Lionel Pennsy Passenger Cars Circa 1987

[JamesShannon]

I have seen some Lionel Pennsy passenger cars on Ebay that I am not familiar with.  They are the 6-16000 (01,02,03) series and I wonder if anybody is familiar with them?  The pictures of these cars are not great so it is hard to get a read.  I know they are "traditional" size not scale and that era (1980's) was not known for excellence so I am wondering if anyone has a review based on ownership.  Thanks,

Jim

[phillyreading]

Welcome Jim,

Don't know much about the passengers cars but can give you more info on the numbers; 16061 N&W baggage car, 16062 N&W combination car, 16063 &16064 N&W passenger cars, 16065 N&W observation car. Made in 1994 according to Greenberg's price guide.  Most should sell for under $50 each, 16061 can go for $65 in like new condition.

If they are like the 15101 to 15106 they are made out of plastic-roofs and frames.

Just to mention I am looking for; 15101, 15102, 15103, 15105,  Reading passenger cars.

Lee F.

[otftch]

I don't know about the Pennsy cars but I run Santa-fe's of the same era.I love them.Some only have one contact and the lights blink.You can easily add another contact and the problem stops.I run a fifteen car consist that looks longer than it really is.I like long trains. These cars track well and I have not had any de-railment problems.If you can live with the short cars they're great.

                                                                                                         Ed

[trigtrax]

I had the entire set at one time. The cars are a modern and cheapened version of the Postwar O-27 streamliners. They are totally plastic including the trucks. I had no problems with them and I still own the complete set in NY Central. I passed on the Lionel Steamer for these and use a K-line Alco for power.

I recently purchased the Williams 50th Anniversary UP set.. These are much closer repros to the style and feel of the Lionel Postwar Streamliners.. Metal chassis, metal trucks and ventilator roof screws. If you're a Postwar nut Williams is the way to go.

Of the modern Lionel Streamliners from that period. Only the Great Lakes Express SS Set had metal trucks ( as far as I recall ) making them one step above the NYC, Pennsy, and others of that vintage..

[brianel027]

Jim, over the years I have bought several of those exact cars you mentioned. They are the perfect size for an 027 type layout. The bodies are molded brown plastic and the letter is gold, which does have a tendency to prone to loss or scratching on well used models. I have repainted all of these cars I had - which I originally bought for that purpose anyways - and they are mostly Lehigh Valley now. One is Conrail too, which I repainted in blue as with the real Conrail. The early cars were done in CR blue before Stanley Crane decided they should all be repainted to Pullman Green around 1980-81.

Even with a single roller pickup, if you keep the wheels clean you can minimize the flickering light problem that just comes with the territory of having a single roller pick up. I try adding an extra pick up, but found there was a lot more drag on the train, especially if running several passenger cars, all with dual pick ups.

For my own personal taste, I like the look more of the new Lionel PRR 027 passenger cars that are part of the Pennsy Flyer add-on packages. I don't know if they are of a prototypical paint scheme, but I still like the look of the new ones more.

[lionelsoni]

You can fix the single-pickup flicker by adding a rectifier and a capacitor to the car.  The little 1.4-ampere bridges are plenty big enough; and around 5000 microfarads at 35 volts will do for the capacitor, although more or brighter lights might need more.  I have taken original-equipment second pickups off cars to reduce the drag, which indeed can be considerable.