IS A ONE INCH SCALE TROLLEY (TRAM) FEASIBLE ?

HERE'S A LETTER THAT WE WROTE SOME YEARS AGO TO A WELL-KNOWN, LONG-TIME ONE INCH SCALE SMALL MANUFACTURER, INQUIRING ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PURCHASING A CUSTOM-MADE (to our Euro Fans : BESPOKE) POWER TRUCK IN ONE-INCH SCALE :

I am a long-time "live steamer" who, frankly, much prefers traction: trams, street cars, interurbans, and trolleys. I am very taken with the idea of operating battery-powered one-inch scale NON-RIDING trolleys. Designing them as non-riding from the outset means that they needn't be built to carry 200+ pounds on their roof, nor do we have to be concerned with damage to delicate pantographs or trolley poles. Modeling electrically-powered prototypes produces easily designed and realistic model trolleys as a natural outcome.

I am subject to fits of quixotic thought-experiments (thanks to Albert Einstein for coming up with that wonderful phrase) regarding this strange and wonderful hobby that we both share. A strong and recurring theme is that of developing and marketing a line of one-inch trolleys. Your diesel-outline locomotives strike me as --- arguably --- ideal candidates for the basis of a nifty trolley model. You have already performed the most difficult task of producing the power truck, although I understand, of course, that the side frames probably would need re-designing, and that some compromises with precise scale-sizing might have to be made.

Nonetheless, your diesel power trucks provide one of the best ready-to-use power units on the market today. Page 107 of a popular, widely available book titled "A Trolley Car Treasury", authored by Frank Rowsome, shows the manufacture of a prototype 1905 wooden trolley body in a trolley-car erection shop. It does not take much imagination to picture a similar scene taking place in a small commercial woodworking shop, followed by mounting that body on a power truck, adding the appropriate details and finishing steps, and then marketing the complete trolley to traction fans.

If one omits the weight of a rider, a model like that could easily run on the code .332 track that is widely available from "G scale" model train sources, representing very acceptable 4" high rail (about 75 pound prototype rail).

Power could be supplied by either the common overhead catenary or by (occasionally-found) third rail (code .332 or 0 gauge rail) mounted alongside the running rail.

Any good business man immediately asks what the potential market is. My instinct, coupled with a detailed search of the Internet, shows a list of many thousands of possible buyers. These range from members of the many trolley fan and preservation groups to the many hundreds of members of  trolley groups such as the East Penn Traction Club and the CERA. I might add the untapped thousands of one-inch scale miniature hobbyists.

Identifying them and targeting the advertising of this product to that audience could be done in a straightforward manner through their membership and other popular publications.

Determining an affordable price-point for the model would be of critical importance; setting it properly so that it produces a profit only slightly less so. Building to a cost that ensures a profitable sale would be made easier by your pre-design and construction of the power trucks.

I have posited a project that sets a high bar, but you can see that I have given it much thought. Model trolleys can realistically negotiate much tighter radius curves than comparable main line engines. This means a much wider potential market, without the 5-acre minimum needed for live steam.

Building them ready-to-run will also appeal to a much wider audience, without the restrictive need for metal-working and machining skills. Making available a realistic sound system is a natural adjunct. We need a much wider audience than the very small live steam group. Getting, say, Neiman-Marcus to show it in their famous Christmas catalogue would be a public relations coup of the first magnitude, and is well within the realm of possibility.

If some or any of this triggers a positive response, please let me know. If not, I might well be interested in a quote on the power trucks alone. Thanks for listening to a long-time fan.
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THE RESPONSE QUOTED A PRICE OF $1,500 PER TRUCK, as I recollect --- a fair and reasonable price, but I never did follow up.

Harold Nils "Hal" Pelta

Electric Railways Network
P O Box 208
Ellenton, FL 34222

HNILS@msn.com