will not make to OC till your open house on Friday.

 

Lee: I have your first book and only glanced through it. Did not think I would need it before Xmas. It is buried somewhere. I will dig it out. And, I ordered your econd book. 

 

Bob

Totally depends on the vehicle in question. Track used has no affect.

My understanding is the MTH Bump and Go trolleys can run on DC. I think MTH even packages a DC power supply with the Bump and Go Trolley train sets. Personally, I haven't tried it. I run my B 'n G with a CW80 just because I had it sitting around. 

Thanks everyone, going to experiment with DC this evening.

 

Bob

I have tried powering an MTH PCC Trolley (conventional) using a DC power pack and it runs fine. But I have not tried one with DCS and sound. Does anyone know if using DC power with a DCS version will be a problem?

I'll update - I attempted to run my MTH Bump and Go trolley on an old Bachmann HO/N Gauge DC power supply. It worked but operation was rather erratic and not as smooth as it is with a Lionel CW80 or MTH Z500/1000 set up. 

They run smoother if you use a rectifier and capacitor off an AC transformer. A schematic is drawn here

 

here

 

Dale H