Lots of Action in a 4' by 8' Trolley Layout

That is so cool.  I only have the #60 trolleys so they can't be controlled like that.  I'm jealous!

What were you using for traffic control on the trolley loop?

Cool layout! Bigger is not always better! JohnA

necrails,

I used good, old-fashioned, isolated rails !  The trigger tracks, right before the quarter turn leading in to each station, have the outer rail connected to the outer rail of the track in front of each station.  When the trolley completes the circuit on the trigger track, the trolley in the station takes off!  I tell people it is 70-year old technology.

I also wired it with toggle switches, so I can run one train around without any stop-and-start action, or run one train with a timed stop in front of one station using a Lionel IR controller.

Dennis

Definitely a crowd pleaser, for kids especially. Nice job, Dennis!

Why can't you control the #60 trolley that way?     I have a bump and go hand car that I think works the same way.    It just runs in one direction until the bump.    It would stop when power is off and start when power is on.

I'm pretty sure you can.  I plan on doing something similar to my 2 trolleys and gang car in a couple of months.  I thought he was using some programmable ones since they are obviously an updated version of the 50s version.

Update:  Thinking about it, if you have N stations, you will need to have N+1 trolleys, right?

Very nice. Plenty of action in a small footprint.

texgeekboy and prrjim,

What I have found with Lionel trolleys, handcars, etc.  is that they do not respond as quickly as the Rail King trolleys nor do they operate effectively as slower speeds.  They take longer to accelerate, consequently, the activation track is not long enough to get the Lionel trolley out of the station in time.

The Rail King trolleys and handcars  respond much more quickly providing a more worry-free experience !

Thanks for all of the kind words!  It does draw attention from visitors.  One thing I have found in doing show is that "non-train" people and kids want lights, sound, and action !

Dennis, When you mentioned the trigger tracks, do you route them to a relay ? If so, what brand and model # ? 

If the trigger tracks were longer, would it work with longer trains?

Thanks, UnclePeteRR

The trigger track is just a 15" piece of track with the isolated outer rail connected to the isolated outer rail of the track in the station.  When the trolley hits the trigger track, the wheels complete the circuit and sends ground to the station track, completing that circuit.  No relays whatsoever.

Longer trains would not work for me because the trigger track is is only a quarter turn in front of the station track - not enough room for a train.  But you could easily space it out to work with longer trains.

This is so wicked cool!!!! Thanks for sharing!

Really a crowd pleaser and neat to watch the automatic operation of the stop and go with BOTH trolleys on the SAME track .........even for some of us who have been in the hobby for some time.

Nice Dennis

That looks nice.  What trolleys do you operate?  I know very little about O Gauge trolleys.

Very cool!

Apple & Orange Line,

I "collect" the Rail King trolleys.  They are robust and responsive!  The newer trolleys have LED's on them that really draw attention.  Several are Christmas themed.

My roster includes 30-2096, 30-2545, 30-2583, 30-5141, 30-5176, 30-5203, 30-5209, and the M&M trolley.

Thanks! I'll check them out.

Very fun layout

@dennish posted:

Apple & Orange Line,

I "collect" the Rail King trolleys.  They are robust and responsive!  The newer trolleys have LED's on them that really draw attention.  Several are Christmas themed.

My roster includes 30-2096, 30-2545, 30-2583, 30-5141, 30-5176, 30-5203, 30-5209, and the M&M trolley.

Have you retrofit any of them with LEDs?

John

@Craftech posted:

Have you retrofit any of them with LEDs?

John

I'm  wondering like John.......are you looking at LEDs for retrofitting ?       The LEDs are a huge benefit on the layout.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

I'm  wondering like John.......are you looking at LEDs for retrofitting ?       The LEDs are a huge benefit on the layout.

Moreover at the low speeds you run the trolley you can barely see the incandescent light inside.

John

I did not retrofit the trolley with LED.  It came that way as a special order from Pat's Trains - 30-5203 Wheeling Traction Bump-N-Go

@dennish posted:

I did not retrofit the trolley with LED.  It came that way as a special order from Pat's Trains - 30-5203 Wheeling Traction Bump-N-Go

I'll have to open one and see if I can retrofit.

Thanks Dennis,

John

Dennis, I have the MTH Army Trolley, that i want to kitbash into a MP unit with siren and red/blue flashers.

Back to you layout; I used to put on a lot of public displays with buttons to push. Now I think I have to go the

touchless  route with some kind of infrared  or other activation. Do you have any suggestions or

products to recommend? UnclePeterRR

Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Who makes the Stop-n-Go control?

Jim K

Clean and mean--I dig it!

UnclePeteRR ,

When I run one train and have it stop in the station for 4-5 seconds, I use a Lionel 153IR controller (6-14111) placed at the other end of the layout.  The power for the track section in front of the station can be turned off entirely from the layout and controlled directly from the IR controller, which allows you to turn the power to the track section on and off momentarily.

It takes a little adjusting depending on how fast the train is running.  When the train breaks the IR sensor beam, the power to the track section in front of the station is momentarily turned off.  Depending on how fast the train takes to get to the track section and how long you want it to remain paused in the station is what takes some adjustment.  Usually about 15-20 seconds will allow the train to reach the "dead" track and sit for a few seconds before taking off as power is restored to the track section.

As I type this, I realize that it is difficult to explain the process in a few sentences !  Having designed it myself, I know what I am talking about, but I do not know if my explanation will address questions from others who may not be familiar with this process !

Trying my best,

Dennis

Jim K,

The Stop-n-Go control is just isolated rails - no purchased product:

"The trigger track is just a 15" piece of track with the isolated outer rail connected to the isolated outer rail of the track in the station.  When the trolley hits the trigger track, the wheels complete the circuit and sends ground to the station track, completing that circuit.  No relays whatsoever."

Thanks, Dennis

@dennish posted:

I did not retrofit the trolley with LED.  It came that way as a special order from Pat's Trains - 30-5203 Wheeling Traction Bump-N-Go

I looked up the manual for that trolley Dennis and found that the two directional outside lights are indeed LEDs.             The two interior lights are supposed to be incadescencts.

This would have been a nice how to article in OGR.  I keep looking at this layout . It would be a great layout at our club but we do not have anymore room.

Let me see if I understand this. Would I be correct in saying that the piece of track in front of each station has both the inner and outer rails isolated with only the center rail connected to one terminal of the transformer.  When the trolly traverses the trigger track, the wheels bridge the inner rail of the trigger track to the outer rail of the trigger track thus providing the outer rail of the trigger track access to the 2nd terminal of the transformer briefly, courtesy of the trolly wheels. During this brief period that the trolly is traversing the trigger track, the outer rail in front of the station now has access to the 2nd terminal of the transformer as well, as it is wired to the trigger track outside rail.  Now the trolly at the station has access to both terminals of the transformer via the center rail and outside rail only and moves out.   The inner rail at each station  never participates in the power circuit. Is that how it works? Thank you Dennis!