Passenger Cars 2021

[bob turner]

One more of the ancient cars I got from the Miller estate, and probably now at Maroon's place:

[sarge]

Sticking with headend cars for a bit, this is one of the nicest All Nation/JC baggage car builds I’ve seen. The underbody bits show, so are appreciated. If it had an interior and the roof was held on with dress-snaps, I’d think it was one of Lefty Gateman’s cars but not the case here. Still, the workmanship and finish is really nice.

A good ol’ 60’ standard steel car, in express or mail service they interchanged like freight cars, so a Soo car running on the railroads I model is entirely appropriate.

[De Bruin]

Great we're including express cars here, have a few more of those fur-shure. Nice cars Sarge, great finish on both, especially cool trucks (which I wish I had…..) on that REA and you know I covet that Soo Line baggage, both “classics”
I’m going to swerve into Hayne McDaniel’s MAC shops territory; one of his 3000 series, from another Ebay hosted mass sell off, apparently builder bailing out of 1:48 rail prototypes at the time for his next “conquest” which I believe was 1:48 armor. AIR he had at least six different MAC shop cars listed; both ACL and SCL and a very nice selection of those US Hobbies smooth sided PS1 plastic kit 50’ box cars in SCL and SBD system.

This is an ACL PB class long distance delux coach, I think roughly one of 15 in the series built be Budd, primarily for South Wind or Champion service. I got this for my late model ’70 Broadway project but couldn’t get a second one so for now it remains in its second ACL scheme with the purple letterboard.

Opinion but it's hard not like MAC shops cars, my only ding with his build here is the lack of an interior and liners, as these are otherwise hard to build and this one both looks goods and "plays well with others" in consists to boot.

[bob turner]

Except for the fact that the corrugations are very difficult to clean, the Mac Shops cars are the absolute best Budd cars in O Scale.

Opinion.

Remind me again what you use? I have tried flour with some success.

[R.K. Maroon]

I am with my brother on this one: I do like Mac Shops cars. I will see what I have worth posting and get back on that. In the meantime, I am still have a couple of cars from the GM&O consist to post. I am working from front to back, in case it has not been noticed. There is no diner, so next is this parlor car:



So once again we have a car of questionable prototype veracity. The car is very much a parlor, as evidenced by this listing from the 1966 catalog:



I just have my doubts that the GM&O had a 28-1 parlor, of if they did that it would be so lettered. Somebody please tell me I am wrong.....

Pete, this set was sold to me by Jim Collier. I have some correspondence from him regarding the provenance of this set, which I will share if I can find it.

Jim

[sarge]

Bob, I have had good luck cleaning even the Budd corrugations in aluminium cars with a small stiff brush and a bit of Simichrome, then wiped with a automotive polishing cloth, the felt-y looking ones, cut in little squares and triangles to get round the knobbly bits. Goes pretty easy, too. Apparently leaves a coat or a surface finish that resists going dead-dull for long periods of time, though it ages with a very realistic appearance.

[R.K. Maroon]

In 1949 and 1950 I visited, and then lived in, the old EPSW depot in Fairbank.

Bob is the only person I have ever known to have lived in a place that became a ghost town.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbank,_Arizona

[bob turner]

Went to fifth grade in Tombstone. Rode the doodlebug behind steam and behind 5115.

Back to MacShops - Haynes did three different extrusions, two of which I have captured in sufficient quantity that I will have blanks in my estate. Here is one you have seen before - I have few photos to share, but I think about eight semi-finished cars. Semi-finished, because I rarely do interiors, and haven't figured out glazing yet in the domes. I have glazed them, but not wildly successfully.

Hand-mixed Scalecoat to match the K-Line on the right. Ruth Glacier because I landed a Cub on that glacier - and because of an attractive woman in the vicinity named Ruth:

[bob turner]

Here is another K-Line/ Mac Shops comparison. In my opinion, most of K-Line offerings were pretty darn good, and came with interiors and lighting, often for $75 each. Still, I prefer to work with Mac's extrusions, since I can do windows the way I want.

The downside of the K-Line series is that they did not do a proper Daylight extrusion, making the most prized sets inaccurate. Really too bad. Sunset picked up the ball, but I survived with Jack Speer's almost perfect extrusions. More on that as we progress.

[bob turner]

I should note that the K-Line is plated aluminum, and seems to be "hanging in there." The GGD car on preceding pages is painted aluminum, but still fits ok in my string of simulated stainless cars.

[De Bruin]

...this parlor car....
(another) car of questionable prototype veracity. ....have my doubts that the GM&O had a 28-1 parlor, of if they did that it would be so lettered. Somebody please tell me I am wrong..... Jim

Really kind of in-between, your car is a close facsimile to the C&A's parlors; five Maroon(Brown) and Red 34-1 and 36-1 HW parlor cars ran on the Alton Ltd, all named after US Presidents though they never made it to GM&O as the C&A dropped them after receiving the two ex-Royal Blue ACF streamliners from parent B&O for the Ann Rutledge and the Abe Lincoln in the late 30'as early 40's. Both of those trains had LW parlors and parlor obs, very popular too over their next 30 odd years of service, both sets (amazingly) retaining their full width diaphragms until they were scrapped piecemeal in the late sixties.

[R.K. Maroon]

There is a lesson here, which is don't play Passenger Train Trivial Pursuit with my brother unless you are loaded for bear. When I think of streamliners and the GM&O, I think of The Rebel. So when Pete says there is more, I have to go look. The internet does not disappoint:



Yes, this is pre-GM&O Chicago and Alton, but as I understand it, both the car set and the locomotive, known historically as "B&O 50", both made it into GM&O colors (though not together?). Pretty cool.

The photo is credited to Otto Perry

[sarge]

I’m having issues with my image hosting for some reason, so pardon my bowing out until that gets un-nutted.

I love technology! Grin!

[bob turner]

There for a while I had minor issues with Shutterfly. They must have fixed it. These two were again part of the Miller estate, sent to Sunflower. Maroon may have them - we think they are Pomona valley or Cronkhite. Never sure of this ancient stuff. Did not fit my collection. Still, not bad for 1939?

[ScaleCraft]

Cronkhite should have been easy to spot with gauge right?