# Mr. Rogers Trolley model



## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

I recently noticed a discussion in another forum about the availability of a Mr. Rogers Neighborhood Trolley and wanted to share a project I have been working on for the last few weeks. 
HTML clipboard 

The Pittsburgh Garden Railway Society built a large scale train layout for Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital in the 1990's. We have maintained it and seen it enjoyed by untold numbers of patients and visitors to the hospital.


In May of 2008 a new Children's Hospital will open. We have been asked to design and build a new layout that will be larger and, we hope, better than the original.


One of the tracks on the layout will be a point to point, something that is typically used with a trolley. Since Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was developed and filmed at WQED in Pittsburgh it made sense to use the trolley from Mr. Rogers in the layout.
None of the commercially available trolleys does a very good job of depicting the ones that were on the TV show so I decided to scratch build one for the hospital layout.

This photo shows the work done to date. There are a few other photos and details on construction on my web page at: http://www.trainelectronics.com/Trolley_MrRogers/


I plan on updating that web page as things progress.












dave


----------



## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice work, Dave. It will be super to follow the progress on this model..... The Eggliner truck should work very well...


----------



## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

Stan - it is coming along well - I chose the AristoCraft power unit for a couple or reasons. First & foremost its wheel spacing was a close match to what I have seen of the TV show's trolley. I also spent some time examining the inner workings and found that it uses ball bearings... that should give good life. The extra electrical contacts should help to keep the unit running. 

dave


----------



## ohioriverrailway (Jan 2, 2008)

Dave, that's going to be a good-looking model. Fred would be happy.


----------



## dana (Jan 7, 2008)

love it . 4 pm on chanel 9 (now channel 27 ) th pbs in seattle would have mr rodgers and his freinds including the trolly . the trolly was the best part along with the cool traffic lights in the living room ( my mom wouldnt let me have one the family room ) impressionable 6 years old i was


----------



## dana (Jan 7, 2008)

ermm (In May of 2008) do you mean may 2009 as its now december 31 2008 and may was seven months ago 

Mr x the owl


----------



## Dean Whipple (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice model, the kids (6 to 60) will love it....please keep us appraised of your progress, I'll look forward to seeing the finished trolley.......


----------



## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

The last two days were spent priming, painting and illuminating the clearstory. The project is coming along nicely. 

More photos and details at http://www.trainelectronics.com/Trolley_MrRogers/








dave


----------



## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

Good day - the Mr. Rogers trolley is just about finished - here is the latest photo - there are a number of detailed photos on my web site at:
http://www.trainelectronics.com/Trolley_MrRogers/ 

I still have some details to attend to but the majority of it is complete.

dave


----------



## Dean Whipple (Jan 2, 2008)

Dave, 
It looks great...I like the picture on your web page with the lights on the best...


----------



## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I hate it when they say G -scale.. what scale is it???? Very good thread and model.


----------



## cudak888 (Mar 22, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 01/03/2009 12:43 PM
I hate it when they say G -scale.. what scale is it???? Very good thread and model.

Precisely why I call it, simply, "G." If that isn't confusing enough, I occasionally refer to it as "45mm."









(I'm usually 1:32, G-1) 
-Kurt


----------



## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 01/03/2009 12:43 PM
I hate it when they say G -scale.. what scale is it???? Very good thread and model.


It is actually more pleasant to use G-B-D

To loosely (very loosely) quote from Wikipedia on the subject: Scale

"... often utilize scales by shifting (transposing) a ... pattern by some constant number of scale steps. This process is known as _scalar transposition_.

... constructed ..." [on] "... stacks of thirds, with or without accidentals, built above a particular scale degree, which is called the root ... . Thus in a "G scale" produces the chord G-B-D."



OH! Wait, you were talking about music, weren't you?


----------



## Richard Weatherby (Jan 3, 2008)

scale ... as in fishy. The model is an excellent reproduction!! Very well done!! 
Dean, I feel left out being past 60. 
I refuse to grow up. Its my neighborhood, and you can be my neighbor.


----------



## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Wonderful, Dave. It's great..... Super paint job and lettering. Looks fantastic.


----------



## MatthewB (Nov 12, 2008)

Dave, 

that looks fantastic. May I ask where the motorblock came from? I know it was intended for an Eggliner, but I was wondering if you got it from a source that sells them by themselves. 

Thanks!


----------



## railgeek (Jan 15, 2008)

*Nice Work!!! I believe the full scale would be:*
*E-G-B-D-F 
See how many musicians there are in the thread*


----------



## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By railgeek on 01/03/2009 9:56 PM
*Nice Work!!! I believe the full scale would be:*
*E-G-B-D-F 
See how many musicians there are in the thread*



True, but I cannot whistle that many notes all at once.


----------



## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By MatthewB on 01/03/2009 5:52 PM
Dave, 

that looks fantastic. May I ask where the motorblock came from? I know it was intended for an Eggliner, but I was wondering if you got it from a source that sells them by themselves. 

Thanks!


Matthew - the motor block was removed from an Eggliner. It is availble as a separate unit but it is out of stork right now - the part number is: * 29351* *[script removed]2 AXLE POWER TRUCK FOR U25B/FA1/FB1/RS3 *

I built the trolley so that two screws and one plug are all that connect the motor block to the body. That way we can swap out the power unit in a minute or two. 

dave


----------



## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice easy installation, Dave. I like the added electrical pickups on the wheels. Sure gives more positive connections. The bridge rectifier adds full lighting in each direction as well. Nice touch. You've given me a great idea by grinding the LED's flat to give a more dispursed light. I'm going to try that on the interior LED's I installed in the Doodlebug.

The mounting is a very nice way to remove the truck when necessary. Although that truck should run forever.   

Nice job all the way around....


----------



## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

Stan - if grinding the tips of the LEDs flat doesn't do it for you try using a drill bit to make the flattened end concave - that is what the folks who make LED lights for Christmas trees do - you might get a better concave depression in the end by pressing a heated round piece of metal into the flattened LED - I have to experiment a bit myself to see what works best. 

We have run Eggliners for dozens if not hundreds of hours at train shows and none show any symptoms of failure... I hope they hold up as well at the hospital! 

dave


----------



## MatthewB (Nov 12, 2008)

Dave, 

Thanks for the info about that motor block. I've read that those things will run forever. 

When you decide to start selling those trolleys let us know. You could have a nice job selling them. 

Matthew


----------

