Passenger train

[fastrackjonnie]

I'm preparing to purchase my first passenger train.  I plan on a TMCC based ABA diesel set.  I'm finding it difficult to match passenger cars up with the engines.  (I would prefer to get the Santa Fe ABA set listed in Lionel's new catalog).  How important is it to get cars that match the engine?

[csxt30]

to the forum FTJ !! It's only as important as you would like it to be !! Sometimes the Manufacturers make more cars later on & they match real good & even some match from other companies. A lot of passenger trains were run with non matching cars especially near the end of passenger service. If you like it, then that's what counts !! If buying a set, they should match perfectly. Now one other thing is the length of some of them & the real long ones will overhang on short radius curves, & may not look as nice to some.

 Thanks, John

[chuck]

Are you aiming for protoype accuracy? There were very few named trains that were "tailored" from the pilot on the lead locomotive to the rear markers on the observation car.  Only a few trains maintained their"tailored"  look troughout their life, many succumbed to the needs of the railroad and carried cars that were not aesthetically mached but got the job done.  A real long haul train was a long affair with 12 to 15 cars making up the consist.  Do you have room for that type of consist? 

[fastrackjonnie]

Thanks for the feedback.  No, I'm not looking for prototype accuracy.  I just want to end up with something that looks like it's reasonably realistic and justifies the amount paid for it.  I will only have room for 4 to 6 cars so it's hardly prototype.

[fastrackjonnie]

Thanks for the information.  It sounds like I could match up the Santa Fe ABA with a 4 pak of Lionel's Pennsylvania Congress cars and still fall within some concept of realism.  This is for a temporary setup at Christmas and I will be using 72 inch track.  Does this combination affront your sensibilities?

FJ

 

[chuck]

This is your railroad and it's more about what you like/want.  There is a nice Kalmbach publication that sums up passenger consists/operations by Andy Sperandeo.  While some of the modeling info is more appropriate for HO fans, the prototype info is still a good compact source of prototype info.

I applaud your decision to go with wider radius track.  There is nothing that looks worse than 18" long cars trying to navigate O-54/O-42 curves.  Yes, they can make it, but they look silly doing so.  IMHO the best looking passenger car sets out there were made by K-Line.  In many cases they offered traditional 15-16" cars, near scale 18" cars and true scale 21".  Most were made of extruded aluminum and nothing looks like metal than real metal.  You may want to see if any of these are still around, paricularly the 18" versions.

[fwright]

I'm finding it difficult to match passenger cars up with the engines.  How important is it to get cars that match the engine?

Over the years I collected all but one of the MPC-era Blue Comet Madison passenger cars.  Could never find the matching engine at a price I could afford.  But I do have to say the train looks just fine being pulled by my 2026 (basic black Lionel Lines O27 steamer).  My feeling is that as long as the paint schemes on the cars and engines don't clash, it'll look just fine.  Basically, either the engine or the cars need to look fairly generic if they are not going to match.  For example, I would not want to pull my set with locos painted in Santa Fe colors.

The suggested Congressional passenger car set is actually quite generic looking, so would look fine by my standards.  It's when the cars of bands of color, and the engines do too, that you want some matching between the color bands.

my thoughts, your choices

Fred W

[phillyreading]

Not 100% important to get passenger cars that match exactly to the engine paint colors.  Far as getting an ABA diesel set for the passenger cars what about just getting an AA set of diesels?  An ABA set will be more expensive, as an unpowerred  B unit can cost over $130.00 depending on who makes it.

For the money I find that Williams Electric trains has good bargains and great quality. You can add TMCC to the engines later if cost is a facter for you.  I think that a nice Williams set of engines and passenger cars can be purchased for around $500.00.   The website is williamstrains.com.

Lee F.

[4kitties]

I have to go along with Lee on this one.  I wouldn't hesitate to buy an all-Williams set and add TMCC later if that's important to you.  I have a set of the Williams NYC F3's.  They're built very ruggedly and they do a great job of capturing the postwar look.  I also have the Williams 15" Congressional cars and to my eye, their length looks just right with the F3's.  Williams offers both the cars and the F3's in Santa Fe livery.  Ma&Pa Junction appears to have both the engines and the cars in stock as I write this and yes, the set can be had for under $500.  Not knocking Lionel, I have many of their products, but I have absolute confidence in the quality and longevity of Williams products.

Joel