Just looking for some information on the trolleys and streetcars. Has anyone used these? Do they run the same way as the trains. As I am in the initial stages of planning, I am wondering if they are suitable to a novice?
trolleys and streetcars run off the same track power as regular trains. some of the better streetcar models may have provisions for getting power off an overhead wire as well.
celt-
I used a Bachmann Brill Trolley on my granson's layout and found it to be very reliable and easy to work on. It is a little light, though. I ginned up directional lighting, front and rear, and have it operating on a V-shaped pattern in a city scene which overlies one end of his 4x8. I ran it from a separate DC power pack which also controls the turnout at the pointy end of the V and the LED lights in the city. He has a second trolley with DCC that he can run on the main layout and pretend that it's actually the one from up above.
As an aside, the upper level, combined with a tree-cloaked mountain on the other end of the 4x8 (yes, I know that's an awful lot, considering that he also has a dual track mainline, engine terminal, yard, many industries and a desert) goes a long ways towards making his layout seem much larger since the turnbacks on the ends are concealed. It's also fun to have his main station on the upper level with the edge of the upper level plywood finished in such a way that it appears that his station has underground station tracks although they are really the mainlines and the yard throat.
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Thats what i was going to do different track with reversing and even maybe keep it DC. has anyone got that bachmann reversing system yet i have 4 packages of track 2 straight 2 curved from ebay at a very low cost.
i do like the second one on your main good idea now i need to get one to match with dcc or make it dcc.