Have a set of HO Northern Pacific two tone green 72’ passenger cars. some of the cars have lettering SP&S on the side of the cars just below the roof line near one end. Does anyone know who the manufacturer is or was and their approximately new retail value when produced? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
What you are asking is just darn near impossible without photos to go along with it.
I have a red boxcar here and it says Santa Fe, who made it?
Mark
Some more info would be helpful such as heaveyweight or smoothside (suspected) and any marlings under the car. Pictures would be the best. The only thing I could turn up is that they may be IHC smoothsides. Looks like they retail(ed) for about $19.
IHC cars are not very high end I don’t believe they would sell anywhere near the retail value.
Ricky
If these are 72’ cars, I suspect they are Con Cor HO passenger cars. The SP&S initials show ‘ownership’ of the cars used for the ‘Portland’ section of the North Coast Limited. There are also CB&Q ownership cars due to operation between St Paul & Chicago over the Burlington Route. The paint scheme is light green below the windows, and dark green above, with a white pin stripe seperating the colors.
Jim
They are smoothside and do not have interiors. I’m sure they are at the lower end price wise because there’s nothing special about the rest of the car(s). There are no markings of any kind on the underside. The “SP&S” lettering (I think it stands for “Spokane Portland & Seattle”) on some of the cars appears to be factory imprinted, I don’t think it’s been added on by an individual. I’m assuming (bad thing to do) that the prototype cars came from the Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway and the Northern Pacific RR was simply acknowledging it by including the “SP&S” on the cars. Anyway, I assumed (there’s that word again) that someone out in the model railroad world has or had a set they purchased new and would remember who the manufacture was. I’m figuring it’s either IHC or Con-Cor which would put them at the low end cost wise.
I’m 99.9% sure Jim has it right because there are other cars in the set that have CB&Q imprinted on them as well. Thanks again for everyones help.
Okay, the OP question is answered but what about Marks red Santa Fe box car??[8D]
Duckdogger!!
You and I think very much a like, you have my deepest sympathy…
Mark
The cars with “SP&S” and “CB&Q” on the ends were owned by the respective railroads. They were supplied as their share of the cars required to make up the trainsets for the NP’s North Coast Limited. That train, although pretty much an NP creation, also operated over the SP&S and the “Q”.
The same thing was true for the GN’s Empire Builder.
Ed
More than likely I think he has it right too. However, if you go on the IHC website, you’ll see their North Coast Limited set also has the CB&Q on some of the cars (unfortunately, not all the pictures were coming up on the website).
http://www.ihc-hobby.com/cgi/bsc.cgi?sn=V7053570J8T1A94102A850713089M0
Ricky