I have an SP Daylight 4449 and I model modern day so I’m looking for excursion cars that the daylight might pull that are available in a RTR HO scale model. So far the only cars I’ve been able to find are the following:
Walthers Milwaukee Road Super dome
Walthers Milwaukee Road Skytop Lounge
Broadway Limited California Zephyr Observation Dome Car
Now I plan on getting the daylight cars from BLI or MTH but that still won’t be enough variety. What else is there in HO scale that I can put in that you would see on the rails today? I’ve watched youtube videos but I can’t seem to find any of the cars I see in the real life videos in HO scale. Thanks for your help!
John…I’d say that you could place just about any passenger car behind what you would call your ‘excursion’ train…many private car owners and some museums, donate the use of their coaches and other types of cars, to get the publicity. In the modeling arena, this could be fictionally derived by placing a ‘mix’ of different vintage cars in your consist.
To model an exact excursion train would be a real challenge, as no two rarely ever have the same cars in tow.
Very true. Any videos that I have seen on youtube showing most steam excursions (except for the UP ones) have cars that were loaners from two or more collections in order to make up the appropriate consist for the subscription to the excursion.
I watched a video some time ago with the GS-4 making a run to Portland and back and it was “ALL” the Daylight cars, nothing else. Personally that is how I would run it. It only had 1 dome car and none of the 2 or 3 unit diners and you would need more than the normal amount of “coaches” with no RPO but they did have the baggage car. They also had an auxiliary water tender but you’d have a hard time finding that I would imagine.
In short, buy lots a coaches, dome optional, a baggage and an observation and I’d say you would probably be pretty close.
It was about a 15 car train as I remember but you cold condense that if needed.
This was the 1984 Worl’d Fair train to Louisiana. Only time it’s happened. And thanks to life, it its not likely to happen again.
4449 does not YET own any Amtrak compatible coaches. Hence, they have to borrow cars. HOWEVER< there are a few on the grounds, including A GN sleeper, and a few baggage cars. Google DLMX 4219 and you’ll turn up her rollling stock. (4219 is her water car) Or, I’ll do it, since I need to relocate the link.
Since you have the Milwaukees, then I’d asvise going after video of the TrainFestival 2009 train. She left Portland with a Zephyr set, but those joined Amtrak and the Friends of 261 put the Skytop and Super Dome on in their place in Milwaukee.
A good basis for an excursin trip:
A Diesel: If it’s a long trip, then you need one for coach power, as well as Dynamic breaking. Good news: 4449’s crew painted an ex-Amtrak f40PH in Dayulight. It has rust problems in the Turbo, but nothing says you haven’t gotten that fixed in your model world.
A Power/Tool car. Basically, an RPO. It powers the train, and provides the crew a place to fix things if the train breaks down on the road
Crew Car: Place for the crew to get out of the way
Lunch Buffett: There’s a reason Amtrak has a limited use of full Dining cars, and that applies to you to. A Buffet car can also serve as a lounge, and is mealtime-neutral. Most excusions don’t run through high-quality mealhours either, so a snack bar is the best thing. You can also sell souviners on it.
Lounge cars. I’d put on 2, one of them a Dome. This is first Class Seating. Probably the other an Observation Car
CVoaches: Two or three. DOn’t go overboard on coaches. But this is the cheap seat, the most likely to sell.
I have only ridden on one excursion train, the Southern Railway’s with their Mikado in the 1970’s. It had a power car, a baggage car with open doors and railings across the openings and several coaches with an observation car at the rear. A few of the cars were from other adjacent railroads.I have thought about having an excursion train on my layout using either my Bachmann 2-8-0 or my Athearn 2-8-2 pulling a mix of 40’s and 50’s passenger cars.
Mark: Yep, and 4449 has a heavyweight version of a car like that. It has a clerastory but appears to only be 40-50ft long. I suggested the RPO because he’ll also need the toolspace.
Here’s the list fo coaches that are hanging around with 4449 and 700. Might not be a bad place to start. These cars do run short distance behind 4449, but are not cleared to go onto the Class 1 main. They just toodle as a museum consist. For now.
Lightweight Coach Former GN empire Builder, still in EB scheme
DLMX #4219
Water Tender for SP #4449
I found one at a train show, the guy said at one time he actually had several of these, but the car looked for all the world like a pair of bashed Bachmann tenders, so I don’t really know if a thrird part did a run or not. the real 4219 is an ex-Cab Forward tender with a rounded top on the oil bunker to match the round wate rbunker. Though all the car carries now is water.
DLMX #5659“Gordon N. Zimmerman”
Baggage/Concession Car for SP #4449
Also listed as “Better Idea”. Gordon was an influential member of the 4449 crew, and they named the car after him. according to one of them, this is the/one of the first cars they want to Amtrak. Looks like a Walthers PS baggage car painted in Daylight is the way to go
Here’s a link to a video of 4449 on a Fall Excursion train last fall that I was able to ride on. Most of the cars were borrowed from the Friends of 261 (the maroon and orange Milwaukee cars, and the three silver Budd cars with a maroon stripe thru the windows). The rest are kind of a hodge-podge.
