i need some help…i recently purchased a 1941 14 car city of san francisco passenger train made by The Coach Yard. the problem is that the windows have no glass (glazing) in them. are there window sets i can get for this train? if not…how can i make windows that will fit? also, what locomotives would be appropriate to pull this train. it came with an ABBA set of proto 2000 E6’s, but i want brass engines to go with this train. any help you can give would be greatly appreciated
Hi Alex,
The power units for the 1941 “City of San Franciso” were 3 Electro-Motive E6 locomotives in A-B-B configuration. They were numbered SF-4, -5, and -6, respectively. Overland Models has imported brass models of these units, but I don’t think they are currently available from the importer. I’d be surprised if there isn’t a set avaialble from one of the many brass dealers on the Web.
You won’t find window sets made for the Coach Yard cars. They are meant to have clear glazing mounted inside, tight to the body shells. This is actually appropriate for these prewar Pullman-built passenger cars, since they didn’t have the flush-mounted windows seen on postwar cars built by the Budd Co. Photos of the 1941 COSF cars in “The Union Pacific Streamliners” by Ranks and Kratville clearly show the inset window glazing.
If your cars are unpainted, notice the moldings above and below the windows, These were unpainted natural aluminum on the real cars, a feature that may not be obvious to those who know the UP’s yellow and gray colors from the 1950s and '60s.
(Personally I’m collecting cars to model the “City of Los Angeles” circa 1947 for my Cajon Pass layout.)
Good luck,
Andy Sperandeo
MODEL RAILROADER Magazine
thank you for your info Andy. i finally found an ABB set, just have to come up with the cash for them 
You’re welcome, Alex. Good luck – Andy
another question:
i was looking for a drumhead for this train. was there one? and if so, tomar makes two types, one round, one kinda square, which one would be appropriate? i also wanted to know how long the 1941 consist was in use. did it only run one year, and then it was changed, or was this same consist used for a while? BTW Andy, i saw you at the NMRA show but didnt get a chance to say hi. i was the big guy wearing the EMD shirt and the cowboy hat with the Union Pacific and engineer pins on it there saturday afternoon. still no luck on finding the locos. Caboose Hobbies had a set, but they sold it before i could come up with the money 
thanks for any help y’all can give me
Hello Alex,
I"ve been out of the office a lot the past couple weeks so I couldn’t get to your question right away. It’s my understanding that the '41 “City” consists basically stayed together until the beginning of daily “Streamliner” service in 1947. The “City of San Francisco” went daily at the beginning of September 1947, but some cars had already been reassigned in May of that year to support daily “City of Los Angeles” service.
The cars remained in service into the 1950s, but the UP began re-equipping the “Streamliners” in 1948. It appears that all of the COSF observation cars were re-assigned to the COLA in the late '40s.
The sleeper observation car of the '41 COSF was the “Russian Hill” and a photo in “The Union Pacific Streamliners” by Kratville and Ranks shows it with a round tail sign in a square box about the width of the rear door or a little wider.
Best wishes,
Andy Sperandeo
Editor
MODEL RAILROADER Magazine
thank you…again…very much for your help. i was looking at that book you mention at the NMRA show…just didnt have the ca***o get it, but it looks like it is worth it.
Alex
Union Pacific “we will devour”