wjstix If you're modelling a more recent era, it wouldn't be that unusual for a tourist railroad or rail museum to get old passenger cars and alter their interiors to suit their needs. They probably came in deteriorating shape anyway, so throwing out the old stuff and re-doing the new interiors would be an improvement. You probably would have a hard time getting a working kitchen in the baggage compartment, especially since these cars wouldn't have had steam lines. You might be more likely to have a sort of lunch counter set up with cold meat for sandwiches, salads and side dishes. The business car and/or observation car could be for first class or premium passengers, set up like a parlour car with comfortable seating (either swiveling chairs or big overstuffed chairs). You might leave the baggage car doors open with a fence part way up, for railfans to use to take pictures out of.
If you're modelling a more recent era, it wouldn't be that unusual for a tourist railroad or rail museum to get old passenger cars and alter their interiors to suit their needs. They probably came in deteriorating shape anyway, so throwing out the old stuff and re-doing the new interiors would be an improvement.
You probably would have a hard time getting a working kitchen in the baggage compartment, especially since these cars wouldn't have had steam lines. You might be more likely to have a sort of lunch counter set up with cold meat for sandwiches, salads and side dishes.
The business car and/or observation car could be for first class or premium passengers, set up like a parlour car with comfortable seating (either swiveling chairs or big overstuffed chairs). You might leave the baggage car doors open with a fence part way up, for railfans to use to take pictures out of.
My thoughts exactly. I was thinking of opening the baggage doors and maybe putting a bike rack or 2 in it for mountain bikers ready to conquer the mountain. I was thinking of mounting a generator for a fridge and maybe do a wood fire oven and grill,or mount a propane tank and have gas ovens since I have smoke stacks with these kits. What do you think.
alco's forever!!!!! Majoring in HO scale Minorig in O scale:)
rs2mike I got this same set on ebay a month ago. I have slowly been working on them as I have time. Today I bent the railings and cut the brake wheel bars. I also cut the plastic for the windows. My thoughts for these cars will be for a excursion train. My setup will be Baggage car, combine car which I have put a wall up between the baggage door and passanger area. I will use this as a lunch car for the trip. The baggage area will be a kitchen and the passanger area will have tables set up for food service pot luck style. Then I will have the business car and then the observation car with its platform railings. Just my on how I am going to use these ficticious? cars.
I got this same set on ebay a month ago. I have slowly been working on them as I have time. Today I bent the railings and cut the brake wheel bars. I also cut the plastic for the windows. My thoughts for these cars will be for a excursion train. My setup will be Baggage car, combine car which I have put a wall up between the baggage door and passanger area. I will use this as a lunch car for the trip. The baggage area will be a kitchen and the passanger area will have tables set up for food service pot luck style. Then I will have the business car and then the observation car with its platform railings.
Just my on how I am going to use these ficticious? cars.
The vast majority of trains did not have observation cars, only the premier, first class trains (from an accomodation, not superiority of trains, point of view) had observation cars. The rest had a coach or whatever as the last car.
While boxcars were used for express, during the era of those cars it would most likely be express or mail carried in another baggage car, rather than a boxcar. Regular boxcars would not have steam lines or signal lines, nor would have trucks capable of running at passenger train speeds (in many cases). Often in later years a regular boxcar of express would be handled as the rear car of the train.
Having said all that, in the 1880's-1900's the cars might not have had steam heat, so that wouldn't be an issue, if its a shortline, then the speed may not be an issue. and if its a short train then the signal lines might not be an issue. Rather than just a boxcar I would look for a car decorated for a fruit line or an express company. Especially if this is a premier passenger train.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
RDC stands for Rail Diesel Car. Budd built them during the 1950s and 60s as replacements for aging gas electric doodlebugs, and lightly traveled conventional passenger trains. The units had self contained diesel motors below the floor, and could be MUed together.
My Penn Lake Railway uses them to maintain the last vestiges of passenger service during the late 60s and early 70s. This is an RDC-2 coach/baggage combine.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
Thanks all for good replys!
One new question however, what is a RDC?
All the cars have open platforms on each end, even the baggage end of the combine. However, running the "business" car as a observation car seems "right" to me really. (Fits my freelanced ideas of the line.) Calling the round windows restroom windows also seems "right".
Dropping the coach and/or observation sometimes for variety also seems "right". What about adding a box car as high priority freight occasionally to the consist?
Generally unless a train carried express packages or bagged mail (i.e. mail that would not be sorted on route in an RPO) it wouldn't need a full baggage car, it would only need a combine for the baggage of the passengers. Even top-of-the-line trains like New York Central's heavyweight "Twentieth Century Limited" only used a combine (in their case, a combination baggage-smoking lounge car) at the head end.
On a smaller railroad or on a branch line, you might have a Baggage-RPO combine used to handle express in the baggage section and mail in the RPO section. There were instances where an entire train was an engine and one Baggage-RPO-Coach "triple combine" car.
...and yes generally the round window on woodsided cars built by Pullman would be where there were toilet facilities, either general use ones for all riders or ones connected to a room in a sleeping car.
If it has two large doors on each side, and no windows, it's a baggage car. An RPO car looks a lot like a combine except it doesen't have seats behind the windows, it has mail sorting bins and it has mail hooks on the doors.
Dick
Texas Chief
A combine can be of many different Combinations, with the Baggage/coach one of the most common types. baggage/RPO would be another, IIRC, there were even Baggage/RPO/Coaches as well(RDCs were built in this form as well).
A side note with RPOs, they would typically be handled Ahead of any working Baggage car in a train, this would be because an RPO would be locked, and even have armed Postal employees aboard, NO pass through travel was permitted through an RPO. Often any Baggage car that would be ahead of an RPO in a train, would be locked, and hauling sealed mail, that was not sorted enroute.
Doug
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
A combine is a combination - 1/2 baggage car and 1/2 passenger coach. If a train doesn't need a full bagagge car or needs a few extra passenger seats, use a combine. When you use it, keep the passenger end of the combine toward the rear of the train and the coach.
The usual order would be Locomotive+RPO+Combine+Coach+Business.
Does the Business Car have a special platform on the back? If it does, it could be called an Observation Car also and would always go on the back.
Round windows? Others may have an idea. The Roundhouse overland cars aren't really very historically accurate so you never know.
Marty
www.oakhurstrailroad.com
"Oakhurst Railroad" on Facebook
Jason
Modeling the Fort Worth & Denver of the early 1970's in N scale
I just got a roundhouse 4 car overland set, and one car in the set is a combine. On the roundhouse website they call the car a baggage/combine. So one end is baggage, the other a combine? What is a combine car for?
An other question; what would be behind the two small round windows in the center of (I think it must be the business) car?
And, er, the car with two large side doors is the RPO right? (RPO = rail post office?)