Considering adding some more passenger stock to my model "tourist train", which currently consists of one (1) Athearn Budd coach, and a Bachmann Consolidation (although it seems most North American tourist trains currently use 1st generation diesel power - this may just be confirmation bias on my part - well, model GP7s and RS3 of varying quality are fairly easy to find).Searching around the web brought up this site Tourist Railways, listing 305 (zounds!) tourist railroads in North America. Alas, a promising different site with the promise of a rolling stock roster was 404-dead.So, anyone know of a reasonably comprehensive roster of such rolling stock, preferably recent modern era?
I doubt that such a roster would exist, since tourist railroads sometimes swap rolling stock. As an example, we used to have a tourist line here called the San Pedro & Southwestern that was using some tourist cars borrowed from the California Western and other lines.
Maybe go poke around RailServe.com. They have lots of links to private cars, leasors, sellers, for tourist railroads and freight. Just an idea.
The local tourist railroad here in East Troy, is what's left of the T.M.E.L.&R Co., an electric line that fourished around SE. WI. in the 30's and 40's, and they buy some of their stuff, some of it gets donated. It's all in rough shape when they get, restore it, and put it to use. They get it from all over the country. A few years ago, CN ran a special to delivery some old interurban cars to East Troy Electric RR., which started at their huge Kirk Yard, in NW IN.
I've watched a lot of shows on PBS stations, during their promotion times, and they always run a couple of shows about tourist railroads around the country. Interesting cars, some of them have. I don't think there is a "pool" to speak of, just individuals and groups that find old equipment and refurbish it. It's out there for sale, as you will see on a couple of the links on RailServe.
I remember on one show, a tourist line had a couple of the dome liners that were once the part of Westours Alaska trains. Maybe try a Google for private cars for sale or lease. I think you have perfect license to go freelance here, and dig out some out of service passenger equipment and go for it! Even old heavy weights are still around.
www.railserve.com
Mike.
My You Tube
Quite a few tourist lines run modified (1:1 scale kitbash) equipment. Gons of varying length make good starting points for a variety of, 'Built in the home shop,' excursion cars, with and without roofs. A few examples:
Those are just the ones I've seen in forty years of visiting tourist attraction railroads. There are probably others. The roof, when installed, may be similar to a box car roof (and the car may, in fact, be a severely modified box car) or similar to that of a carport (one sheet of steel bent over curved pipe supports.)
If Japanese tourists 'discover' the Tomikawa Tani Tetsudo I have a couple of dilapidated old JNR hand-me-down wood side coaches to handle them, and may have to refurbish a couple of out-of-service 0-6-0Ts to power them - in place of the four wheel railbus currently holding down that part of the schedule. Then the company store will have to add a lunch counter...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - where tourists are rare)
Another roster problem in addition to those cited above is that many items on the "roster" of a tourist line or museum can be little more than a rusted or burned out hulk sitting back on an overgrown track somewhere (or maybe not even on tracks). The line would want to document it on its inventory to note any significance of the piece, but the item might be many years away from restoration, if it ever happens.
If you are interested in modeling a specific tourist line, like the Napa Valley Wine Train, then I expect that the individual attraction may be responsive to your email inquiry or you could work from photos of that railroad. Under the more likely case that you wish to present a "representative and believable" tourist train, then a couple coaches (one needs seats filled to pay the bills) and perhaps a diner or lounge (to sell the treats and trinkets) would be the way to go.
Bill (visited quite a few tourist trains & museums....)
For the Canadian tourist trains you can use the Canadian Trackside Guide put out by the Bytown Railway Society each year.
In the Preserved Equipment section, they have listed all reported railway rolling stock in existance in Canada. This includes museums, and tourist trains along with cabooses and freight cars used for other purposes; i.e. storage, cottages.
Some equipment of Canadian origin, now located in the USA, is also listed but consists mostly of locomotives.
If you Google Bytown Railway Society, you may be able to purchase the 2014 Trackside Guide from their web site. Some book dealers may be able to get it for you, too.
Steve
Well, I'm gathering from the responses that such a roster would be rather complex and difficult to compile, so maybe one doesn't exist.Looking thru various tourist railroad web-sites, plus sites that sell cars like Ozark Mountain, I guess a train of 4 or so streamline coaches (budd or pullman from the 1940s & 1950s),with one having a snack bar & some tables in it, along with a heavyweight from the 1920s/1930s (could have a section for private parties) is the safest way to go. A very shaky statement, but it looks like open cars tend to be used mostly on scenic lines running thru mountainous terrain (I realize there must be a lot of exceptions, but this did seem to be the rule).
Thanks all.