Hello to all on this part of the Forum, my 1st time here.
Aussie needs help.
Regarding light weight cars. Walthers is offering a light weight 10-6 sleeper Pullman standard, BUT with no fluting below the windows. I have only seen converted heavy weights (skirts added) and a dinner without fluting below the windows.
Have I missed a photo, or are Walthers wrong.
Would appreciate help in this, thanks
Rob
To my knowledge, Rio Grande never acquired a 10-6 sleeper. They acquired ‘second-hand’ sleepers from the Chesapeake and Ohio for their “Prospector” and “Royal Gorge” trains, but IIRC these were in the 5-6 arrangement, and all had fluted sides below the windows.
When post WW–II streamlining began, the Rio Grande was kinda/sorta at the ‘bottom of the pile’ for recieving equipment and most of it came from the C&O’s ill-fated “Chessie” streamliners. About the only ‘new’ streamline cars the Rio Grande acquired were for their contribution to the CB&Q/D&RGW/WP “California Zephyr.”
Walthers offers a great many passenger cars in the ‘Grande Gold’ scheme, but not all of them are prototypical. Frankly, I wish they’d offer the ex-C&O dome observation in Rio Grande, especially the model that was converted to mid-train use by the Rio Grande. Now THERE would be an interesting car, IMO.
Tom
You mean the one in the link below? Division Point did that car a couple years ago. I got lucky and found one in a “Royal Gorge” set last summer. Now not only can I run the Royal Gorge, I can do the Yampa Valley Flyer. All I have to do is throw in a heavyweight baggage car and an extra coach and I can create the Prospector.
Texas:
I’d give my eyeteeth to get hold of that entire Division Point set–I’ve been drooling ever since I first saw it advertised. Unfortunately, I’d have to take out a second on the house, LOL!
Tom [:)]
Yeah, I justified it in two ways. First was by saying it would be sort of silly to model the Royal Gorge with hanging bridge and all and not have the namesake train for it. The second is that one of my friends is involved with Division Point. I got to hear the whole nightmare of what they had to do to get those produced accurately. The overseas company that did them swore off passenger cars because of it. I figured there might never be any more produced.
Texas:
I’ve only got one Division Point locomotive–their Rio Grande F-81 2-10-2, and it cost me a VERY pretty penny, but it’s worth every bit of what I paid and more. Superb craftsmanship, runs like a dream and pulls like a team of oxen. So using that loco as a gauge, I can only imagine how excellent the Prospector/Royal Gorge cars are.
Lucky you!
Tom
Rob, Tom pretty much summarized the prototype information. If you need specifics, I have a couple books at home which have excellent information on Rio Grande passenger cars, including the Pullman Standard cars purchased to outfit the Prospector and part of the Royal Gorge in 1950 and the streamstyled older heavyweights. FYI too excellent reference books on Rio Grande Passenger cars are:
Rio Grande Diesels: Volume 3 by Joesph Strapac
Rio Grande Color Guide to Freight & Passenger Euquipment by Jim Eager (Morning Sun Books)
Now to models… In terms of “light weight” passenger cars, I am only aware of one Walthers car which is a very close (but not exact) match to a Prospector type P-S passenger car. That is what Walthers labels as a 52 seat Pullman Standard coach Walthers Part # 932-6768:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/932-6768
Edit, looks like Walthers is re-running the only correct car for the Rio Grande:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/932-15303
That car was used on the Prospector through out it’s life until the very end. That car was also used by Rio Grande to convert in it’s shops into Business car #100 Wilson McCarthy, later the Kansas (IIRC).
I’ve been over all of the other Walthers D&RGW painted light weight cars and none of them match anything Rio Grande owned. They all had fluting below the windows and save the 52 seat coach, very different window layout. I obtained two of the 52 seat coaches when they were on sale for $16 each, quite a bargain for nearly prototypically accurage passenger cars!
Now there may be one or two Heavyweight Pullman passenger cars used on the Royal Gorge in the 1950’s that Walthers or Branchline may have a decent stand in for. Here is one which has the general look but I don’t think
The deal with the smooth side Diner 1116 is that Rio Grande purchase an ex-UP diner in 1981/82 to substitute for the ex-CZ diner.
I believe Riverossi made some HO plastic UP cars and their diner is actually a pretty good match. Walthers may have a better match in it’s recent run. Just be aware that the ex-UP diner wasn’t used until the early 1980’s and only for a short time in Rio Grande Zephyr use.
As for car 1230, it was painted with silver sides to better match the ex-CZ cars around 1983-1985. When it was painted back to Aspen Gold, there was no black stripe applied. I believe that was the car with the blanked out dorm windows but I’ll have to check my books to be sure.