DCA Red Cars questions

[Cannonball7]

Bruce - Thank you for the informative post! Like you, I wish they would the catenary and pickup arms. After riding "real" trolleys in New Orleans and in Chattanooga, these would add to the realism and would provide a constant power source to the trolleys.

On another subject, didn't the Jolley Trolleys have issues with their batteries - which ultimately led to them being permanently retired?

[BruceBergman]

Bruce - Thank you for the informative post! Like you, I wish they would the catenary and pickup arms. After riding "real" trolleys in New Orleans and in Chattanooga, these would add to the realism and would provide a constant power source to the trolleys.

On another subject, didn't the Jolley Trolleys have issues with their batteries - which ultimately led to them being permanently retired?

I've ridden the Red Cars that these are modeled after out at Orange Empire, and a few other places they're still running - the occasional sparks from the pickups, and the sounds of the contactors and mechanical controls under the car just add to the realism. It's not supposed to glide like a Cadillac, an occasional lurch is to be expected. And it's a KISS move compared to batteries and megabuck electronic control systems.

I heard the Jolly Trollies were more of a safety concern, as ToonTown is just too darned small and there's a much higher percentage of improperly supervised small children wandering about back there. The Lawyers are always concerned about small children darting out in front and the Trolley not stopping in time, so I'm betting they were behind it's demise.

(I'm one of those wierdos who still believes in Darwin's Law - you protect the children and fools as best you can, and try to anticipate all the normal ways they can get hurt and guard against it. But if the kid is truly bound and determined to get himself or herself around the barriers, bypass the safeties, and get hurt or killed, there's really not a heck of a lot you can do...)

A change of batteries for one of the Jolly Trollies is maybe a thousand bucks, and you send the old ones in for recycling. It's a known quantity, and if you allow for it in the budget every few years it's not a problem. But cut the budget to make expenses go away, and now it's a problem you can blame the removal of the ride on. Or in this case they turned the ride into a static display.

Saves money on maintenance, utilities, and ride operators - "Fun for the Guests" doesn't factor in as far as an accountant is concerned, it's not quantifiable.

For a larger vehicle like the Red Cars, it'll be $2,000 to $4,000 for a battery change depending on the size of the battery bank, and again, they have to figure that in as a periodic maintenance cost right up front. And they have to be watered every week or two, or the ~3 to ~4 year expected lifespan just went down dramatically.

--<< Bruce >>--

[Roy]

Speaking of battery cars, there's a beautiful double-deck car running at the L.A. Farmers Market.

[Castor Oil]

Don't forget Americana up the road in Glendale. (A deconstructed double decker?)

[Roy]

Don't forget Americana up the road in Glendale...

Wow! I agree, that's sweet.