Hi to everyone… I’m really interested about the above mentioned NYC Budd diner (item 932-15125), recently released by Walthers. However, I have some questions:
a) Is the metal plated finish well made?
b) Is the roof color (silver) right? Should it be black instead?
c) Is the trucks’ design right? If I remember well, on the previous release the trucks were of the wrong type.
Thanks.
The black roof got my curiosity as I modeled the NYC years ago. I looked in my book “Rails Along the Hudson” and noticed that some corrugated streamlined units had black roofs while others did not. On page 50, the Wolverine’s SS cars show the roofs in an unpainted, SS finish in 1964, yet on page 71 a number of the Empire State Express’s Budds appear to have black roofs. On several pages the passenger trains show a mix of smooth sided and corrugated cars with some corrugated cars having black roofs, others in stainless steel. I see now that the SCL isn’t the only railroad with passenger equipment that’s a challenge to try to model accurately!
I recall reading info on a website stating that a number of the SS cars developed roof leaks as time progressed, so NYC’s maintenance shops would repair and seal them with F1 car cement, which is black.
Sorry for not being more helpful. If no one else here has more info, there is a New York Central forum on the Railroad.Net group. The guys there should be able to provide more info regarding the roofs.
Re: Plated Finish.
I’ve been researching and experimenting with SS finish for several years. To be fair to Walthers, I do need to see one up close. Based on the photos I’ve seen (and taking lighting conditions into account) the photos convey a tone that appears to be a stainless steel finish that’s about 10 years of age but in decent condition, yet the reflectivity and depth of image connotes (to my eyes) moderate cleaning and infrequent mechanical washings.
When passenger cars were sent through mechanical washers, inspite of the caustic soaps, the rotating brushes and “mop tentacles” actually provided a minor polishing effect which contributed to the high reflectivity a number of SS cars continued to exhibit up until the Amtrak era.
SS Budd and PS cars that were not regularly washed bu
You should look carefully at the railroad name also. The earlier cars had black lettering on the stainless steel letterboard, but they started putting white lettering on a dark grey painted letterboard. I can give you exact years if I were at home, but I am not there so I can’t access my books on the subject.
Paul
Dayton and Mad River RR