2 Rail DC Trolley

Does the club already have a 2 rail O gauge route laid down for the trolley/streetcar line? I don't know of any ready to run DC trolleys for 2 rail O gauge track on the market currently but if you do not have the track laid yet the Bachman ON30 trolley is a nice small 4 wheel car that is O scale but using HO track.

Another option would be to convert a Williams by Bachmann Peter Witt car which is a nice model and has DC motors, you would likely have to swap wheels or turn down the flanges for 2 rail use. I have a couple but they are in storage right now so can't check the flanges or if the wheels are possibly already insulated for 2 rail conversion.

Bowser also made a streetcar you can find on E-Bay sometimes but most I see are 3 rail and I have a few of those too which could be a candidate for re-powering/converting to 2 rail but then you are not looking at a ready to run option. Hopefully there are some traction fans on here who may have more options for your club.

The Car Works.  Or trolleys with Q-Car or Wagoner Drive.  A lot of trolleys were kit built.  The other option that no one talks is to run 3 rail heavy or small electrics and have them run on AC on the trolley wire.   The trolley wire acts as your third rail. The two rail track though must be high rail.

Western Hobbycraft did their streetcars in 2 rail as well I think.

@greg773 posted:

I'm looking for recommendations for a ready to run 2 rail DC powered trolley in O scale.

Its for a club layout. What manufacture runs well and is readily available?

I am unaware of any RTR 2 rail powered trolley models in O scale that are currently in production.

There are older brass imports that may or not be powered and may or not even be RTR even if powered - paint and details generally need to be added.

The vast majority of 2 rail powered trolley models in O scale are either kit built or scratchbuilt in some capacity; 3D printed bodies are available in varying configurations or assembly, but powering them, adding every detail, paint & finishing remains something left to the modeler.

You might be able to find one of the older Pittman//Bowser trolleys.  What "runs well" means may be open to interpretation.....

Western Hobbycraft offered RTR 2 rail cars in a number of city schemes.  Might wanna look on various auction sites.   

Mitch

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Western Hobbycraft offered RTR 2 rail cars in a number of city schemes.  Might wanna look on various auction sites.   

Yes, sadly the secondary market is pretty much the option for a 2 rail RTR trolley.

Thanks for the replies guys!

The story is....

We have a trolley line that is 3 rail Gargraves track. We installed an automatic reversing and stop system that runs on DC. Cant think of the name i think its the same outfit that makes tortious machines.

To get this to work we converted a Bachman Peter Witt trolley to DC still utilizing the pick up roller and the wheels for +/-

The Pick up roller is small and due to expansion the material that is filling in between the rails we loose contact on the roller.

So, my hope was to just rewire the outside rails, run a 2 rail trolley and just ignore the 3rd rail in the center.

@StudeDude posted:

Western Hobbycraft did their streetcars in 2 rail as well I think.

I just Googled Western Hobbycraft! They are beautiful!

@greg773 posted:

Thanks for the replies guys!

The story is....

We have a trolley line that is 3 rail Gargraves track. We installed an automatic reversing and stop system that runs on DC. Cant think of the name i think its the same outfit that makes tortious machines.

To get this to work we converted a Bachman Peter Witt trolley to DC still utilizing the pick up roller and the wheels for +/-

The Pick up roller is small and due to expansion the material that is filling in between the rails we loose contact on the roller.

So, my hope was to just rewire the outside rails, run a 2 rail trolley and just ignore the 3rd rail in the center.

Could you convert the Peter Witt to run on working overhead wire/catenary and bypass the pick up roller? Or possibly change or modify the pickup roller for more reliable operation? If you search the forum for Peter Witt trolley there are older posts on here that talk about people having trouble with the stock pick up roller setup on the Witt car.

If the trolley line is 3 rail Gargraves and all you need is to run the car on DC for the auto reverse feature I might look into what kind of motor some of the MTH streetcars have as well, if they already have DC motors and are using a modern electronic reverse board just remove it and wire it up for straight DC, in fact it might work on straight DC with no modification anyway. I know a local guy who bought an auto reverse circuit off Flea-Bay and runs a Williams semi scale GG1 on 3 rail track but powered by DC in his store with no issues at all.

@greg773 posted:

I'm looking for recommendations for a ready to run 2 rail DC powered trolley in O scale.

Its for a club layout. What manufacture runs well and is readily available?

Ready to Run and 2 Rail O Scale should not be combined in the same sentence.

Q car makes power trucks in 2-Rail with either insulated wheelsets  both polarities off the rail) or non insulated (one polarity from either/both rails and the other polarity from the overhead wire).