Having last year correctly predicted the 20th Century Limited would be Walthers next flagship train to be released, which was part hunch and part wishful thinking, I am now wondering what the next offering will be. I think Pennsy’s Broadway Limited and Santa Fe’s Super Chief are likely offerings if not this year, then soon after. My hunch this year is Walthers will go south with the post WWII Crescent Limited, a stainless steel streamliner running between New York and New Orleans. I’m curious about what others might be guessing or hoping for.
What about the Wabash Cannonball??? 
Kevin
Walthers did the Santa Fe Super Chief a few years ago but the Broadway Limited would be a good addition. I think teh Cresent Limited would be an eacellent choice.
For me I hope that Walthers makes either Southern Pacific’s Sunset Limited or Northern Pacific’s North Coast Limited. I do have a fifteen car Empire Builder by Walthers. There is a video of it on Youtube by our number one kid. Search westr on the Youtube channel
I had sincerely hoped to see the N&W Powhatan Arrow someday in this series after they hit the larger railroad names like PRR, UP, ATSF, etc… Now that MTH is doing them, time will tell how good (or bad) they turn out.
[:-^]
You can take it to the bank. It will be Illinois Central’s “City of New Orleans”
They will stay with something running out of the Chicago terminal.
In my OP. Really just a guess…
Johnboy out.
The Hooterville Cannonball!!![:-^]
I’d really rather see the UP’s City of L A or San Fran!!![:D]
Possibly B&O’s Royal Blue? Walthers has been running a lot of B&O stuff lately.
I could be wrong though. There’s almost enough rolling stock available on walthers website to duplicate one of the incarnations of the post WW II Royal Blue.
Being a die-hard UP fan I’m hoping for the early 50’s City of Los Angeles. WKW already has the E-units available. I prefer the COLA, or the COP because they became Domeliners, but there is logic to doing the City of San Francisco as it had a portion of SP cars and that would please UP and SP fans. If they did any of the trains after 1955 they would dovetail with WKWs Milwaukee Road cars in UP colors. Walther had participated with Rivarossi in producing a nice UP 5450-series chair car. Rivarossi already has tooling for the domes, a UP diner and the 70-foot baggage/postal. WKW’s Budd sleeper is close to the UP “Pacific-series” sleepers and they produced a GN postal car that can be modified into a UP 5900-5902 series RPO. Waltyhers also has made “American-series” (6-6-4) and “Imperial-series” (4-4-2) sleepers, so the expansion to a full trainset really isn’t that far-fetched.
I doubt we’ll see the City of New Orleans issued as a set because it began its life as a daytime companion to the all Pullman Panama Limited, which would be a good possibility. All of the Walthers sets have been long distance Pullman trains. An all coach train wouldn’t have the variety of equipment that the sleepers offer.
If they offered a complete and accurate 50s era ACL “Champion,” I’d buy a couple of sets…for the future, if and when I return to HO scale.
Just a quick review, but these are the past trains, right?
2004: ATSF Super Chief
2006: GN Empire Builder
2007: MILW Hiawatha
2008: NYC 20th Century Limited
I talked with a Walthers Rep at the Springfield show in January, and he more or less said that Walthers is looking for future passenger trains to model that would require the least amount of new tooling. So if you want to guess at what train they are going to do next, look at all their previous offerings and compare that to famous passenger trains. The famous trains that have the most cars they already make will be at the top of the list.
One thing I do know is that it most likely will never be any New Haven passenger train from Walthers. The NH was famous for it’s day trains (not many sleepers) like the Merchants Limited and the Yankee Clipper. In the post-1948 stainless era, these cars were totally unique for the NH (turtle roofed stainless cars), and in the heavyweight era they are too boring (just dark green with gold lettering). Even tho’ the NH was ranked 3rd in passengers carried, and had the “Finest Day Trains In America”, we’ll likely never get the Walthers train set experience. Sigh.
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven
How about a Canadian? The Rapido Version is way too overpriced.
David B
Rapido has announced they are going to offer the first light weight coaches that NH purchased. It seems some of the rare items now are being offered or announced. I purchased the NH Hudson and would like some of the cars to have for the locomotive.
I would like to see Walthers offer the Super Chief again since the tooling is already done with the stainless plating on them.
CZ
I wouldn’t mind seeing the SP/UP/CNW “City of San Francisco” from Walthers–the immediate post-War version. I’ve got a lovely set of BLI COSF E-6’s (A-B-B) that could use a decent train behind them.
Tom
I’ve been hoping for a version of the North Coast Limited, or atleast a cb&q 60’s-70’s zephyr besides the cal that would be plated stainless steel
Wonder if the girls Billie Jo Bobbie Jo and Betty Jo will come with the Hooterville Cannonball?
Sounds like another special run of Preiser figures will be needed to compliment the Cannonball…plus of course an open-top water tank for them to skinny dip in. O and don’t forget Kate, Uncle Joe (though I don’t need to see him skinny dipping[X-)]) and “Benji”.
Walthers probably won’t do this, but here’s a good candidate:
Wabash “Bluebird”. 1 E-7/8, 6 cars. Minimal tooling. Almost qualifies as “Pike Size Passenger Train”.
http://home.comcast.net/~wabashrr/images/bluebrd1.jpg
Either that, or a GN “Red River”, which was a pike size train. It just didn’t serve Chicago.
Then there’s the UP “City of Everywhere” which would mean a gazillion E units coupled to a gazillion cars. It does offer flexibility depending on what part of the route you model (i.e. before or after it gets broken into the COLA, COSF, City of Portland).
Andre
I would love to see Seaboard Air Line’s Silver Meteor, complete with the “Beach” series Sun Lounge car.
I’m hoping that they produce the Alkali Limited of the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad!