I picked up this sweet little trolley at The Big E show in Springfield, MA last weekend:
She’s a super-smooth runner, with many improvements over past versions of Lionel trolleys. Detail improvements include nicer looking bumpers, twin-sprung trolley poles on the roof with hold-down brackets on each end, and protection grates over the windows.
Here’s a closer view of the added on window grates and new roof details.
Underneath is a single slider in place of roller pick-ups. While I’d certainly pay a little more for higher quality rollerss, this seems to do the job just fine.
Here’s the new Lionel trolley pictured next to one using the original Post War tooling. The big difference here, and in the shot above is in the mechanical construction of the bumpers. On the original and it’s off-spring, there was a mechanical slide that ran the length of the trolley that worked as a reversing mechanism. This required quite a “hit” to activate the reverse. On the new version the bumpers are separately applied, and activate a hidden micro-switch to reverse the unit. This allows for two major operating improvements: reversing at lower operating speeds, and therefor fewer derailments when hitting another motorized unit!
Great review and shots!! I think I saw it at the show. I paused long enough to drool before my wife and kids were darting out of sight in the crowd. Did you enjoy the show? I did.[:D]
I just had my PostWar #60 Trolley completely rebuilt… $69.50 with shipping… the armature was rewired as was the field… runs like a champ now, even at 8-10 watts! This one would look really nice on the two line trolley line with the PostWar #60… seeing that I’m going to need another trolley now! [:)] Thanks for the review and the pics were awesome!
Kooljock – well, you sold me! Ordered one from Charlie Ro. Looks like a winner. I had to pay $59.95, but that seems reasonable for a nice piece like this.