#60 Lionel Trolly

Simply gotta get it lined up right. That's all I can say. It goes. I went through the same thing. After the plastic part is properly fitted on the shaft, the trolley wire simply slides down between the shaft and the plastic "hub". There is a small receiving hole for it.

For the Postwar models, and the Modern Era ones I've seen, the wire trolley pole goes under the plastic part. There is a slot for the wire to run along. The two pieces are then slipped over the rod sticking up from the chassis. I will see whether I have one handy to photograph.

I found one of the plastic pieces. I don't have a spare trolley pole, so I placed a scrap piece of handrail in the plastic piece to show how the wire pole goes into it.  These pictures are showing the underside of the part.

Some pics.

Matt

Mattr's photos are certainly clearer than mine.

His plastic piece seems to be a bit different than the one I used for my photos. On the one I used, the wire is not readily visible running along the top of the part.

Hey guys, thanks for the inputs. Your photos were great and I thank you both for your efforts in photographing the assembly. Evidently their are several different configurations perhaps because of replacement parts manufactures?? Mine does not assemble as yours does, and the plastic trolley pole   clip is different. I do see and understand how yours works. On mine there is no room for the pole to fit along side the support shaft inside the pole clip. I'll have to spend some time developing how to affix the pole with my parts. Again, thanks for your time and effort and advice and photos!  Ain't this here RR fraternaty great??

Paul

Hi again guys. Sorry for the delay in responding to your inputs, and my final findings and resolution. In-between , I had an operation on my eye, and have  been a little bit out of commission!

The findings were somewhat surpriaing. After spending much time studying the probem, I began suspecting the trolley pole. It just seemed too big in diameter (wire size) to fit? I had a second trolley without a pole and swapped parts like the plastic pole holder, and the vertical pinion gear shaft. Nothing worked. I looked at the parts under magnification and found that there is a grove inside the hub of the plastic pole holder opposite the slot in the same piece. I also noticed their was a "flat spot" in the top vertical pinion shaft. These must be lignned up when you push the pole and it's bracket down on the shaft. It is the method of keying the pole to the for and aft position on the trollye corresponding to the bumper position. If it is off position at the end of the bumper travel position, you must re-time the rack and pinion on the bumper slide switch. After fooling around with it for over a week, I discovered another trolley pool in my "junk". It indeed was a smaller diameter wire, and readily fit in it's place between the plastic pole holder and the vertical pinion shaft. Problem solved. It now works like a charm. Since I had the trolley disassembled, I lubricated the motor, and wheels, and gears. I also cleaned the commutator surfaces and slots. It now works at a very low voltage and has enough inertia to change direction at those low speeds. I Did indeed have a replacement trolley pole that I picked up somewhere that was too large in diameter!! I wonder if that vendor knows the grief he has caused by manufacturing and selling bad parts ??

Thanks again everyone for their help and input.

Paul

 I wonder if that vendor knows the grief he has caused by manufacturing and selling bad parts ??

IMHO, the quality of many reproduction parts that are available today is much worse than what was available in the past. One particularly big problem are reproduction springs. I find that often they are close to the right size, but made of a different material than the original part. So they rarely have the correct tension.

C.W,

Yes I agree totally that parts vendors bear some responsibility for the qualit of their product. Maybe the TCA or one of the other groups would be interested in forming a committee to study this problem? Perhaps a possible outcome of such a study would lead to a clearing house or some group who would review complaints of members as to the problems their having with replacement parts?? This would put the vendors on notice that they must first test and evaluate their own products before putting them on the market?

Paul

Yes I agree totally that parts vendors bear some responsibility for the qualit of their product. Maybe the TCA or one of the other groups would be interested in forming a committee to study this problem? Perhaps a possible outcome of such a study would lead to a clearing house or some group who would review complaints of members as to the problems their having with replacement parts?? This would put the vendors on notice that they must first test and evaluate their own products before putting them on the market?

As far as I know, ALL of the reproduction parts on the market today are made by individual parts vendors, and they sell their parts to each other.  (In reality, most of them have the parts made, but for the purposes of this discussion there is no difference). In some cases more than one vendor makes the same part.

IMHO, the fit, finish, and overall quality of the part is the sole responsibility of the individual that has the part made, and it is up to the other parts vendors to evaluate whether they want to sell those parts. The TCA has absolutely no role in this. The only control the TCA has is over what is sold at a TCA sponsored show, where all reproduction parts must be marked as such. 

I guess the question today is whether an imperfect reproduction part is better than no part at all.

Hey everyone. Thanks for the info on this somewhat “quirky” Lionel piece. After a few years back in the “train business”, with a 40 year layover(!) I have come to the realization that Lionel,at least early postwar, is not always LOGICAL in the way you disassemble or reassemble their pieces. The trolley 60 is no exception!  I recently purchased a replacement for my Dad’s that he purchased around 1962. The replacement came with an antenna that needs reinstalled. I am currently playing with it in much the same way. I will get it, but it takes some finesse. Again, thanks to all who contribute here!