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Posted - April 12 2020 : 4:39:29 PM
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I first saw this set at a model train show in 1994, wanted it bad then, couple decades later, having successfully launched one child (two to go) finally able to afford it. The rabbit ears track overhead rails that turn the steering. So, it theoretically should be able to traverse most surfaces. I have a very old road kit from Woodland Scenics that uses plaster, going to try that first. This will replace the US1 set up, which while interesting, was too fast to be really interesting.
Back in 1980 I used to ride the San Francisco Transit system a lot, and enjoyed using the trolley buses which were abundant. Everyone told me to go to college, so I went to college, and truly hated it start to finish. Not my bag. Had I listened to the sound of my own drums, driving for an interesting public transit system, like in San Francisco, would have been a more productive use of those years.
I have since concluded that every institution of higher learning, is basically selling a product, and they convince everyone that a college education is just absolutely going to launch you into the world of business, or whatever. It does not. College grads today are often not making a lot more than $10 an hour. It is a major sham job, and a lot of graduates are finding they are left holding the bag on a 40 K loan.
Anyways, San Fran had the cable cars, the trolley busses, street cars, light rail. All the stuff I naturally gravitated to. Some guys gravitated towards hot rods. I gravitated towards buses and trains. I love to read, I love to discover, I like to write a bit. Friend, pop me into a classroom and I feel like the oxygen is getting extracted by the hour. You know irony? I came from a highly academic family- just another faculty brat.
Like a military brat, only faculty.
I am more of a Ralph Kramden than the Professor on Gilligan's Island.
Edited by - Chops124 on April 12 2020 4:48:07 PM
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Posted - April 12 2020 : 5:44:19 PM
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Really neat set and story. The stories are always interesting to read.
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Posted - April 18 2020 : 4:10:04 PM
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Hi Chops. That's a good looking set! I picked up an Eheim trolley bus set years ago. It's been run only once since then, and is a lot of fun. Did your purchase include the wire-bending tool?
Here's my Eheim Trolley Bus set.
And as I also enjoy learning about buses, trains, transit, etc., here is some trivia I discovered yesterday. In the 1950s and 60s GM was experimenting with gas turbine engines in various vehicles. They had a handful of buses converted to run with gas turbines. Here is one of those beasts:
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Posted - April 18 2020 : 7:05:37 PM
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I didn't know about a wire bending tool, I was hoping to warp the rail strips gently into curves. Your Ehiem is an double whammy beaut!
No, I never heard of a turbo charged bus before. That is crazy! Did they lay rubber??? Some of the GM 40 footers I drove were supercharged equipped: we called them the "sports buses."
The job had a pleasant, slow rhythm to it. Sometimes watch the pretty foliage, other times talk to the pretty girls...
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Posted - April 19 2020 : 2:25:12 PM
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I didn't realize your set had the flat strips, I'm not sure how those were originally supposed to be curved. It can't be too hard though. My set uses what I normally see called 'steel music wire'. It's a little trickier to bend, so the sets came with this little tool, basically three rollers that you fed the wire through. I look forward to seeing your set run!
I couldn't find much on the turbine buses beyond a few pictures unfortunately. As far as I know they were test mules, never actually used in service. It would be cool to see a video. Most buses now have turbochargers, not sure about superchargers. I had the opportunity to test drive an old GM New Look last summer. It had a highway rear-end in it and was quite peppy! That's the only GM bus I've ever driven, so I don't know how it compared to the models you'd be familiar with.
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Posted - April 19 2020 : 3:35:27 PM
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I gotta find some small screws to fasten the base plates to the plywood. Going to take a run at the Lowes today, see if they have anything that small.
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Posted - April 20 2020 : 5:42:17 PM
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Some small finishing nails might be a good choice, strong enough to hold the masts down, weak enough to pull them up if you'd like to re-arrange.
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