Does anyone make a shorter version of passenger cars?
I started my 4’ x 8’ layout and I have trouble running the larger passenger cars. Any help will be appreciated.
Walthers trainline[?] have 60ft. passenger cars.You also may be able to get Rivarossi 60 footers if some are still around.On one of these recent posts OK metal 60ft. cars were also mentioned. http://okengines.com/museum.shtml
The Walthers Trainline look as if they’re the Rivarossi 60-footers under another name. They’re nice cars. Also, MDC makes Harriman passenger cars in 60 foot lengths, and if you like streamliners, Con-Cor makes ‘shorty’ streamline cars that don’t look too bad on tight radius. The Athearn cars both standard and streamline are a scale 72’, but they’ll take an 18" radius with ease. You’ve got a lot of choices, actually.
Tom
ConCor makes shorties as well but I’m not familiar with the quality of them. I don’t own any of them.
Athearn makes a decent car for the buck, especially in the Blue Box line.
I have about 8 of them that I use in my excursion trains. All but one are heavyweights.
Paint is decent on them & they can be bought for a decent price if you shop around.
Gordon
Mantua made 60 foot streamline cars that you still see at swap meets, and I think Model Power still offers cars that were either Varney or Penn Line originals. The Walthers cars look nice and as many of you know, the C&NW and CB&Q actually had short standard passenger cars that are very similar to the Walthers models.
Don’t ignore the Herkimer/OK line of steamline cars. They offer them in full and 60’ lengths. The tooling is old – nearly 50 years old! – but the cars build up into nice looking models and there is some real variety in their line. They are almost never seen in hobby shops – this is something you have to order by mail.
Dave Nelson
these are a couple of Herkimer 60 footers although the pics do not do them justice.They track very well and are easy to build.lighting is a simple solder the two wires to the floor of the interior.I have been collecting these for atleast a couple of years,and have bought rtr cars for as little as $9.00 a piece on e-bay.With a little detailing they look great. they track very well and kd coupler conversion is not a big problem.It’s kinda hard to beat the look of real metal with plastic{just my opinion} but I must say the newer plastic cars are very nice.also.Hopes this helps Terry
MDC also makes some 34 ft and 50 ft open platform cars. Don’t know if they fit your era.
Enjoy
Paul
I was going to post this as well, but couldn’t think of the name for the shorter ones. Recently saw one someplace and they are callec “Overton” cars, IIRC.
Herkimer / OK / Streamliner were Modern era SS corrgated metal cars. (New owner)
MDC Overton cars are ‘Old time’ 1800 ‘s.
Riverossi / Walthers have 20’s / 30’s 60’ Heavyweights.
SPECTRUM ha some 72’ PRR style heavyweights.
CONCOR has both 85’ and 72 ’ , ATHEARN’s are all 72’s,
TENSHODO made a few painted brass shorties.
Good hunting.
Trainworld in New York on their website has the entire Athearn line of passenger cars, both streamlined and heavyweight on sale for $5.99 per car. Tough to beat prices like that and Athearn cars do a great job of handling uneven track and switches. Nicely finished and easy to add interior details to if you are so inclined.
Athearn makes 72’ heavy weight and streamline passenger cars…These cars will operate on 18" curves.
Anyone have any ideas on models to use for the palace cars of 1905 era? HO scale.
Allen
Actually, the Overton cars are Sierra Railroad, and only date from about 1910. There were exactly two built, so they’re an oddball prototype (if it bothers you). The Walthers Trainline/Rivarossi 60-footers are at least prototypically accurate (for the C&NW and NYC).
Roundhouse makes (made?) four body styles for the Pullman Palace cars, Westerfield USED to make resin kits for Pennsy cars that were virtually identical, and LaBelle makes several wood craftsman kits that can be worked into Palace cars. I’d go with the Roundhouse cars, since they’re the most easily available and least expensive (and lend themselves to kitbashing nicely)
I agree with the above comments on the Roundhouse cars. I run all four types of the “Overland” cars. The “Overton” are the short, old west style cars.
Here’s an example of some of the longer Overland models:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=19139&item=5949345337&rd=1
I hope this helps!
Adbyme,
On rare occasions at a swap meet you might find a kit for a Central Lines Manufacturing Co. 50 footer or possibly even a Westwood kit. Both brands made kits for turn-of-the-century (1900) cars, but would need some upgrading and do require some skill in assembly.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543
Just got this off the Trains.com newsletter:
“HO scale passenger cars
34-foot “Overton” passenger cars. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Baltimore & Ohio; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Pennsylvania RR; Southern Ry.; and Virginia & Truckee. Molded plastic underframe, metal truss rods, and RP-25 metal wheels. Individual coach $16.98 to $17.98 each. Four-pack (baggage car, combine, coach, and business car) $64.98 to $68.98. Ready-to-run. April 2005. Ex-Roundhouse models. Athearn Trains”
If you are going with the Overton Woodsides from MDC, get them quick, they are out of production and going fast. The good news is that many are being sold for great bargain prices.
Check with the Athearn site for updates on the old MDC cars/locos. It appears in Nscale, they have changed some paint, changed trucks/couplers, at a lower price? I hope the quality stays the same.
Athearn may be changing the paint on the N Scale Overtons, and are definitely changing the couplers, but the price is going UP, not down.