Hi. I am looking to buy a set great Northern passenger cars. I al looking for shorter 50-60ft cars for my new secondary layout. If anyone has some to sell or knows of some for sale, please respond! Thanks!
The only 50’ passenger cars of which I’m aware are the MDC “old time” cars, with open platforms. I can’t say if they’re available in Northern Pacific colours, but if you’re capable of doing paint and decal work, you could create what you need.
Athearn passenger cars are perhaps a better choice if you’re looking for steel heavyweight cars, which would be appropriate from the early ‘20s and well into the late ‘50s, at least. They’re a bit longer than your upper limit, varying from 68’ to 72’ in HO. Again, I’m not aware if they’re available in Northern Pacific colours, though.
Here are a couple of the MDC cars - on my late '30s layout, they represent cars retired from passenger service, and now relegated to MoW service, hence some of the plated-over windows, and, of course, bland paint jobs…
coach…
…combine, with a couple windows added in the baggage section…
…and postal/baggage (with some plated-over windows)…
All three cars can be had with either the roof-type shown on the passenger car, or the style used on the other two.
Here are a couple of the Athearn cars, this one with an arched roof…
…and here’s the same car type, but with a clerestory roof…
Th
The Athearn streamlined cars and heavyweight cars have been offered as kits and RTR lettered in Northern Pacific at various times in the past.
An Ebay search will find some.
They are 72’ long except the RPO which is shorter, and run well on small radius (18/22) curves.
Sheldon
Thanks Guys. i appreciate the help.
Great Northern didn’t use stainless steel cars (except for a few bought used in the 1960’s) so the Athearn streamline cars wouldn’t be correct, although the heavyweight cars would. Con-Cor’s 72’ smooth side passenger cars might fit the bill.
https://www.con-cor.com/shop/ho-72-ft-passenger-car-great-northern-empire-builder/
I recall Con-Cor has 72’ diesel era cars in Great Northern colors. Con-Cor has 60’ steam era cars, but I don’t recall if they include GN.
There are some Concor 72’ GN cars on Ebay right now.
Mike.
Assuming you are in HO, Tenshodo produced brass, 60 foot, smooth sided, passenger cars in the late 1950s/1960s, in GN paint. They were imported by Pacific Fast Mail, and may be available on the used market.
Yes, I forgot about ConCor, and I own 3 sets of their 72’ streamlined cars.
Sheldon
As I recall they were available in Big Sky Blue as well as the traditional GN streamlined colors. The Pacific Fast Mail back page ad in the February 1968 MR first advertised the availability of F units and 60’ shorty passenger cars in Big Sky Blue. The PFM ad on the back of the June 1970 issue of MR shows GN/Big Sky Blue coaches with corrugated sides and the ad copy says yes they did exist - the GN had purchased four Frisco coaches in the mid 1960s. The PFM ad in the September 1970 issue shows the whole collection of 60’ shorty cars in a variety of paint schemes including both GN schemes.
I happen to think 60’ shorty cars are just too short, but then I do not have super tight radius curves; the Athearn compromise length is more plausible so long as a full length car is not nearby, but of course those are not smooth side.
Dave Nelson
I wanted a shorty baggage car and couldn’t find one so I shortened one.
I bought a cheapie off eBay, the white IHC below.
Marked the cuts with a Sharpi.
A fine tooth blade in my table saw worked great.
Two splices
A shorty baggage car painted and decaled.
If I can’t find what I want I make one fit the bill.
A kitbash is part of the fun in our hobby.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I have a few Rivarossi coaches and a baggage car. I got them undecorated and painted in dark green. I bought Walthers lighting kits for them, but those contacts were always flaky and finishing the job will require adding some wires.
These cars will navigate 18 inch HO curves quite well, but I found that a 17 3/4 curve would derail them.
I painted the coach interiors and added a few passengers while I was installing the lights.
That turned out great, Mel.
I like rolling my own, too, and while I built this MDC “Palace” combine pretty-well stock, I did add some details to the underbody, including a fishbelly underframe in place of the kit’s truss rods…
A friend gave me a complete train of those MDC Palace cars, with lighting. I don’t do any lighted stuff on my layout, so the lighting was removed.
This combine, originally the same 80’ length as the one above, got a bit of a chop-job, shortening it to about 68’…
…and a paint job, too…
The remaining three cars (diner, Pullman, and observation) will also be shortened, as I have enough 80’ers in the form of steel heavyweights.
I also have a bunch of 80’ Rivarossi Pullmans and 74’ coaches, all of which will be converted into shortened wood-sheathed head-end cars of various types - 3 or 4 of them for friends, and another four or five for myself. That will pretty-much be the last of my passenger and head-end carbuilding.
Wayne
When I start a car kitbash I always look up some of your pictures Wayne for reference.
Doing a passenger car kitbash is really pretty easy. I wanted a Southern Pacific ¾ Dome car, because the SP built their own dome cars in the Sacramento Shop and only built 7 no one makes one in HO. I made my own SP dome cars from Athearn Diners.
Bachmann 85’ full dome windows fit the Athearn 72’ shell perfect for the ¾ dome length after some surgery.
I ended up making four SP ¾ Dome cars.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your kind words, Mel, but I’m in awe of some of the stuff you’ve done. I always enjoy seeing your work, and especially the degree to which you take it.
Nice work for sure, on those dome cars, too, Mel. [bow][bow]
I think that the things you show us are a great inspiration for those who are just starting to venture into kitbashing and/or scratchbuilding, and I’m learning a lot from you, too, as I haven’t got as many years of experience as do you.
Wayne
I think you might be screwed. The only propotypical shorty you can find are the Walthers Trainline Passenger Cars, they are available in GN but are CNW Prototypes,
I could be wrong, but I got the impression the OP was not overly concerned with them being exactly correct.
Seems he understands the idea of selectively compressed freelanced cars.
Sheldon