Hi gang. I recently aquired an N scale ConCor 1938 version of the NYC 20th Century Limited set and am wondering if the Dreyfuss J3 Hudson is the correct engine to use to pull it with or not. So far it’s the only one that I’ve been able to find that’s available… Thanks in advance for any info.
Tracklayer
Tracklayer,
Yes, the Dreyfuss would definitely be the appropriate locomotive for the 20th Century Limited. However, there were two color schemes for the J3:
1938 - Blue striping on tender
1940 - Dark gray striping on tender
Tom
The “Dreyfuss” streamlining was designed specifically for Hudsons that would be pulling the streamlined Century, which started in 1938. The original paint scheme was light gray cars with a dark gray band thru the windows, separated by blue stripes. There were also three white stripes inside the dark gray band. These stripes / colors carried forward onto the tender of the Hudsons. After a year or two, the blue was replaced with white striping.
Around 1947-48 the colors were reversed, dark gray bodies with a light gray band thru the windows, separated by white stripes. This is the scheme used in the recent Walthers HO 20th Century. By that time many of the Hudsons had been de-streamlined, and the Century was normally pulled by E-units, so AFAIK no streamlined Hudsons got the later reversed paint scheme.
I have the Walthers HO set and a BLI Dreyfuss Hudson and the question I have is about the seat and interior colors, especially on the Observation car (with the big windows). I’ve found some old ads from magazines at shows and online and it looks like the seats are maroon or reddish-brown with some beige. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
The MBI book on the Twentieth Century Limited includes some color interior pics and drawings / sketches of the interior decor.
Observation car Hickory Creek has been restored, can’t say for sure if interior colors match the original scheme or not…