Tomix EasyTrolley Picture Gallery

Tomix EasyTrolley Picture Gallery by R. D. Kerr
The pictures below are now in reverse-date order, so the most recent additions are at the top. They show the development and appearance of EasyTrolley components made from Tomix products, and some layout arrangements that are possible with them. There is no need to have a permanent layout that cannot be changed; with EasyTrolley you just unassemble the curved and straight street sections and reassemble them in a new arrangement. The photos also show how to make a street piece with power leads and the basic control box. Clicking on any photo should display a larger image.
East Penn Work Session (November 13 & 14, 2010)
	100. This is an overall view of the setup from Dick B.'s Tomix micro-layout, showing the trolley line, high-speed viaduct and two-track regional line. (Richard Bell photo)
	101. Here is the view from the other end, with the late afternoon sun shining in. (Larry Bak photo)
	102. A closer view of the city shows two 16-car Series 700 shinkansen trains in a full-length viaduct station, two first-time events for our sessions. In this setup, the streetcar carbarn has been tucked away in the center of a city block. (Douglas Kerr photo)
	103. We used Kato conversion tracks and long Tomix straight pieces to bridge from the micro-layout to Larry B.'s Kato Unitram section and then to the Tomix EasyTrolley street. The track spacing goes from 37 mm to 25 mm and back to 37 mm. (Richard Bell photo)
	104. Here are some shots on Larry's nice Unitram setup. This one shows Dick B.'s Tomytec-based work train. Larry participated for the first time on this weekend, bringing both Kato Unitram and Tomix Wide Tram trackage. (Richard Bell photo)
	105. This is a nice sunlit shot of a Meitetsu train running down the central reservation. The park is a Kato accessory, as is the parking lot next to it. They make good, low foreground scenery. (Richard Bell photo)
	106. Finally, here is a two-car Enoshima articulated train making its way down the boulevard. (Richard Bell photo)
NYC MTA Rapid Transit and Trolley Modeler's Convention, New Brunswick NJ (October 23, 2010)
	97. At this meet, a two-table EasyTrolley layout was displayed, along with three T-Trak trolley layouts (see the "T-Trak for Trolleys" section). This end of the EasyTrolley layout featured an automatically-operated electric railway running in a "U" shape, with a three-track terminal.
	98. The EasyTrolley streetcar line weaved through the city, serving the viaduct station and then passing over a level grade crossing to the terminal station. It dominated this other end of the layout.
	99. We had the track plan for the layout (drawn with AnyRail), the new Tomix "Wide Tram" track, and unused street sections and tram road kit pieces on display to educate others about what is possible with Tomix products. There was a lot of interest.
East Penn Work Session (May 22 & 23, 2010)
	87. Rich C.'s Japanese freight roster is shown in the yard on Saturday. From left to right they are an express mail freight, a fresh fish train, a mixed train of cars from his friend Hiro, and a container train.
	88. The Japanese mixed freight train passes on the main line as a European "Talent" design DMU leaves the local station.
	89. New to the EasyTrolley setup was this 30-degree "y"-shaped street junction pieced together by Rich K.
	90. Here is an overhead view of the junction. The bottom track is an S140, PR140-30 and S70, summing to the standard Tomix length of 280mm. The top track also starts with an S140, and the second track down on the left side has a piece cut from an S140, with the cut-off piece becoming the top track on the right side of the photo. Short (3mm or so) pieces of rail were fitted in the joiners between the crossing and the upper track switch, and that area was then carefully soldered together. Then the street pieces were carefully cut and fitted.
	91. The two legs of the junction are basically symmetric. This view shows the versatility of the junction in layout design, with the two routes later crossing in an intersection, plus a turn-back loop in an alley.
	92. This overhead view shows the majority of the EasyTrolley portion of the setup.
	93. This is another general view, from the other direction.
	94. A Modemo Meitetsu 510-series interurban train uses the turn-back loop, while a Tokyu Electric articulated car crosses the intersection in the background.
	95. The articulated tram, in the "Tamaden" livery, approaches the camera in this street scene.
	96. Two freight motors are double-headed in this view. Despite their small size, those two four-wheel freight wagons behind the freight motors must be very heavy to require such power! The trains on the main line are the Kato "Kato" EMU and the express mail freight.
East Penn Monthly Meeting (May 7, 2010)
	82. For the May monthly East Penn regular club meeting, we were asked to display a small EasyTrolley layout. It was automated and consisted of three city blocks plus the carbarn area. This is a trial setup prior to the meeting.
	83. Two copy paper boxes carried the whole package to the meeting, where it was assembled on half a ping-pong table. The outer car goes completely around the outside, while the inner car alternates around the two rear city blocks and the two left side city blocks. Tomix TCS track sensors detect the car passing and throw the track switches.
	84. The latest Tomytec articulated trams were on hand for operation and examination at the monthly meeting.
	85. Here is a closer shot of the two new trams.
	86. A five-section Hiroshima "Green Mover" waits at the carbarn, along with a freight motor with boxcar in tow.
East Penn Work Session (April 17 & 18, 2010)
	74. This is an overall photo of our April work session, showing a number of the participants. (Dmitry Rudnev photo)
	75. Dmitry's Unitram-based modules made a return appearance, being examined here by Philip and Matt. (Dmitry Rudnev photo)
	76. The regional surface lines grew to a four-track mainline this month. Here two eras meet on the Northeast Corridor, as a PRR heavyweight and complete Kato Broadway Limited pass Amtrak's Acela Express and Regional service.
	77. On the high-speed viaduct, a 16-car Tomix 100 Series shinkansen passes a Kato 12-car Taiwan 700T. Various local trains ply the rails below the viaduct.
	78. The trolley barn and city serves as a backdrop for Rich V.'s Bachmann Brill trolleys. He starts with the "Main St." car, which has red-painted windows and doors, then simply paints the easier areas into a Philadelphia Rapid Transit scheme. Note the benefit of painting out the silhouette people.
	79. Back on the main line, a single Kato GG1 pulls the combined heavyweight and Broadway consists, a total of 26 cars. The station holds Philip's Taiwan train hauled by a slope-nosed E1000 electric locomotive and a Taiwan EMU100 train. (Prototypes and models are Taiwanese).
	80. In this photo two British Rail high-speed trains, an Intercity 225 electric push-pull and an Intercity 125 diesel-powered train, work the main tracks.
	81. As the Sunrise Express sleeper train passes below, Japanese Series 100 and Series 700 trains pass on the viaduct. At the far right, an interurban travels down the street trackage to leave town.
East Penn Work Session (March 27 & 28, 2010)
	71. The layout grew longer in March. Dick mounted his Unitram layout on a concrete-looking frame and built a Tomix double-track "subway" through it, so we could connect it to the EasyTrolley setup. (Philip Cook photo)
	72. Here is a closer view of Dick's modified Unitram layout. Note the Metro underground station opening at the left edge of the photo. The station is illuminated. Oh, and note Godzilla... (Dick Bell photo)
	73. This is an EF-510 electric locomotive hauling a modern Japanese container train. (Philip Cook photo)
East Penn Work Session (February 20 & 21, 2010)
	63. At subsequent club work sessions, the basic layout just kept growing. Separately, Dick B. built a Tomix Mini Rail micro layout, as well as a Kato Unitram micro layout. Philip's T-Trak layout is in the background. (Dmitry Rudnev photo)
	64. Dmitry R. joined us for this work session, bringing two modules built from Kato Unitram track pieces. Using Kato conversion tracks and Tomix track ramps and a loop, we were able to append his modules into the EasyTrolley operation. (Philip Cook photo)
	65. This is another general view of the overall layout. (Philip Cook photo)
	66. Here is a closer look at Dmitry's Unitram-based modules. The buildings are German, which is where his main interest lies. (Philip Cook photo)
	67. This is Dick's micro layout. He used Tomix Mini Curve track and built the layout in a IKEA storage box that he had on hand. The entire center is "paved" and the buildings are always changing around. (Philip Cook photo)
	68. This photo of the EasyTrolley carbarn shows Modemo "Tamaden" and Arnold Mainz articulateds sharing the carbarn, while a new Bachmann Toronto PCC and a new Toyama "PORTRAM" articulated car rest outside. (Dmitry Rudnev photo)
	69. Bruce H.'s three-section Combino tram from Erfurt, Germany wends its way along EasyTrolley streets. (Philip Cook photo)
	70. To create a Russian train, Philip powered a Del Prado diecast VL-80 electric locomotive (the VL stands for Vladimir Lenin) with a Tomytec power chassis, to pull freight cars from Red Star Models. We run a broad spectrum of international models.
East Penn 19th National Trolley Meet (May 29-31, 2009)
	60. The Trolley Meet was held in the Villanova University Pavilion. The actual layout differed a bit from the one in the earlier work session. We tend to improvise every time we assemble a layout.
	61. This is a view from the rear of the layout.
	62. Rich J. brought his EasyTrolley micro layout (with Kato elevated line and a point-to-point shuttle out front). In addition, we displayed the "T-Trak for Trolleys" concept layout with Yagyu automatic train control (in background), the Hylands' T-Trak layout, and Philip Cook's highly-detailed Japanese T-Trak layout.
East Penn Work Session (March 21 & 22, 2009)
	57. This was a session to prepare for the upcoming National Trolley Meet. It was only at the last meet, two years earlier, that EasyTrolley debuted. For 2009, members added a Kato double-track high-speed viaduct and two ground-level regional rail lines, on an open box-shaped table arrangement.
	58. This view, from the far corner, shows a yard that was appended to the regional rail lines. Members wanted to run longer electric traction trains. We used Kato track because it is readily available in the U.S. and many members already owned it.
	59. The high-speed viaduct line station was served by the trolleys running in the city streets.
NYC MTA Rapid Transit & Trolley Modeler's Convention, New Brunswick NJ (October 4, 2008)
	48. On October 4, 2008 we sat up an EasyTrolley layout at the rapid transit and trolley meet held at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. Here's the left half of the layout, which for most of the day was under the control of the Hylands (Edward, Chris and Patrick). The suburban electric railway, with a three track terminal, ran using Tomix automatic operation, and Chris had to stop trolleys on the street trackage to avoid crossing accidents.
	49. The N-gauge display included Richard J.'s micro layout and a sample T-Trak module from the Hylands. Richard had added an automatic back-and-forth gas-electric car operation along the front edge of his layout, with a "tunnel" box at one end. His layout drew a lot of interest from meet attendees. Later in the day, Philip C. displayed some of his beautiful Japanese prototype T-Trak modules as well.
	50. At the right half of the EasyTrolley layout, Bruce H. was adding a double-width double-track Kato viaduct for scenic effect and static display of some of his trains. Between us all, there was a surprisingly large Modemo rolling stock fleet present! Bruce also brought half a city's worth of buildings.
	51. Here is a rear view of the whole setup, with all the buildings and the viaduct in place. It formed an active and impressive diaplay of a variety of N-gauge electric railway modeling styles. Since this meet has a focus on rapid transit, the viaduct, Richard's elevated line and the powered Tomytec Railway Collection cars were very popular with attendees.
	52. This view of the city area, using a flash, highlights some of the details of this layout. We had cars running all day long, and we swapped out the fleets periodically so everybody could run their cars, and so a variety of equipment could be displayed. Chairs in front of the layout helped onlookers get a low-angle viewpoint to enhance the realism.
	53. Chris H. was at the controls most of the day, and he caught on to how to manage the layout capably with the minimalist wiring and control methods available. We thought he might suffer "air traffic controller breakdown" but he did not and really enjoyed running the layout.
	54. A low-angle view shows how surprisingly realistic a throw-together EasyTrolley layout can look. The eventual track arrangements at New Brunswick and the two preliminary work session setups all differed in details, too, demonstrating the flexibility of this concept. Here a Modemo "Tamaden" articulated car passes through an apartment complex.
	55. In this scene, an Enoshima Type 300 "Aoden" articulated set has cleared the railway crossing in the back and heads past the 7-Eleven turnback loop on its way out to the suburbs and the end of the line outside the three-track railway terminal.
	56. Here is an action shot of the Tokyu Electric Railway "Tamaden" articulated tram making its way along the main boulevard of the city, headed toward the business district.
East Penn Work Session (September 27, 2008)
	45. Richard J. brought his new "micro layout" to an East Penn work session held on September 27, 2008. Here's a street shot of two Bachmann Brill semiconvertible cars, taken from below his single track elevated loop.
	46. This view shows the back half of Richard's layout. He was running his Nagasaki Combino tram on the upper level, while a Brill streetcar can be seen below on the street. The buildings are a mix of kits and preassembled. Richard marks them with numbers on the bottom, matching numbers on the layout where they each go. He unpacks the layout, then places the buildings on it.
	47. Richard first built the base using a framework of art canvas stretchers. He then created a layout that would fit in the available space. A Tomix EasyTrolley double-track street loop (140mm and 177mm radius) forms the basis, while his elevated line, built of foamcore and PVC fittings from a hardware store, uses Kato's smallest radius track (216mm). This view shows a good comparison of the relative sizes of the Tomix and Kato tight-radius curves.
East Penn Work Session (September 13, 2008)
	37. On September 13, 2008 we set up a test layout, for the upcoming New Brunswick NJ meet. It adds an electric railway line with a three-track terminal and a grade crossing with the streetcars. Here's a freight motor with two East Penn boxcars on the side track at the terminal.
	38. On the main boulevard we have added the center median pieces with the bracket-arm overhead supports and globe lights, from the Tomix street kits. The Kato bank apparently proves that banks look alike anywhere in the world!
	39. Here's another view of the terminal, from the bumper end. The cable runs to a TCS (Tomix Control System) detector, which is used with the Tomix 5563 Automatic Operation Unit. The three trains in the terminal automatically take turns running to the other end of the line and back.
	40. The cars are lined up at the throat end of the terminal. All three cars are from Tomytec Tetsudou (Railway) Collection 2, and have been powered with the appropriate Tomytec power chassis. The outer two cars have had their pantographs upgraded with Tomix 224 pantographs (spare parts).
	41. An approaching Bachmann "Main St." Brill trolley rounds the curve in the distance of this street view, approaching a cutback loop.
	42. This is street-level view of the above scene. The buildings on the left and in the distance are of German origin.
	43. This is an overall view of the layout. It was laid out on two 30 inch by 8 foot folding tables, which overlap by about two feet in the middle. All the cables lead to the Automatic Operation Unit -- the track feeder, 4 TCS sensors (one at each stub end of track on the railway), and the two powered track switches entering the terminal.
	44. A view of the middle of the layout shows the grade crossing. I used old brown Tomix track for parts of the electric railway, and I forgot to bring some loose fill-in street paving pieces! An older Tomix 5040 Adapter Unit feeds a 5015 DU-1 Transistor Controller to run the streetcars, through my little control box that can independently stop or reverse the "eastbound" and "westbound" tracks.
East Penn Work Session (March 8 & 9, 2008)
	27. Here is our newest N-gauge trolley fan, Tyler J. (and his mother) at the controls at the March 8, 2008 East Penn Traction Club "work" session. Since EasyTrolley setup involves no work, we played instead! We were in such a hurry to operate that we forgot to place the colored paper down on the table first. Tyler assembled the track, placed the buildings, selected which trolleys and trams to run, and ran them. In the background are some of the HO-scale modelers in the East Penn club.
	28. The next day, March 9, 2008, I slid the colored paper "scenery" into place and did some "urban renewal" with the buildings before other participants arrived. Here are a Hiroshima "Green Mover" and Nagasaki 3-unit Combino, with a Setagaya Line car in Tamaden colors in the distance. This is the first time we used the intersection track at a club setup.
	29. Another view showing the two Japanese, Siemens-built Combino low-floor trams at the main corner downtown on Main Street. The white Nagasaki tram is the the newest addition (and the pride of) Richard J.'s N-gauge fleet.
	30. Here is the Nagasaki tram serving Denny's...
	31. ...and later serving the local 7-Eleven in our modern, generic EasyTrolley "world city."
	32. The west end of the line also serves Germantown. A Kato four-wheel tram, with a trailer in tow, passes an Arnold articulated car.
	33. We are back on Main Street now, looking down the street from the city center turnback loop.
	34. After showing how good a temporary setup can look from street level, here is an overall aerial view showing the suburban leg of the L-shaped layout. We used two 2.5 x 8 foot tables. Two control boxes with On/Off/Reverse toggle switches, spliced into Tomix 5812 DC Power Divergence (Y) Cords, provide four blocks of electrical control. The power routing function of the turnouts provides additional flexibility in turning individual cars on and off.
	35. This overall view shows the other half of the layout with downtown, the carbarn and the return loop. Note that there is always a further extension possible.
	36. Our March 9, 2008 participants included (left to right) Bruce H. with his fleet of trams (note the 3-car train of Enoshima 1500 series articulated cars on the layout), Richard J., and East Penn Traction Club president Rich Crooks (behind the layout). The O-scale module group is in the distance.
Trial Layouts (2007)
	23. Here are some experimental layouts. Since I needed short straight tracks to build my loops, and since the street kits include crossing pieces, I bought four Tomix #91083 Mini Rail Crisscross (MX) sets to get the crossing tracks, too. Then I built a double-track intersection. This layout was to try out the intersection. Looks like I need more turnouts and street kits!
	24. The next experiment did away with the open-ended, expandable EasyTrolley concept. It is a three-block city, with the four-way intersection and two three-way "T" intersections.
	25. The three-block layout offers a variety of operating possibilities, including having one car cover all the streets in both directions (going straight through the four-way and turning at the "T" intersections). I like this layout, even though it is a tight fit getting the narrow buildings on the back edge of a standard 30 inch wide folding table.
	26. Turnouts/points, street kits and some more track is on order to complete it! Because I can rearrange the EasyTrolley sections at any time, more layout possibilities lie ahead. It is a very different and fresh way of thinking, compared to the traditional "permanent" layout, or the modular layout, too. Each has their place.
Home Layout Setups (2007)
	18. Here are some views of my EasyTrolley set-up at home, after the big national meet. You can glimpse some of the rear loop in the back, on the green "suburban" paper base. (Doug Kerr photo)
	19. This is a nice shot of what I think of as an ice cream parlor. The cutback loop acts as a downtown transit center. I have not applied lettering to the buildings, since I want my city to look like a modern generic city anywhere, not specifically Japanese. My plan is to find and apply signs showing product logos known worldwide. (Doug Kerr photo)
	20. The pride of my fleet is this beautiful five-unit Hiroshima "Green Mover," a model of the Siemens Combino low-floor tram design. I love the way it curls around the curves. (Doug Kerr photo)
	21. Some hometown Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) PCC cars are running on the layout. The newer Bachmann trolleys (sold in plastic cases and having black axle gears) have run flawlessy for me, unlike their earlier-made cousins. (Doug Kerr photo)
	22. Around the back of my EasyTrolley layout is the German section of town. This Rapido Duewag articulated tram looks right at home there, as do my Kato-built single-truck German trams and trailers. The EasyTrolley concept is very flexible -- just swap the cars and buildings and you can be halfway around the world! Buildings are by Kibri and Vollmer.
East Penn 18th National Trolley Meet (May 4 & 5, 2007)
	16. At the East Penn club's 18th National Trolley Meet at Villanova University near Philadelphia PA (USA), we set up a similar L-shaped EasyTrolley layout for the enjoyment of over 500 attendees. Richard had to come late and leave early, but it took only minutes to add or remove his street sections, rearrange the buildings and start operating again! We answered many questions from interested visitors. (Gary Reighn photo)
	17. Another view of the National Trolley Meet layout, with me at the controls. The extra street sections, track pieces and boxes were used to let people see and feel the Tomix products. I now prefer to sit at the front of the layout (too hard to see over all the buildings from the rear!), and I place chairs out there for visitors to sit and watch from a more realistic low, close viewpoint. (Bob Tomasko photo)
East Penn Traction Club Work Session (March 10, 2007)
	10. I was very happy with the test layout, so I ordered more track and street kits, and started gathering city buildings, generally three stories and higher to provide a good urban backdrop for the cars. Here is a larger set-up at an East Penn Traction Club work session. I had started using the colored art supply paper on the table, but did not have nearly enough to cover two eight-foot tables!
	11. The street snakes around for several reasons. One is to make the layout more interesting to see and watch, and the other is to use more curve street sections, since buying more street kits gives you a lot of curved street! After you have the basic number of curves you need, the rest are all "extra." I wish Tomix made a straights-only street kit as well!
	12. Another East Penn member, I was surprised to learn, had a bunch of Modemo and Kato Japanese N-gauge electric railway cars and some Tomix track. We added a back leg to the layout, as shown here, so we had two operating routes (short and long). It was some work session -- we actually played all day!
	13. Here are fellow East Penn club members Bruce (left) and Richard (right), the core of our growing N-gauge traction group. It was Bruce who brought the cars and track, and Richard now owns a basic double-track street loop like the one shown earlier. It is his home layout, and he brings the street sections to combine with everyone else's when we set up a larger layout. We each mark our sections with our initials underneath.
	14. A pair of Bruce's Enoshima (Japan) 1500-series articulated cars heads down our city street at the work session. They are produced by Modemo, the electric railway brand of Hasagawa, a large Japanese hobby manufacturer.
	15. A display of Tokyu Electric "Setagaya Line" articulated trams, by Modemo, in the carbarn loop. On the real line in suburban Tokyo, each car wears a different paint scheme -- great for modelers!
Power Feeder Track
	8. The two power feeds from the #91081 track sets can be built into a power lead street section as shown here. Use two separate power supplies, or what I do is use a Tomix #5812 DC Feeder splitter/divergence cable, which is basically a Y-shaped cable, to join them to one power unit. Later you will see how I modify this splitter cable into a simple two-toggle On/Off/Reverse control box.
	9. Here is the underside of the power lead street section. Unscrew the tops from the power feeders and shorten the base of the lower feeder to fit inside the street. (I just folded the wires up out of the way and snipped off some of the brass and plastic.) I reversed the lead wires on the upper feeder so the two cars go in opposite directions. By flipping one track section 180 degrees, you get the offset in the feeders as shown. Cut notches for the wires to pass through.
Basic Loop for Beginning
	7. If you buy two Tomix #3076 street kits, two #91081 Mini Rail Basic (MA) sets and a #1022 package of 2 280mm (11 inch) straight tracks (or 2 #1021 packs of 2 140mm (5.5 inch) straights, for more layout flexibility), you can build this simple double-track street loop as a starter layout. Add buildings, some automobiles and trees and you have a small-city street railway, with two cars running!
EasyTrolley Development
	1. Here we see how the basic Tomix Fine Track pieces and #3076 street kit are assembled into straight and curved street sections. I use a water-based, non-toxic glue from the local craft store. It is white, but dries clear and somewhat flexible. It does not etch into or discolor the plastic, and I think it can be undone in warm water.
	2. Completed street curve components or "elements" show how the finished pieces are very much like HO slot car track. Remove any glue from the rail tops with a rubber track eraser (I use the Life-Like one). The street pieces are just snapped together to make a layout.
	3. Street pieces and loose track pieces have been assembled into a cutback return loop (see the Drawings section for a plan of this element). Cars can continue down the street to the left rear, or turn back to the right on the loop. While not all the street pieces around the turnouts (points) or crossing have been trimmed and fitted, you can begin to see the possibilities.
	4. This is the assembled loop, with carbarn, at the other end of my first "proof of concept" layout. It features two departure tracks (see Drawings section for two plan variations). Using the 140 mm (5.5 inch) radius Tomix Mini Curve as standard makes it easy to substitute a Mini Points turnout anywhere.
	5. Here is the basic initial test layout -- two loops with street trackage in between. I also built a loop of the 103 mm (4 inch) radius Super Mini Curve to test various cars on it. The table is 30 inches wide and 6 feet long.
	6. This picture of the test layout shows how good a simple EasyTrolley layout can look. The best viewing location is down low and up close, just as if you were on the miniature street. Very little modelmaking skill was needed to get this result, with ready-to-run cars (new Bachmann, $20 each at my local hobby shop), pre-assembled buildings, and simple street section assembly. (Doug Kerr photo)
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