Join the discussion on the following article:
Walthers HO scale Empire Builder ACF coach passenger car
My wife was born and raised in Cut Bank, MT and hence an avid fan of the GN. The “Builder” is her favorite train. I am in the process of putting together an HO “Builder” for her. These new Walthers cars are absolutely beautiful, with such elegant paint schemes and fine detail that we “Builder” builders are fortunate that they are not sold in jewelry stores. Way to go Walthers!
I’ve ordered enough cars to do the Builder east of Spokane (15 cars and 4 locomotives) and have so far received the RPO and coach. This makes my third Empire Builder, the first assembled from mostly Soho cars in the 70s and a second train from Challenger. The first was unpainted with no interiors, but I got it to run fairly well. The second has solid brass diaphragms with extremely stiffly mounted trucks and so won’t run well nor can it be close coupled without a lot of work. I wanted a train that will run on our club layout and the first two Walthers cars do this even though the trucks are incorrect. They aren’t obvious being black against a black underframe. The yellow striping should be similar to the interior color since the prototype was imitation gold. I removed and reoriented the two vents to trail in the wind and am working on how to paint the seats. Those are the negatives, on the positive side, the cars are very well done and certainly much more affordable than my two brass versions. The “car of the month club” approach could add up to a lot of shipping if not for the fact that several dealers have opted to provide the cars for a package price that includes free shipping if one is willing to wait until two or more cars are available before being shipped. Overall, I’m pleased with what I’ve seen so far and feel the price makes this train affordable to a lot more modelers.
I MODEL N-SCALE, BUT HAVE A COUPLE OF FRIENDS IN HO, THAT HAVE ORDERED THE NEW EMPIRE BUILDER. THE WORKMANSHIP IS VERY GOOD, AND DETAILS ARE GREAT. I HAVE THE N-SCALE (KATO)VERSION OF THE BUILDER. BUT THE H0 GUYS ARE LUCKY, THEY CAN GET IT IN THE BIG SKY OR BN GREEN. VERY NICE MODEL.
I MODEL N-SCALE, BUT HAVE A COUPLE OF FRIENDS IN HO, THAT HAVE ORDERED THE NEW EMPIRE BUILDER. THE WORKMANSHIP IS VERY GOOD, AND DETAILS ARE GREAT. I HAVE THE N-SCALE (KATO)VERSION OF THE BUILDER. BUT THE H0 GUYS ARE LUCKY, THEY CAN GET IT IN THE BIG SKY OR BN GREEN. VERY NICE MODEL.
I have three brass Empire Builders. The first is a collection of Soho and Oriental Limited Cars. Though the OL cars are fairly good, the Soho cars are rather crude. Plus with these cars there are no interiors and they are unpainted. Not a biggie for myself for I enjoy painting and detailing. My other two EB’s are from Shoreham Shops Limited. I compared the Walthers EB cars to the SSL models for general correctness and stance. I must say other than some small details that the brass car had, the Walthers cars are extremely well done. Details that stand out as incorrect on the Walthers cars are the exhaust vent is pointed the wrong direction and the trucks. Small things like an unpainted interior are minor. The biggest problem I found with the cars is the colors on the Omaha Orange and Pullman Green Cars. Comparing the cars to paint chips in Great Northern Railway Historical Society reference sheet number 27, I came up with the following discrepencies. The orange is much too dark, the green is too light, and the Dulux Gold stripes are too bright yellow. When put side to side with a brass SSL model which features prototypically correct colors the poor color selection of the Walthers car is glaring. I will give Walthers a good grade on the colors of the GN Big Sky Blue cars. The blue and grey though not totally correct to the GNRHS chips is close enough. Too date I would give the Walthers BSB cars the best grade as to coming closest to GN BSB of any past effort from model manufacturers. The Burlington Northern Cars are good, except the hockey stick white window band is a little bit too narrow. But this I would consider a picky detail compared to the quality of the model. These are fantasic cars and make assembling an AFFORDABLE Great Northern Empire Builder a reality. I give Walthers a grade of four out of five stars. If the color selection on the Orange and Green had been closer to prototype these cars would have been a prefect five for five. Still I must say good work Walthers!
I have three brass Empire Builders. The first is a collection of Soho and Oriental Limited Cars. Though the OL cars are fairly good, the Soho cars are rather crude. Plus with these cars there are no interiors and they are unpainted. Not a biggie for myself for I enjoy painting and detailing. My other two EB’s are from Shoreham Shops Limited. I compared the Walthers EB cars to the SSL models for general correctness and stance. I must say other than some small details that the brass car had, the Walthers cars are extremely well done. Details that stand out as incorrect on the Walthers cars are the exhaust vent is pointed the wrong direction and the trucks. Small things like an unpainted interior are minor. The biggest problem I found with the cars is the colors on the Omaha Orange and Pullman Green Cars. Comparing the cars to paint chips in Great Northern Railway Historical Society reference sheet number 27, I came up with the following discrepencies. The orange is much too dark, the green is too light, and the Dulux Gold stripes are too bright yellow. When put side to side with a brass SSL model which features prototypically correct colors the poor color selection of the Walthers car is glaring. I will give Walthers a good grade on the colors of the GN Big Sky Blue cars. The blue and grey though not totally correct to the GNRHS chips is close enough. Too date I would give the Walthers BSB cars the best grade as to coming closest to GN BSB of any past effort from model manufacturers. The Burlington Northern Cars are good, except the hockey stick white window band is a little bit too narrow. But this I would consider a picky detail compared to the quality of the model. These are fantasic cars and make assembling an AFFORDABLE Great Northern Empire Builder a reality. I give Walthers a grade of four out of five stars. If the color selection on the Orange and Green had been closer to prototype these cars would have been a prefect five for five. Still I must say good work Walthers!
Great looking cars with great features- but unless the retail price is well under the MSRP, this car is well below the standard set by the Rapido models and is only slightly above the old Rivarossi/AHM models with interiors…and both of these lines can be had for well under $45. I love the looks of these models and I applaud Walthers continued efforts in their passenger car models…but look at the competition.