| # | Author | Message |
1
| DBitz2
Mon 5/19/2008 10:29p | I was doing a search to find photos of the trolley at the newly opened Americana on Brand outdoor shopping center in Glendale, CA, built by the same developer that built The Grove, and ran across this website for the company that built the trolley for Americana on Brand - http://www.gomacotrolley.com/index.html
It got me to wondering if maybe Disney will use this company to build the Red Cars for DCA. I had already been pondering whether the DCA trolleys might be powered by battery the way The Grove double-decker trolley (which was designed by retired Disney Imagineer George McGinnis) is. It would seem to me that having the trolleys battery powered, with the "power lines" just there for show, would be a much safer way to go in a theme park environment than having the trolleys powered by live electrical wires. Information on the trolley maker website indicates that the trolley at Americana also operates on batteries. I've been to Americana twice since it opened, but, the trolley was not running, nor was it out. That is why I was looking for photos of it, to see what it looked like as I'd heard it was different than the one at The Grove.
It will be interesting to see what happens. At any rate, I look forward to the trolley at DCA. (For those in Southern CA, they have some operational actual LA Red Car trolleys at the Orange Empire Rail Museum in Perris that are fun to ride on if you get the chance.) |
2
| ArchtMig
Mon 5/19/2008 11:13p | KTLA in L.A. did a live on air visit to the Americana on Brand the first day it opened to the public. I saw shots of the trolley there and it looks like it is only a single decker trolley as opposed to the double decker trolley found at the Grove.
And I agree with you about high voltage power lines suspended over the streets at DCA. I can't imagine that the trolleys would derive their power from real overhead live wires. In the end, I wouldn't be surprised if they just omit the overhead wires completely and make the trolleys run wireless like the Jolly Trolley does in Toontown. But my hope is that they have fake live wires overhead and the trolleys get their power from below the pavement in a manner similar to how the Nemo Subs are now fed with juice. It would be great if the Imagineers could figure out how to introduce a few sparks here and there on the fake live wires as the trolleys' conductor bars pass by. |
3
| ChurroMonster
Tue 5/20/2008 2:20a | The Americana trolley is battery-powered and has never actually operated. I live two blocks away and visit the Americana almost daily (the place is AWESOME!) and I've never seen the trolley running. I've asked a security guard (one of the few that wasn't forcing people off the grass) and he said it is having power issues, whatever that means. Honestly, the place has been so packed that the trolley wouldn't even be safe to run. |
4
| ni_teach
Tue 5/20/2008 8:15a | I don't know if you have been following the soap opera of what is going in and out of the DCA makeover, but the Red Cars are on the chopping block and do not look like they will be put in. |
5
| dshyates
Tue 5/20/2008 8:23a | Maybe they could get a couple of used Yugos to shuttle people around the place. And in the vain of Screamin' they could theme them to look like late model economy cars. |
6
| Dabob2
Tue 5/20/2008 8:57a | <But my hope is that they have fake live wires overhead>
Overhead wires are kind of ugly and clutter up a landscape. Kinda weird that people complain about the power lines visible from DCA but want fake ones put inside the park itself? |
7
| DBitz2
Tue 5/20/2008 9:05a | If you look at the photos of the Americana trolley on the link that I posted, you can see that it is a single level trolley with two cars in tandem. Very attractive. It did at least operate for the Grand Opening, as there are many photos of that. I hope they eventually get it going again. I think it will add to the atmosphere. The first time I visited Americana, I felt a bit like I was back at World Showcase at Epcot!
It would be a real shame if the Red cars end up getting cut from the DCA makeover. It needs the kinetics and (forgive the pun) "electricity" that they would provide.
Here's a link to a little info on the trolley at The Grove - http://www.thegrovela.com/conc...trolley/ It is powered by "inductive power", the first such use in the U.S. |
8
| DBitz2
Tue 5/20/2008 9:13a | Here's another link to a site that explains how the trolley at The Grove works - http://www.railwaypreservation...eles.htm Seems like this would be the way to go for a DCA trolley system.
Check out the link on the page to Transportation Innovations Group. Hm, maybe Disney will work with them on the DCA trolley if it happens, as they're more local. Perhaps the new PeopleMover, too. Some interesting stuff on their site. |
9
| BigJim89
Tue 5/20/2008 10:39a | <<I don't know if you have been following the soap opera of what is going in and out of the DCA makeover, but the Red Cars are on the chopping block and do not look like they will be put in.>>
First the WD Story (which was said to be removed because of the cost of the red cars) & now the Red Cars, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole new entrance gets canned altogether. It seems as though the focus is more on Carsland and TLM and less on the new entrance. |
10
| Hans Reinhardt
Tue 5/20/2008 10:58a | ^^^Boy, would that be a big mistake. |
