Modern Light Rail Has Arrived

[johnb]

I recently ordered a Kato MyTRAM RED from Japan, and this thing is way cool! This little tram is completely see-through and the motors are located in the trucks. Kato was able to put in directional lighting, the lights switch from white to red depending on the direction that the Tram is running. It is standard DC and has a low starting voltage. I have not turned up the power pack too far, due to it’s realistic so speed operations. Kato also offers a MyTRAM BLUE, but I see another RED in my future, especially if KATO reruns the V60 UNITRAM set. Now I have to figure out how to make it look more Pacific Electric.

[peteski]

Yes, those are gorgeous models.

These aren't the first ones. Like you mentioned the first models of that design were UNITRAMs and PORTRAMs.  But their gears are so fine that you really have to make sure that the right of way is kept perfectly clean. Even the smallest piece of hard debris will jam up the works.  But if you have owned and ran UNITRAMS, you know that already.

[Philip H]

Now I have to figure out how to make it look more Pacific Electric.

Orange strip below the windows.
Orange stripe along the roof line.
PE logo decal.

[R L Smith]

Kato also offers a MyTRAM BLUE, but I see another RED in my future, especially if KATO reruns the V60 UNITRAM set. Now I have to figure out how to make it look more Pacific Electric.

   
If you are going to go Foobie, may as well go full-on Foobie...   

[johnb]

   
If you are going to go Foobie, may as well go full-on Foobie...   

that was my original plan, but these are so tough to disassemble....and the sides and windows are one piece

[peteski]

I don't recall PORTRAM shells being that difficult to remove, but I have not done that for few years.  Maybe the stabilizing linkages over the diaphragm were a bit of a pain?

[mmagliaro]

Motor IN the trucks, you say?  Can I see any photos of this?  Are there spare parts for this thing?

[Chris333]

Motor IN the trucks, you say?  Can I see any photos of this?  Are there spare parts for this thing?

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=41219.msg513266#msg513266

[johnb]

I don't recall PORTRAM shells being that difficult to remove, but I have not done that for few years.  Maybe the stabilizing linkages over the diaphragm were a bit of a pain?

felt like I was going to snap the body, I decided to err on the side of caution with a $100 model

[peteski]

That looks pretty good!  Subtle, but nice.

[johnb]

That looks pretty good!  Subtle, but nice.

thanks, I was afraid of damaging the body to get the orange stripes...not worth the risk to me

[Maletrain]

Too bad Kato doesn't make that truck in Z scale. It looks like it would be a neat way to make a functioning N scale electric coal mine loco, using Z scale track with some ties removed to look like mine track.  (Z gauge is ~41" in N scale, so pretty close to 40" gauge of many U.S. coal mines.)

[peteski]

Too bad Kato doesn't make that truck in Z scale. It looks like it would be a neat way to make a functioning N scale electric coal mine loco, using Z scale track with some ties removed to look like mine track.  (Z gauge is ~41" in N scale, so pretty close to 40" gauge of many U.S. coal mines.)

If you look at the pictures of the truck's innards, the (already small) 3V coreless motor fills the space between the wheels.  It would be impossible to narrow the gauge by 3 mm.

[Maletrain]

If you look at the pictures of the truck's innards, the (already small) 3V coreless motor fills the space between the wheels.  It would be impossible to narrow the gauge by 3 mm.

I saw that in the link to the other thread.  I wasn't asking for Kato to simply narrow the gauge of the existing power truck so much as lamenting that there was not some similar power truck design in Z scale to use for a mine engine.  The prototype mine engines are pretty flat, with the "engineer" riding on the outside.  So, making a shell to go over a powered truck would be easy, if there were a powered truck small enough.

But, the gauge difference is really only 2.5 mm.  And, those photos do show some space between the motor and the frame holding it.  So, I'm not so sure that nothing like that could be made, starting from scratch.

[R L Smith]

that was my original plan, but these are so tough to disassemble....and the sides and windows are one piece

/Off Topic
 
Trust me, the full size PCC is tough to disassemble too.  At least, if you are planning to re-use a lot of it.   




ironically, this particular car was re-painted for Baltimore Transit and t-boned a truck two weeks into revenue service.  it is now being repaired by her owners, and the front end looks pretty much the same as this photo at the moment.   /Back on Topic