I e-mailed The Coach Yard in regards to the production and release of the Santa Fe division superintendent business cars (the shortys), and they sent me an e-mail back stating that all the disign work is complete, but they are waiting for more orders before starting production.
For anyone interested in one of these cars, you may want to get your orders in. They are interesting and unique cars.
After a recent e-mail to TCY, it is now looking like NEXT fall ('09) will be the soonest we will see these. Sometimes the brass “game” can get a little frustrating, but it should will be worth the wait!!
And these are what? Picture sources would be appreciated if you have them. I don’t know what I;m looking for beyond ATSF Buisness cars. I’m all for buisness cars.
The Coach Yard also has plans to produce a dozen variations of Pullman business/private observation cars. There are several Pullman-owned versions, as well as some lettered for several railroads. These are “heavyweight” style cars, including two ATSF versions. This is in addition to the “lightweight/streamlined” ATSF business cars I believe Smitty is referring.
I’ve got a reservation for the Marco Polo, so my desire is some of you will order one of these heavyweights so “my” car will be produced.
http://www.thecoachyard.com/Pages/Equipment/PullmanBusinessCars.html
Mark
I overlooked that in the offering of Santa Fe business cars Smitty was referring to, that in addition to the lightweight cars, there are also two-axle-trucked heavyweight versions.
http://www.thecoachyard.com/Pages/Equipment/ATSFBusinessCars.html
The Pullman business cars are full-length, with three-axled trucks.
Mark
These little guys: http://www.jerryapp.com/arcv3a/ja-r216.jpg
Cute. I like. Wishes for money
I did quite a bit of restoration work on the 404 in San Antonio (TTM). I think they are the ultimate “compact car”. After they went through the Topeka upgrades, they were completely self sufficient. The galley was a little tight, but very functional. That diesel generator made things really nice I’m sure (as well as the ACs that were added which were basically window units).
From what I have been told, the model will come with around a $495 price tag. They will be complete with interiors, glazing, and factory paint. I don’t know about lighting. I will have to take a look at that in the PDF on the Coach Yard site.
Ouch. Bit out of my range. I can;t open PDFs for some reason, all I get is a blank page.
I wouldn’t normally spend that much on a car either, but for some reason they are one of my all time favorite Santa Fe cars. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I spent many years involved with the restoration/preservation of the 404.
The old Walther’s metal side cars just don’t look right, and the car that Hallmark imported in the '80s (I believe) was a prototype for the as built 401 (no commissary door, generator, ACs, etc).
I’d get one of the Super’s cars but, it’s too old for me and my time frame. It’s a shame that I’ll be selling off my SP business fleet to concentrate on the BNSF business fleet especially since I have reserved one ATSF lounge car 62 and the William B Strong. those two will set me back about grand when purchased.
Charlie
There is no need to justify your purchase to us, Smitty.
Mark
Just following up on this old thread, but I was looking at the Coach Yard site, and the shortys have finally gone into the production stage. I have seen several threads in regards to the timelines from announcement to production and this is a perfect example of the possible wait times on something. I made the reservation in 2005 so I consider this quite a wait!!
My apologies for wasting bandwidth with this, but I am really excited about this. This particular model has been a long time coming. The Hallmark versions (model of the original production 401) still demands quite a premium on eBay.
The prototype #405 is currently being restored by the Arizona Railway Museum.
Charlie, I cannot see what you are trying to post.
Yeah, having problems posting an actual reply.
TCY for some reason, doesn’t include an interior lighting unit in their cars with interiors. I have TCY ATSF Budd 1562 L-C-D with interior and MP ACF 870 Coach Grill with interior and neither car has interior lighting. I’ve been seriously thinking of reserving ATSF Sup car 406.
Charlie.
I wonder how difficult it would be to add lighting. Tomar stuff maybe?
If they do the interior right, this is one of the few cars that I would be interested in lighting. In the 404, the lighting was really soft and dim. We had the cove lights in the walls, but typically used the larger “dome” type fixtures in the ceiling for light.
I really wished they were doing the 404, but oh well. Beggars can’t be choosers as the old saying goes.
Smitty, have you considered using Rapido’s Easy Peasy lighting sets? It’s what I’m planning on attempting.
Charlie
