Western Hobbycraft Trolleys

1) Those are trolley fenders, designed to keep unwary pedestrians from falling under the car.   On the prototype, the fender would be folded down in the direction of travel and up in the back of the car.  I generally operate them with both fenders raised.

2) Western Hobbycraft is no longer in business, and no parts are available, to the best of my knowledge. What did you need? 

Mitch

Here's a couple close up photos I have of my trolley.  Hopefully this answers your question, but I can take additional photos if you need more details.  It is a really nice trolley - I got two of them when the owner of Western Hobbycraft was shutting down his business.

Dave - Great pictures and it appears that one fender is up and the other is down on your trolley.  Did it come this way from the factory or were you able to adjust the position?

Mitch - thanks for explaining the function of the fenders and how they were positioned on the prototype.  I was looking for a couple of poles and maybe a fender.

Are the fenders adjustable up and down ... I am concerned that they may break if I try to rotate them.

Tom

there is one on ebay

Congratulations on your purchase of these trolleys.

The gentleman that made these was a very early Forum member.   He had an absolute passion for manufacturing these.

The pedestrian fenders on these models were in the down position.  They aren't made to be moved up and down.

As far as I know these fenders were made of brass.    Thus this material lends to being moved but very gently.  It may be that the former owner bent it up to represent prototypical operation.

The call is yours of course if you decide to relocate down.

@Tom Jasper posted:

Mitch - thanks for explaining the function of the fenders and how they were positioned on the prototype.  I was looking for a couple of poles and maybe a fender.

The poles show up from time to time on eBay.  One note:  They fold "backwards" upon themselves, and you can damage them if you try to lower them like traditional trolley poles.

Are the fenders adjustable up and down ... I am concerned that they may break if I try to rotate them.

They are fully adjustable, if you do so gently. 

Mitch

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

The poles show up from time to time on eBay.  One note:  They fold "backwards" upon themselves, and you can damage them if you try to lower them like traditional trolley poles.

Mitch

Those "backwards" poles are prototypical, Wagner and Q-Car offered them.

I believe that the prototype for the Western Railcraft car was a Johnstown (PA) Traction car Similar to this one at the Branford Trolley Museum:

The way I have my fenders is how the trolley came from the factory.  It matches the photos that Allegheny posted.  I have historical photos showing the Trolley with the fenders in this position so I think it is correct.
Being brass, I'd agree that bending them could break them off or cake off the paint.

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

The poles show up from time to time on eBay.  One note:  They fold "backwards" upon themselves, and you can damage them if you try to lower them like traditional trolley poles.

They are fully adjustable, if you do so gently. 

Mitch

Mitch - not sure what you mean by fold "backwards" upon themselves.  Does this mean the pole should be rotated 180 degrees and then folded into the clip on the roof or folded in the direction of the other poll?

Thanks, Tom

BTW, I was born and raised in Johnstown and lived a few blocks from the Moxham Johnstown Traction Company barn.  My mom operated these trolleys during WWII. So, I have been looking for these JTC trolleys with different Johnstown Borough names - I have two in hand and two more on the way.

Does anyone know if these trolleys came with instructions?  And, if so, can they be found in PDF format on the internet ... I have looked, but have found any.

Thanks,

Tom

@Tom Jasper posted:

Mitch - not sure what you mean by fold "backwards" upon themselves.  Does this mean the pole should be rotated 180 degrees and then folded into the clip on the roof or folded in the direction of the other poll?

Pole up:

Pole down:

See what I mean about the reverse hinge?

BTW, I was born and raised in Johnstown and lived a few blocks from the Moxham Johnstown Traction Company barn.  My mom operated these trolleys during WWII. So, I have been looking for these JTC trolleys with different Johnstown Borough names - I have two in hand and two more on the way.

There's more than one?  Interesting.  Mine is marked "MOXHAM".

@Tom Jasper posted:

Does anyone know if these trolleys came with instructions?  And, if so, can they be found in PDF format on the internet ... I have looked, but have found any.

No, but I do have a diagram showing how to override the E-unit and to power internal bulbs:

https://ogrforum.com/...obby-craft-trolley-s

Hope this helps!

Mitch

Thanks Mitch for taking the time to send the pictures ... very helpful.  Tom

It's not entirely clear to me from the pictures, but is it possible that the attachments on which the trolley poles are mounted need to be turned around so that the poles are not bent when locked down?

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

It's not entirely clear to me from the pictures, but is it possible that the attachments on which the trolley poles are mounted need to be turned around so that the poles are not bent when locked down?

No; Western Hobbycraft deliberately built 'em that way.

Mitch

That doesn't necessarily mean they're correct. Take a close look at the image of the full scale "Coopersdale" trolley. It appears the pole pivots from the end of the mount nearest to the end of the car. Opposite to the model. I'm not insisting the model has it reversed - just asking. Are there any other pictures of the prototype? Nice trolleys either way.

MELGAR

Definitely no instructions.  I've added photos below of my trolley that has not been out of the box, just as I received it years ago from Western Hobbycraft.

@EmpireBuilderDave posted:

Definitely no instructions.  I've added photos below of my trolley that has not been out of the box, just as I received it years ago from Western Hobbycraft.

Dave - Thanks for your post with pictures.  Confirms that the fenders were both in the horizontal position and no instructions from the factory.  Strange that one of my 2nd hand Trolleys came with one fender up and the other down and the second trolley has both fenders up.  Wonder if over the years the factory made changes in the orientation of the fenders. Tom

Most all of these are conventional. Put them on the track and turn up the transformer.

The Johnstown version pictured above had a TMCC option. That might of had instructions. None of the conventional ones had them.

Pete

Hi Friends,

I have a pretty good collection of Western Hobbycraft including:  Johnstown (1 with and 1 without sound), New Orleans, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Chicago, and NYC  (Third Ave Rwy).

It is interesting to note that ALL have Johnstown routes: Mine  show  Morrellville, Coopersdale, Roxbury, Ferndale, and Moxham.

Unfortunately my "sound version" only has a horn and trolley sound--no speaking.

Here are a couple of photos.  Some of mine have fenders down and others up.Lew

Nice pictures Lew.  Interesting that the fender positions differ from trolley to trolley.  I am embarking on finding all of the Johnstown Trolleys ... my home town.  Thanks for posting.  Tom

I find that the fenders are too fragile, so I have taken them off my city cars such as the Third Avenue car.

Hi all, I recently picked up the Morrellville Version of this trolley (Green and White) and it has the QSI board.  It runs in one direction but nothing in reverse. I assume it is locked in the forward direction. Any idea on how to unlock or otherwise get it to run forward and reverse.  I was using my MTH 4000 transformer. I also have a old TMCC base - I get the impression that the QSI might be able to handle TMCC? But I am a DCS guy.

Also I posted on the brass forum a question about soldering copper wire to brass.  The ground lead separated from the brass truck motor mount. A soldering iron will not get hot enough to even form a puddle of solder to attach the wire to.  I have a micro torch, but am nervous about melting things.  Any advice on this is appreciated.  The lights do come on when properly connected.

This is a really nice looking trolley.  Glad I picked one up.

Question for trolley owners -  The trolley has the QSI board but no speaker.  I think the speaker pins are located on the board where the arrow points?  Correct?  What speaker is needed here? Brand / Size / Ohms 

You can see the detached ground wire.  I think I will splice into the brown wire already soldered to the mount. There is plenty of extra wire under the board for the splice.

@ScoutingDad posted:

Hi all, I recently picked up the Morrellville Version of this trolley (Green and White)

San Francisco Muni, going by the photo below. 

and it has the QSI board.  It runs in one direction but nothing in reverse. I assume it is locked in the forward direction. Any idea on how to unlock or otherwise get it to run forward and reverse.

Here's the diagram again, showing where you have to wire in a switch to turn the E unit on and off: 

Going by the photo below, you still have the jumper in place.  Does it cycle forward-neutral-nothing? 

I also have a old TMCC base - I get the impression that the QSI might be able to handle TMCC? But I am a DCS guy.

The board you have is a DCRU (DC Reverse Unit) only.  No digital,  no sound as far as I know.   Have zero idea what the other chips and such are for, unless to support a Protosound or similar board which is connected using that socket you pointed out below.

Also I posted on the brass forum a question about soldering copper wire to brass.  The ground lead separated from the brass truck motor mount. A soldering iron will not get hot enough to even form a puddle of solder to attach the wire to.  I have a micro torch, but am nervous about melting things.  Any advice on this is appreciated.  The lights do come on when properly connected.

I'd recommend a soldering gun such as a Weller;  they tend to have more oomph than a pencil soldering iron. 

This is a really nice looking trolley.  Glad I picked one up.

They are gorgeous cars! 

@ScoutingDad posted:

Question for trolley owners -  The trolley has the QSI board but no speaker.  I think the speaker pins are located on the board where the arrow points?  Correct?  What speaker is needed here? Brand / Size / Ohms

See above. 

You can see the detached ground wire.  I think I will splice into the brown wire already soldered to the mount. There is plenty of extra wire under the board for the splice.

I'd have to see it in person to be sure.  Be careful when powering it up! 

Definitely a Muni paint job, and nicely done. 

Mitch

@M. Mitchell Marmel  Thanks for the reply.

So the board is the reversing unit - I thought QSI was sound.  On transformer it goes as follows: power on = neutral > reverse button = run  > reverse button = stop > reverse button = nothing > reverse button = nothing > reverse button = run.  (It might be only two reverse button pushes to get it moving again, but it think it was 3)

Are you saying if I pull the jumper it will cycle F-N-R ? I guess I did not understand the figure from the earlier post. Replacing the jumper with a toggle switch for remote e-unit control did not make any sense to me. Especially since leaving it in would have "normal e-unit operation" .  I am missing something.  To me wiring in a switch (say a slider) would either open or close that contact. Once I knew which position was F-N-R I would never change it again. If that's the case, why wire in a switch? You can probably tell I know nothing about e-units. Another learning opportunity ; )

While on the track with power on, I touched the loose wire to the ground - lights came on. Looks like someone tried to do a repair but was unable to solder the wire back on, but hard to tell. Or it was a bad solder job at the factory.

Trolley ran fine in one direction before I took it apart. I assume it will when I put it back together - lights working this time.

Inserting this jumper in the DCRU is the same as flipping an old Lionel e-unit lever to off in order to lock the engine in F, N, or R. Using two wires and an SPST switch instead lets you lock/unlock from outside without removing the shell. I believe a slot and two screw holes were cut in one end of the floor for this purpose.

@OddIsHeRU  Thanks - there is a slot punched into the floor behind one of the conductors.  Now it is on to finding a tiny slider for this.

I did find a lot of info on OGR regarding these DCRUs. But did not find enough to explain how or why the jumper works the way it does. I'll keep reading.   Even Google points here, that is saying a lot. 

Tom:

We may have spoken about this, but my trolley that I bought new in 2003 has both "running boards" in the "up" position. I think they were originally "down" but after several accidental bumps they were bent "up".

Attached pdf is the instructions I received with the trolley. Not exactly an instruction "manual" but some good information you may find interesting even almost a year after your original post LOL!

Happy railroading!

Stan

@M. Mitchell Marmel  @OddIsHeRU

Gentlemen, thank you for your help on this. Turns out, when I soldered (re-attached) the lights neutral/common wire to the neutral/common truck it also enabled F-N-R !  This wire runs directly from the lights in the upper shell, so I could not imagine it might have an effect on the DCRU.  So M is correct (as he already knew) the jumper enables normal e-unit function as shown in the figure.   I went ahead and ordered micro slide switches to have a switch to turn the e-unit function on and off.  A project for another day.

I did have a soldering attachment for my micro-torch. This provided enough heat to form a solder pad to which I then re-attached the wire.

I'll post a video this evening of the trolley running on my layout.   Jeff

I remember when the owner of Western Hobbycraft was active on this forum.  I think he'd be happy to see the legacy of all the trolleys constructed and out there on layouts.

Walter Cameron, creator of Western Hobbycraft trolleys, passes | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)

These were wonderful and quite the buy when Walt was closing.  I still have mine new in the box, never opened.  I have a "thing" for trolleys and PCCs.  Bowser also made some really nice stuff as did Pride Lines.

Best 3-rail O gauge trolleys ever offered, in my humble opinion. And Walt offered them at a ridiculously reasonable price. Like Lewrail, who posted above, I have six of them. I never had the pleasure of meeting Walt in person, but we corresponded frequently and talked on the phone a good number of times. Definitely a very nice fellow who left us far too soon.