Traction and Trolleys

Streetcars, trams or trolleys. Call them what you will, I find these forms of transportation interesting. Not the same thing as cable cars, but they fit right in too.

Trolleycars: A Photographic History

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Trolleycars: Streetcars, Trams and Trolleys of North America : A Photographic History by Frank Sullivan My rating: 4 of 5 stars A large softcover book, this would probably still fall in the “coffee table book” category. Its main draw is the large full cover photographs of still existing trolleys throughout the US and some elsewhere … Read more

Carstens Traction Planbook

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Traction Planbook by Harold H. Carstens My rating: 4 of 5 stars Very dated by now, but since most of these lines stopped running well before the book was published, that doesn’t matter so much. At least not for the prototype information. Of course since the book was published other scales, especially N, have gained … Read more

Traction Guidebook for Model Railroaders

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Traction Guidebook for Model Railroaders by Mike Schafer My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is probably the definitive reference for traction, trolley, streetcar and interurban model railroaders. And yes, I know all those terms can refer to basically the same thing! Although a bit dated now, the diagrams are worth their weight in gold … Read more

Traction Handbook for Model Railroads

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Traction Handbook for Model Railroads by Paul Mallery My rating: 4 of 5 stars An excellent book on trolleys and traction. A must have for the traction modeler. My only complaint is that the explanations and illustrations can be a bit hard too follow at times. The thing that would have actually improved this is … Read more