O gauge trolley set by Atlas O

During the original incarnation of the Industrial Rail line, one of the nicest products offered was that trolley car (see my review in the May 2001 issue). It was an authentic-looking, traditional-sized (O-27) model that ran quietly, had the popular bumper-activated reverse unit for point-to-point operation, and was offered in three paint schemes.

Industrial Rail changed hands not once, but twice, and when Atlas O unveiled its intentions to re-launch the line of traditionally sized gear, the first product I asked about was the trolley. I was told to be patient. Well I was, and I’m pretty pleased with what Atlas O has accomplished.

Although the little motorized unit will be available for separate sale, the first offering I’ve seen is as part of a complete O gauge trolley car set. Decorated for California or New Jersey transit agencies, the outfit features the trolley, a 30-watt power supply, a passenger shed with detail items, and a loop of the brand-new Industrial Rail track system.

The trolley
The tooling of the trolley looks unchanged, which is fine by my book. The body of the car is 9 inches long (36 feet in O scale). The reverse bumpers extend out slightly beyond that.

There is a satisfactory level of detail on the car, which possesses 11 side windows and cast-in doors on the ends, and it captures the look of a typical trolley car operating anywhere from the 1920s to the 1950s. Frosted windows hide the interior of the car. On top of the clerestory roof you’ll find two rigid trolley poles.

The car has interior lighting as well as directional lighting.

Internally the model has a traditional transformer-controlled forward and reversing unit as well as a bumper-activated reverse function. Motor operation was smooth and quiet, and the response of the reversing unit – whether activated by a transformer throttle or hitting an immovable object – was rapid.

Since there is simply no way to attach cars (at least not without major reconstruction of the shell), the only tests we made involved the speed. Our low-speed average was 12 scale mph, and our high-speed average was 70 scale mph.

Way back in 2001, the original Industrial Rail trolley tested at 23.3 and 67.5 scale miles per hour respectively, so the current figures indicate that Atlas O has improved the model’s operation.

Application of paint and graphics on the car was first rate, far better than the original runs by the first owner of the Industrial Rail line. The sets come in Los Angeles Transit Lines and New Jersey Public Service paint schemes, while separate-sale trolley cars are available in Boston Elevated Railway, Los Angeles Transit Lines, New Jersey Public Service, and New Orleans paint schemes.

The track
Over the past year I’d seen samples of the new Industrial Rail track system at various industry events. You never want to build up too many hopes about what the final version of something may look like when you see a prototype or even a manufacturing sample. Still, when I opened the box and started pulling out the trolley set track, I thought, “This is it, this is the big one!” I think this track may well be a home run!

The roadbed of the Industrial Rail track has texturing and coloring every bit as good as what I’ve often said was the nicest track in the hobby, S-Trax by S-Helper Service. The brown crossties have a widely varied range of wooden texture, along with pleasing spike and tie-plate detail.

The rails themselves are T-shaped tinplate track and utilize GarGraves-style track pins for a very snug fit that makes electrical connectivity a breeze.

The base has interlocking tabs that snap in place, so between those tabs and the tight-fitting track pins, the sections are held rigidly in place. They mate very tightly, but as with GarGraves track sections, you need to take a few seconds to align the pins so they all slide in together (a handful of times I connected track and found one or two of the three pins weren’t inserted so I needed to disconnect and then reconnect them). But once mated, they passed my “hanging the assembled loop off of the handles of a Z-4000” test with flying colors.

The power lockon is a squarish segment built into a terminal track section. Just slide the wires from the transformer beneath the screws, lock them in place, and you’re ready for business.

I can’t wait till Atlas O comes out with wider-diameter curves. Believe me, O-72 curved track would suit me just fine.

Accessories
Atlas O’s new line of transformers comes in two flavors, a 30-watt version and an 80-watt version that also has hookups for accessories. The 30-watter that comes with the trolley set is a basic, no-frills product that has the feel of a brick! It has an on/off switch, power and overload lights, and a throttle with a knob that is functional, but was probably designed for smaller and nimbler fingers than mine.

Running the set

Running other power (till breaker trips?)

The outfit also includes a passenger platform that is very nice indeed. The platform is just a bit more 3½ inches wide, as is its roof. From the tip of the roof, it is just a bit less than 3½ inches high. For me, this worked. I believe I have seen more photos of trolleys or interurban cars stopped at a passenger shed or platform than I have of similar trains paused at a station that could be considered to be more typical of steam railroads.

The roof of the platform has cast-in shingles and gutters. There are even gutter pipes and a small hole in the gutter simulating the gutter drain. A bench is affixed to the base, but the structure also has a baggage cart, phone booth, a baggage scale, a baggage cart, a suitcase, and a briefcase as well as add-on (non-functional) lamps.

There are also some add-on station name boards and a sheet of decals with whimsical station names like Hillside, Mt. Clemens, Chesterfield, Chapel Hill, Columbia, Northumberland, and other cities. (If you are new to the hobby, let me add that each name can be associated with a past or current toy train manufacturer.) Just add a few scale-approximate figures and you’re ready to start saving the planet and moving those commuters by rail.

The new Industrial Rail trolley set is a pleasing re-launch of an old friend. Coupled with a new transformer and a terrific-looking track system, it will make a great addition to the Christmas Tree Central.