Bowser PCC or Bachmann street car?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Any opinions on the quality of either the Bowser PCC trolly or Bachmann Peter Witt street car?

I’m most curious about the detailing and how smooth they run. Having a few Stewart diesels, I’m guessing that the Bowser comes with a Canon drive?

Thanks for the help…

Tom

2

Tom,

there has been a staff review on the Bowser PCC trolley - look here :

Bowser PCC Trolley

Here is a short summary of the review “With its reliable drivetrain, the Bowser PCC car runs as good as it looks.”

3

Review of Bachmann Peter Witt: (Actually a commentary on a review, but has some good information):

http://www.trolleyville.com/tv/times/sept2008/Scale%20Rails%20Review.htm

4

Thanks for the info, fellas. [:D] Should have occurred to me to check the MR Review page. [D)]

Tom

5

I have a Peter Witt from Bachmann, which I bought undecorated and painted and decalled:

It’s a very nice model. The undecorated version is basically a kit, but without directions. However, by checking the pictures it’s not hard to assemble. The car runs very well. There is a well for a 1/2-inch round speaker in the floor. The interior is mostly open, and has seats. I added passengers to mine.

6

Bowser Trolleys, proven mechanism that goes back to the 50’s and PARTS (made in the USA) are available for repair issues if ever needed.

Bachmann Trolleys, not a proven mechanism and parts (Made in China) may or may not available.

Rick J

7

The Bowser trolleys actually have a new drivetrain developed about 10 years ago now, replacing the old vertical Pittman motor drive. They have a high quality Mabuchi 3-pole can motor (runs like a 5-pole motor!), I believe metal truck construction, and tough brass and delrin gearing. Bowser drives are excellent quality, and last forever.

8

I like the looks of the Peter Witt cars more than the PCC cars, and therefore I have the Bachmann streetcars serving my downtown. Also, the L A paint scheme matched the colors of my CMW transit buses. I heard Bowser will release a new line of streetcar in HO later this year which will not be a PCC car.

The motor burned out in one of my Bachmann cars because the streetcar stalled behind a building while I was running a train elsewhere and I did not notice it until too late. It stalled because the gears in the trucks are exposed and a particle of ballast somehow was picked up which jammed the gears. My streets of course are not ballasted, and this was a flukey thing. Bachmann sold me a replacement motor. Alternatively, they had a complete replacement chassis available.

Lessons learned. Keep the streets very clean at all times. Do not operate the streetcars without watching them.

So far, I do not have the overhead wires installed, and the streetcar gets its power from the two rails below it. After installing overhead wire, the cars can be changed to pickup power from the wire and from the rails. I just purchased a kit for the wire with poles. I do not know when I’ll have time to do this project.

Here is one of the streetcars operating downtown.

9

I have three of the Bowser PCCs (along with a Con Cor, which is pretty decent), and two of the Bowsers are the newer release with Tsunami sound decoder and really better-looking wheels. My bottom line: the Bowsers are just fantastic! My only quibble is that they are a bit of a PITA to open for the required lubrication. Otherwise, they look great and, once lubricated as directed in the instructions, run superbly.

Juan