Atlas O Industrial Rails Trolley question

Being a big-time trolley fan, I have a number of the Atlas O trolleys, three of the original Lionel #60 trolleys, and a good number of trolleys and PCCs made by other manufacturers.

None of them get prolonged/uninterrupted running time because I rotate them on a fairly regular basis, but I haven't had any of my Atlas versions fail yet.

I find the Lionel #60s to be very noisy (they always were...one of them is my boyhood original), and do like the appearance and quiet operation of the Atlas models. I also have had good experience with the MTH Birney and Brill models.

In my entire traction roster, my favorites are the Western Hobbycraft cars (for overall fidelity of detail) and the MTH PCC cars (with PS2 and speed control).

The only trolley I've ever had is an Atlas IR. Typically it's been run in slow back'n'forth, but sometimes I send it sailing around the loops just to air it out. It probably has about ten trouble-free hours on it and now I'm all nervous!

Pete

We've had one on our club layout for quite a while... ran all summer, every Saturday for 3 hours... just bumps and goes!

I have a few at home and have had no issues. I like the fact that they can be bump and go OR e-unit controlled.

Ed

I had two Industrial Rail trolleys when they first came out and my experience was like yours. Both were dead by the end of the holiday season. I have no experience with any Industrial Rail products since Atlas took over the line from UMD.

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I had two Industrial Rail trolleys when they first came out and my experience was like yours. Both were dead by the end of the holiday season.

Atlas improved on the earlier IR mechanism once they acquired the line.

I have one of the original Industrial Rail trolleys, and it runs like a charm. However, I don't have more than a few hours of running time on it, and I don't use the "bump and return" mechanism.

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Atlas improved on the earlier IR mechanism once they acquired the line.

Thanks Allan,

Would you know if the New York City 3rd Ave version has the old or new mechanism? I purchased both within the last 14 months, but they were likely older stocked items.

BTW, I really like these trolleys. Perhaps an upgraded mechanism is the answer.

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Originally posted by NYC Fan:

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Atlas improved on the earlier IR mechanism once they acquired the line.

Thanks Allan,

Would you know if the New York City 3rd Ave version has the old or new mechanism? I purchased both within the last 14 months, but they were likely older stocked items.

BTW, I really like these trolleys. Perhaps an upgraded mechanism is the answer.

The older ones came in a blue box marked Industrial Rail and had UMD's(United Model Distibutors)logo, who developed the line, as well. Anything that has the new mechanism will have Atlas's logo on the box as well.

Atlas reversed the position of the contact roller on each truck. That moved them farther apart and improved operation.

I dont remember the issue that caused me to pull my New York City 3rd Ave version apart but I found that a long trace on the edge of the board was burned/disconnected. After replacing the trace with a wire it appears to run fine. I think the leds on each end light up in the wrong direction but I have not looked into that yet.
~Bill

Skip, The NYC Third Avenue trolleys had a partial batch that caused problems. Once Atlas O discovered the production glitch at the factory, they replaced the ones from the bad batch. They replaced mine (NYC Third Ave Trolley) when I informed them of the problem and sent it in. My current Atlas O IR Trolley has a fair number of hours on it now, including bump-and-go operation, and has been trouble free since being replaced.

I can't believe they fixed the one I sent in because I got it back in five days flat! However, other owners who had the same problem reported similar fast turn around times. Other than that one batch, as far as I am aware, there were no further reports of problems with the Atlas O version of the IR Trolleys. I bought these trolleys in different paint schemes for several years and never had a problem with any other production runs of them.

The Atlas O/Industrial Rail trolleys are different from the earlier UMD built trolleys of the same basic design in several ways;

They have metal gears instead of the original plastic ones. That means you don't have to use your trolley as a shelf piece or a lighted diner if and when the plastic gears strip. (I have an original UMD version in this condition--sigh)

Stronger reverse unit for more reliable operation.

Broader spreed range, the Atlas O version will run steadily at three to four volts, which is too slow for the bump and go feature to work. Looks great running slow and that doesn't matter for operation because the trolley also has an electronic e unit. (What a nice set of operating features.)

Third rail pick ups located on the outer portion of the two trucks,rather than the inner part. This lets the Atlas O/IR trolley negotiate most layout switch set ups with out stalling.

They came in a variety of accurate and well executed prototypical paint schemes for trolley systems around the country, which is why I own several of them instead of just one or two. The Atlas O/IR trolleys are not O scale (they are about 1:55 scale) but with their authentic paint decoration they look as good as they run.

Skip, I think your trolley may be from that one bad batch. If so, a replacement should perform much better for you. Hope this helps.

Ed Boyle

I had the IR version and it crapped out after a relatively short time of operation in 'bump' mode.

I remember reading here that when Atlas took over this line, they replaced the plastic gears with metal gears, but I cannot confirm this as I have not purchased the Atlas version. If this is true, it likely would greatly improve the reliabilty. My IR version, will currently not even move, much less bump and go.

Thanks Ed. I think your right. Bob Thatcher gave me the number of a contact person at Atlas and he seemed to be familiar with the problem and told me to send them back and he would be happy to repair them!

I am very happy, as I like this trolley a lot and it fit right in with my New York City layout.

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I had a older one that died, in bump and go, after about an hour. My new one runs slower in one direction than the other, resulting in it having to go too fast in one direction to reverse it in the other. I love the looks of the IR, but now run a clunky-looking MTH instead.

Skip,

Happy to help.

I like these trolleys very much and wish you the best with your two repaired units.

Ed

Folks,

Looking at these responses it seems that some buyers don't realize the difference between the earlier UMD versions, which were usually painted blue and cream, with the significantly improved Atlas O versions that feature prototypical paint jobs.

If you are disappointed with your UMD trolley, I suggest you try a newer one. I think you will like it!

Ed Boyle

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found that a long trace on the edge of the board was burned/disconnected.

That trace connected the power pick-up rollers from the two trucks.

A derail where one pick-up landed on a outer rail while the other stayed on the center rail, would work like a fuse and burn up before the transformer would notice.

The failure mode is that the trolley will stall on any trunout or crossing track as you're then only running with one pick-up.

--Joe