# San Francisco street Car



## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

I started on building my Occre street car kit. It will also be powered. The powered tuck kit also has to be assembled. The build is very time consuming as a lot of the bencheds have to be built board by board. So her is where I'm at for now Into 12 hrs of build so far. Later RJD


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Neat, I saw these kits on Ebay, wanted to see how they went together.


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

That's quite impressive. I have one of the Accucraft models. It will be interesting to see how they compare. I've never knew about these kits. What scale are they and what is the Ebay reference?

Doc


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi, 

The scale is 1/24th and inn the USA they are sold by http://www.modelexpo-online.com/search.asp?SKW=OCCRE cat1_VW [email protected] which shows the range; they are Spanish in origin, and the proce is $269, plus the motor whic needs bothe the motor and the kit to fit it into before fitting it into the tram.

No connection with the above - I am in the UK.

Yours Peter.


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Peter,

That answers my questions. The Accucraft model is also 1:24 so they should be similar. Still will be an interesting project to follow.

Doc


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

I've heard they are pretty delicate. I've seen them sell on ebay for a good price.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Did not buy mine on evil bay got it through National RR museum. Good price. No more delicate than some of the USAT stuff. Actually better than I thought. Later RJD


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

The Accucraft model is also 1:24 so they should be similar 
The SF Cable Cars use 3' 6" gauge, so 1/24th is correct for gauge 1 track. Lots of dollhouses to line the streets ?


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well got a bit more done on the street car. A note to folks that also may buy this kit. Make sure to read ahead in the instructions as there are some steps that are incorrect and can cause you extra work. Here are afew more pics. Later RJD









Notice the bars on the windows. these all have to be cut to fit and spaced correctly. Time consuming








Front added on.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Not to play Mr Crabby, but it's a cable car. When I saw "street car," I thought of a trolley, the kind that is powered by electric motors that draw their power from overhead wires. San Francisco has an incredible collection of vintage trolleys and PCC cars that run along the Embarcadero. But the city also has cable cars, which are unique to SF. They're unpowered and are pulled along by cables that run under the streets. The motorman pulls on one of those levers (the other one is the brake), which allows a thingy underneath to grab onto the cable. 

Other than that, nice looking project!


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Here's a link to OcCre showing their various trams and the cable car. Neat looking stuff. 

http://www.occre.com/index.php?option=com_productos&task=listcat&id_cat=18&Itemid=30&lang=en


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## manitouguy (Oct 4, 2008)

yes very neat to see, i also saw these on ebay and was curious 

i designed my version in 1/32 scale in google sketchup and laser cut in basswood - if any are interested i too could start a thread on my version? 

regards, Ron


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Yep Joe you are correct but I was unable to change the title to the thread once I had submitted and I had caught the mistake.







Then I did it again







Later RJD


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

RJD, that's why I hate the internets. 'Cause they are trying to run--and ruin--us! Keep us informed on the progess of your project. And yer, right, thems a lot of bench slats to glue in place.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

RJ, you can email or alert the moderators and ask them to change the topic wording to Cable Car.... easy for them... 

Greg


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Very nice build this far! 
Are the kits detail parts like the levers metal or plastic? 

i designed my version in 1/32 scale in google sketchup and laser cut in basswood - if any are interested i too could start a thread on my version? 

Always! Please do Ron. These kind of threads are always interesting to see.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Paulus: Detail parts are such as levers are like pot metal. Hand rails are brass wire made to fit. All the trucks are also metal and are dummy. You have to buy the motor kit separately. Actually these kits are cheaper to by from United kingdom than buy here and no sales tax to pay. Later RJD


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Thanks for the answer RJD. 
Looking forward to further progres on this model.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Little more progress made on the cable car.









Got roof ribs installed and made the hand hold bars. They are formed from brass stock








Installed the Clerestory sides to the top.








This the power truck kit also started the constucktion of it today








Pretty straight forward








Here is the finished brick. I test ran it and works great. Had to get this part done at this time as I'm going to DCC the car and accessing a place to install it and the lighting needs to be done now before I can continue. Later RJD


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Looks good indeed. Are those brass wheels?


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Yep they be brass. Good and it runs well also. Later RJD


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Finally a little more progress today. Got the LED strip lighting installed so now it's on to building the roof. This a board by board build for the roof so will be time consuming. Later RJD


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking good RJ! 

jerry


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking great RJ.
ModelExpo had it on sale so I ordered one and a power truck kit.
I was already following your build and now I'll be watching even closer for tips, help and ideas.








I also looked at the video build on Occre's website. 

Tommy








Rio Gracie


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Tommy: the best thing to do is read ahead on the instructions. I eliminated one step which I think was unnecessary as you can do the same thing ealier and save cutting the roof arch members. The step is the one they talk about installing the interior hand rail post. Make sure when you glue wood parts that are matched with tabs are fit snug or problems later will occur. Here are a few more pics of the progress.









I would scribe the bottom of the wood board at just past the yellow clamp near the roof rib as this board has to bend to match the front cab area shown by the green clamp








The instruction also fail to tell you that you may have to sand a small strip of wood to fill in excess gap in the roof. I also added an LED light strip that go down the center of the roof. It's hard to make out but one can see the wires. I also will be adding LED head lights all to run off 9 volt battery. The LEDs are rated for 12 volt. That's it for now. Later RJD


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

RJ,
Thanks for the tips and I look forward to your next post.
I ordered my kit on the 10th. Not that I was in a rush to start building being I'm working on 2 other projects at the moment, but I got this e-mail at midnight last night.

"Due to an unusually large response, we are temporarily out of stock of the item(s) you ordered. 
We expect to ship your order within 30 days or sooner." 
Holding my Breath









Tommy








Rio Gracie


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Super job, RJ... Wonderful painstaking modelling...


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Due to an unusually large response, we are temporarily out of stock 
They probably stocked 2 kits and both have now sold to other MLS guys. Yer gotta rush . . .


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

When I got mine it was obtained thought the National RR museum catalog. Later RJD


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well here is the latest work done. Took a few days off to re think a couple of steps to building. Here is what I finally got done. Roof has been sanded and painted. Lot of time to get it smooth and look half way right.

















Also got the top clerestory roof boards in place. Now to sand and then paint. The post are not yet perminatly in place as I need to add the hand rails to them. 

BTW Tommy the step that I said to for get well now it falls into place once the roof is in place. As mentioned in step 26 you will partcially cut out all of the middle part of the roof braces so that the fake lights can be seen. I left them in place to attach my strip LED lighting. 
Later RJD


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

Roof looks really good RJ.
Someday







- when the kit does arrive, I 'll get to look at Step 26. 
Thanks 
Tommy








Rio Gracie


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Hmmmmmmmm.... What's the machinist's hammer for, RJ?????????????

Sure lookin' good....


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Actually Stan I used it for assembling the wheels to the axles. Tight fit. Later RJD


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

He's saving it up to calibrate the "Elmassian module" in late April ha ha!


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## Jethro J. (Apr 4, 2012)

Nice work RJ, always good to see people enjoying there projects.


J.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Spent a few more hours on the build today. Very time consuming. I added the bell pulls today. Made from small brass wire and the provided handle painted then glued in place.








I also added the trim around the front and sides of the car body filled with filler and sanded still more to do on that








The post you saw in earlier post have been remove to add the eyelets so the hand rails can be formed. Slow work. All measurement they give are in mm. I used a pin vise with a #60 bit to make pilot holes to drive the eyelets into the wood supports for the hand rails. Here again Stan the hammer came in handy to tap the eyelets into the holes. Before inserting I use a gel super glue.









They are space per the instructions. The top roof was also completed. That's my 4 hrs of work for to day. Later RJD


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well moving right along a bit more done to the cable car. Only two more pages of instructions







Got the rails mounted for the hand rails.








Making and painting the step. One has to put the small looking rivets in place also. Then paint. Also the protectors (center piece covering the wheels where made and painted.
















Next I installed the power truck. Should have done this prior to putting the protectors in place. When adding the power truck there is no mention of when to install . I would do this prior to the install of the protectors.









Well that's it for now. The next and final is painting detail parts and installing plus putting the head lights in. Later RJD


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Q: are you going to use only one truck?


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well Vic this is the strange thing about powering the unit. It uses the one truck positioned centered on the body. If you want a non powered unit then you would use two truck one at each end. The instructions are not very clear as to installing a powered truck verse a non powered unit. You would think that they would have mentioned what needs to be done in the instructions as far as powered versises non powered. You are on your own when you get to this stage of building.







Later RJD


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

It uses the one truck positioned centered on the body 
RJD, 
Is there any practical reason why you can't put the powered truck at one end and an un-powered truck at the other (apart from having to build another truck?) 

The prototype clearly had two! 


This photo of Classic Cable Car Sightseeing is courtesy of TripAdvisor


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

If using 2 trucks, wouldn't you need to have them swivel a bit too?


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Thats what I'm wondering about, I would have assumed that the power unit would simply replace one of the kits trucks, and the other truck would be one of the unpowered trucks supplied with the kit. Is this not the way the it is ? Sounds downright strange the powering kit would be something so off kilter as a centermounting.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Yes I thought the same thing, however the power truck is longer than the dummy trucks that came with it. I ordered the other truck that is a dummy thinking it was the same length and then put one truck under each end. Not so. As I said the instructions make no reference to what to do if using the power truck kit. The instructions that came with the power truck shows mounting directly to the center of the car. Kind of bumed me out. I guess one could figure how to do with two trucks but for what I will be doing with it, it will be fine. Later RJD


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Just get a second power truck RJ, then we'll put 3 Dash 9 weights in it and assign it to road service ha ha! 

Greg


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well the problems is it would not turn or the truck would not be able to piviot. Later RJD


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Is it possible to add a brass barstock cross piece to act as a bolster? Its so hard to make suggestions without seeing the situation up close but there has to be a way to add a cross piece to the drive frame to act as the pivot and a second cross bar to act as a bolster. The dummy truck doesnt have to match wheelbase, as long as they are the same height.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Vsmith: if you go back to my post of March 2 you will see the truck and it is positioned in the center. Now if one was to do as you suggest then the truck does not have clearance to pivot enough to do tight curves. As it is now this car will go around less than a 4 ft diameter curve. If one was to use two trucks then the over hang of the car sides prevent the trucks from pivoting enough to transverse tighter curves. Later RJD


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Ok then I guess its a good thing I never ordered one to keep my Accu cable car company as I would butcher this one up to make the two trucks work. If Aristo sold the PCC drive blocks seperately maybe that would be small enough to allow movement. Oh well for me. Look forward to seeing yours finished.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well after 60 hrs of work I'm calling it complete. Here are the final pics of the project. Made some mistakes but that is the fun of building and learning. I would recommend puting the metal art work trim in place before installing the hand rails. Make sure these post are square so that the trim fits good.










I wished they would have provided decals instead of paper lettering.


















I used a 9volt battery pack to power the LEDs. The head lights are also LEDs but powered through the truck and the lights change direction when the car does. Hope you all enjoyed looking and thanks for all the comments. Till the next project. Later RJD


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow, that really looks good.
I especially like the lit up picture.
Some day my kit will show up.
Thanks for the tips and pictures. I'm going to need them.

Tommy








Rio Gracie


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Tommy: When yours arrives and you got any questions let me know if I can help. Later RJD


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks great RJ, quite a project!


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Excellent outcome RJ. Beautiful model that seemed to be a challenge from the beginning. I'm glad I got the Accucraft model a few years ago.

Doc


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

That's a really nice looking model. Clearly not a beginners kit! 

It will be interesting to see how complicated the "Jupiter" 4-4-0 will turn out to be.


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

It really does looks great with the decals added, but personally I am glad I found out just how OcCre's intends their power truck to be installed. If I ever do buy this kit I will forgo the OcCre truck and use something else.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Yes Pete it will be interesting if you do build that kit. Like to see it. I'm thinking of getting one also. Yep Doc definitely not a beginners kit. I've built some tough kits and this one is at the top of the list. It was fun tho. Good winter project. Now it's time for the out doors







I do have an R/C project to do on my live steam EB&T Later RJD


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## Joe Mascitti (Oct 30, 2008)

Great job as usual! Can't wait to come see it!


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Just what you need for your RR Joe.







Later RJD


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

Well there will be no San Francisco Cable Car for me. Came home to a message from Model Expo that said "due to a conflict in their distribution and their expired contract with Occre my back order was cancelled".
I guess the $99.99 sales price was too good to be true. 
RJ, Thanks for the pictures, tips and building log. I enjoyed it.


Tommy








Rio Gracie


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Tommy: I know you where at a good price but if still interested I got mine from the National RR museum that sends out a catalog. My wife saw it there and then ordered it. Just a thought. Later RJD


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Tommy if you are still interested in the car here is some info. They are available from Historic Rail 1-800-261-5922









Later RJD


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks RJ.
I have some other projects to do here in the Rio Gracie **** Shop.
Maybe later down the road, who knows?

Tommy








Rio Gracie


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Great Tommy maybe it will make a fine winter project down the road for ya. It was fun to build. Later RJD


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