[MOC] PCC streetcar - TCRT 322

[zephyr1934]

PCC streetcar - TCRT 322

 I would like to present my take on the PCC streetcar. These streamlined streetcars have some very tricky angles. My specific car was modeled on a restored streetcar running in Minneapolis, a quick google for images of Twin Cities Rapid Transit (TCRT) 322 should turn up many photos of the prototype, e.g.,

 My build has a lot of tricky twists and turns, with studs pointing in all directions, e.g., the front truck is the actual motor and to provide low clearance it is set in upside down 1x2 panels that just clear the wheels while hiding the top of the motor. Away from the motor most of the bottom is studs forward or studs rearward to get the narrow band of green on the bottom and associated shrouding around the wheels. The two inset doors made the build trickier to get everything in to the 6 wide body. Of course there are also a couple of "easy" elements too, like the 8x6x2 windscreens on either end of the roof. You can even spot the fare box inside the windshield. The stickers provided the necessary pop to define the individual windows, give the characteristic rounded window at the rear, and chrome chevron on the nose.

 

 

 These photos show the first incarnation of the model with a 9v motor on my brick built track (lego gauge). It was designed to fit a PF battery box since PU did not exist when I first built it, but I did not want to try to squeeze an IR receiver in the model. Then PU came out and my PCC became my PU laboratory. Early on I put the PU Hub in the rear and swapped out the motor, which then allowed me to test PU at shows. This rebuild required redoing the roof for easy access to swap batteries, but the appearance did not change. About half a year ago I rebuilt the streetcar once again. There was just enough room between the motor and the rear doors to squeeze in a color sensor. Amazingly, the exterior appearance did not change after any of the rebuilds. With the light sensor I am now able to automate the operation on a single track line.

 

 

This video shows the car going to the end of the line, detecting the red plate (after correctly failing to detect the green plate there to simulate the return from baseplates under the track), backing up to turn on the why, and then returning the way it came.

 

 I'm also entering this model in the Brick Train Awards, which gave me the umph to make the time to post the images.

 

 

 Some day the Brickshelf gallery will be moderated and you can find all of these photos there.

 

Oh yeah, here's a shot of the car from BW 2019, with a few more shots available here.

 

Thanks for looking, questions and comments are welcome

[SteamSewnEmpire]

I like everything here except the roof line and the front windshield. I know you were being creative with the angled parts - and it is smart usage - but IMO it just results in something that looks a little too streamlined compared to the real car, which has boxier (a smoothed box, obviously) proportions. Also, I'd just use...

... and just accept the slight overhang.

*Edit* You might also consider flattening the front a bit more overall with 24309. 

Edited July 1, 2020 by SteamSewnEmpire

[deraven]

I think it looks great and captures the overall feel very well.  I do agree with SteamSewnEmpire about swapping out the windscreen, but other than that I think it's a solid "interpretation" of that streetcar even if it's not dead-on.  

[ColletArrow]

I really like this model - the colours and stickers really make her stand out against whatever background she's in, and I enjoy watching the auto-reverse system too. I'd love to see her in action on a detailed layout with a good run between the end stops. And that inset track is an interesting idea, it looks much smoother and better represents the rail-and-check-rail arrangement than the gaps left from tiling up around standard track.

I think the roof shaping and detailing is good, even though the lack of the headboard stands out a little. However, like others, my first instinct is that the front windshield looks too narrow and angled compared to the prototype.

4 hours ago, SteamSewnEmpire said:

Also, I'd just use...

... and just accept the slight overhang.

If only that part existed in yellow, I'd have used it for all sorts of things...

But overall, I think you've made a good job of a relatively unusual model!

[NickLafreniere]

I love the use of the dark green curved roof pieces at the ends of the streetcar. I don't mind the windscreen that you used. I think it matches up to real train quite well for this scale!

Edited July 1, 2020 by NickLafreniere

[dr_spock]

Nice work.  Do you have pictures of its left side? 

[zephyr1934]

Heh heh heh, when I started on this design I set out to make sure the one feature I got correct was the windshield with its distinctive widows peak in the middle. So I think that is hilarious (and well deserved) that that was the first thing that everyone noticed. First I gave up on the widows peak, and eventually I tossed in the towel on all of the brick built ideas I came up with. I definitely agree that the windshield is wrong, but I don't think the train windshield is the right answer either. The end pieces on the roof would be hard to improve upon in 6 wide, especially the way it captures the curve between the yellow and the green on the side. But it does come at a cost of the front, the missing destination sign is the biggest feature I feel I'm missing and the top down shape of that part definitely limits the windshield solutions. But in the balance, I still think that roof piece brings a lot to the model, enough that I'm keeping it in spite of the secondary compromises it requires. I think the front of the prototype is asymmetric, with the driver's side closer to the 1x3x2 arches that I used on the nose and the passenger side having a shorter curvature to accommodate the door, being more like the 1x3 curved slopes. Ultimately I went with the arches to both match the (aforementioned incorrect) shape of the roof and to provide a corner-less transition from the front to the sides that I think is a critical feature to capture the essence of the prototype.

Ultimately any lego model winds up being a caricature and I wanted to make sure this one was easily recognizable.

When I was gathering the photos for this post I did notice one part substitution I need to do. The notched curved slopes did not exist when I built this, but now I need to add those on the bottom of the front.

As for the other side, its so boring, looks like a bus, but I'll post a photo of it soon.

 

[raised]

The tram is great, loving how you used that hideous piece as a roof, well done. However, I'm even more impressed with that pavement. So much even that I'm pretty sure it will be in my next layout as well!

 

Well played zephyr1934!

 

(Proof that I actually did build it immediately:

 

)

Edited July 1, 2020 by raised

[Merlict]

10 hours ago, raised said:

(Proof that I actually did build it immediately:

What's the part name / number for the rails please?

[SteamSewnEmpire]

12 hours ago, raised said:

The tram is great, loving how you used that hideous piece as a roof, well done. However, I'm even more impressed with that pavement. So much even that I'm pretty sure it will be in my next layout as well!

 

Well played zephyr1934!

 

(Proof that I actually did build it immediately:

 

)

Yeah, I thought the pavement/street running was neat, too. Would be cool to see it incorporated into, like, a quayside scene.

[raised]

2 hours ago, Merlict said:

What's the part name / number for the rails please?

Part 2653

[Pdaitabird]

Very nice - I especially like the SNOT doors!

[The Island Chronicles]

Now that's something I'd buy. Great Work! 

[Merlict]

7 hours ago, raised said:

Part 2653

Oh duh, thanks

[BricksMcgee]

Love the curve of the roof - that's really satisfying to look at!

[gkletch]

I live 3 miles from the Como/Harriet line. Do you plan on releasing the instructions for this MOC?

[Duq]

At first glance easily recognisable! We had those PCC trams running in the Netherlands as well (in The Hague).

The perfect windscreen piece doesn't exist for this tram so I understand your choice for the part you used. However, what I think does need improving is the pillar beside the windscreen. On the prototype that's almost vertical. You can see in the photo you posted that the bottom of the windscreen touches the pillar and then slopes behind it. Can't say I see an easy solution though... One problem is that that green curved piece, while perfect along the side, has too much of a peak forward.

Anyway, that's just nit-picking. It's a good-looking model that the public will instantly recognise.

How does that 9V motor perform on your pavement track though? ;-)

[RubbrDukky]

That brick-built roadway is ingenious and an amazing technique I need to incorporate into a build. What is that element you've used for the "rails", if you don't mind my asking.

[zephyr1934]

5 hours ago, RubbrDukky said:

That brick-built roadway is ingenious and an amazing technique I need to incorporate into a build. What is that element you've used for the "rails", if you don't mind my asking.

Thanks for the kind words and not a problem, reverse engineering is important. As Raised already pointed out, its Part 2653

 

20 hours ago, Duq said:

The perfect windscreen piece doesn't exist for this tram so I understand your choice for the part you used. However, what I think does need improving is the pillar beside the windscreen. On the prototype that's almost vertical. You can see in the photo you posted that the bottom of the windscreen touches the pillar and then slopes behind it. Can't say I see an easy solution though... One problem is that that green curved piece, while perfect along the side, has too much of a peak forward.

Yes, the front profile of the curved roof was a difficult limitation. The inset door also provided a difficult constraint, I could have put in a vertical post but then that loses the "inset" nature of the windshield. I spent weeks on the windshield and ultimately tossed in the towel. I probably should have lead with a different first shot, but there you go.

 

20 hours ago, Duq said:

How does that 9V motor perform on your pavement track though? ;-) 

Replaced by PU

 

============

This video shows the car going to the end of the line and turning around

============

 

 

 

On 7/1/2020 at 3:17 PM, raised said:

The tram is great, loving how you used that hideous piece as a roof, well done. However, I'm even more impressed with that pavement.

Heh heh heh,

 

On 7/2/2020 at 7:58 AM, Pdaitabird said:

Very nice - I especially like the SNOT doors!

Thanks! It is hard to see in the photos, but there is a small step at the bottom too, just a 2x4 tile held in by the center posts by studs pointing down on the bottom of the door.

 

On 7/2/2020 at 10:14 AM, Brandon Pea said:

Now that's something I'd buy. Great Work! 

 

On 7/3/2020 at 4:54 PM, BricksMcgee said:

Love the curve of the roof - that's really satisfying to look at!

Thanks for the kind words

 

 

On 7/3/2020 at 7:25 PM, gkletch said:

I live 3 miles from the Como/Harriet line. Do you plan on releasing the instructions for this MOC?

Not in the short term, the stickers for the windows are way too tricky to get a color match every time.

 

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

This wonder had escaped my radars ... excellent representation: I like the access doors built with the SNOT technique.
The round curves of the roof are the centerpiece of this MOC ...and the rails are the classic icing on the cake!

Very good work!