N Scale - Bachmann - 62989 - Streetcar, Electric, PCC Trolley - Baltimore Transit - 7407

Specific Item Information: Produced under new stock number

Model Information: This Bachmann streetcar has been around for some decades. Features include: eight-wheel drive, operating headlight, Performs best on 11.25" radius curves or greater.

Prototype Description: The PCC (Presidents’ Conference Committee) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful in its native country, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world. The PCC car has proved to be a long-lasting icon of streetcar design, and PCC cars are still in service around the world.

PCC cars were initially built in the United States by the St. Louis Car Company (SLCCo) and Pullman Standard. Clark Equipment built the only aluminum-body PCC as well as all narrow gauge B1 trucks for Los Angeles, all the standard and broad gauge B2 trucks both air- and all-electric, and the B2B trucks used under PRCo 1725–1799 and Toronto 4500–4549. SLCCo built all B3 trucks, both standard and broad gauge. PCC cars for Canadian cities were assembled in Montreal, Quebec by Canadian Car and Foundry from bodies and trucks supplied by St. Louis Car.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: BTCO ran a dense network of streetcar lines in Baltimore, Maryland. The company was organized in 1935 to take over the assets of the bankrupt United Railways & Electric Company. To keep freight trains out of the streets, the predecessors of BTCO had built the line to broad gauge, 5’ 4.5” to be exact, a gauge which seems to be unique in the world. BTCO became a subsidiary of National City Lines in 1948. Like their other properties, National City planned to replace all of the streetcars with buses. The last BTCO streetcar ran in regular service in 1963.

Brand/Importer Information: Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, who model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann's brand is the largest seller, in terms of volume, of model trains in the world. Bachmann primarily specializes in entry level train sets, and premium offerings in many scales. The Spectrum line is the high quality, model railroad product line, offered in N, HO, Large Scale, On30, and Williams O gauge all aimed for the hobbyist market. Bachmann is the producer of the famous railroad village product line known as "Plasticville." The turnover for Bachmann model trains for the year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $46.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005.