Greetings,
I am working building up a solid Sky Blue Great Northern passenger train in HO Scale. (And yes, I am aware that GN typically didn't run solid blue Sky Blue trains) I am looking for one very specific car type to complete the collection. I need a streamline oberservation car, which so far proven to be a "unicorn". It doesn't appear that Walthers produces them anymore. Does any one have any ideas on where to look? (Yes, I have been prowling Ebay)
Thank you
IHC used to make a boat tail streamline observation car. IHC has been gone for a goodly number of years, but one ought to turn up at a train show or on E-bay. They need a bit of weight added. They will track better if you replace the truck retainer plastic snap "rivets" with 8-32 pan head machine screws. It will probably need to have the horn hook coupler replaced with a Kadee. Unless you have very broad curves, it is best to stick with the truck mounting of the couplers.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Great Northern stopped using round end observation cars for the Empire Builder in the early 1960's before the Sky Blue color was adopted.
So, there were no sky blue observation cars on the EB.
Edit :.... Welcome to the forum .... Feel free to particpate often. ...
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Con Cor made, and perhaps still makes, observation cars in corrugated Budd style full length passenger cars, and 72' shortened smooth side cars. With a bit of work the short cars can be kitbashed into full length. I think GN had both styles of passenger cars if memory serves.
If kitbashing is permitted there are also the old Tyco/Mantua 60' shorty streamlined cars. Often seen at swap meets. As long as we are talking shorty cars, way way back Pacific Fast Mail offered 60' shorty brass passenger cars painted in Big Sky Blue. Perhaps Tenshodo cars?
It might not match wonderfully with the rest of your train, and yeah the tooling is of another era, but I think the old Herkimer "OK" line of metal passenger cars is still around - full length observation cars included. Finding them might be another matter. Note from this link
http://www.okengines.com/products.shtml
that they even offer a customization program to get the right windows and spacing, for an extra fee. It takes some work to get a Herkimer/OK car to look nice with no gaps between parts, but the work is rewarded with a very durable car.
Dave Nelson
I have the Walthers BSB, "boat tail" ( I think that's what its called) style, got it off Ebay. It took me a long time to collect a consist of BSB cars for the Empire Builder.
Rapido use to do BSB passenger cars.
Wife is from Montana, and wanted me to make up a set. I pull it with an SDP40.
I guess the OP will just have to keep looking around, or build one.
Mike.
My You Tube
An observation car is very nice, and attractive. But, as Garry said above, GN didn't use an obs on the end of the Blue Builder. And it appears there never was one painted blue. So you don't NEED one. But you can WANT one.
I chose to try to recreate what I thought would be a (sort of) typical Blue Builder:
(all Walthers)
baggage
baggage-RPO (probably not really used, because of the lack of mail service)
baggage-dorm
60-seat coach
48-seat coach (ex Union Pacific)
dome coach
Ranch car
diner
full dome
Pass sleeper
GN cut way back on sleepers, in later years, because fewer people were willing to pay for them. And they added "flat top" coaches, because more customers wanted only coach. I believe GN did have RPO service at the very beginning of the Big Sky Blue era, but not for very long.
It's possible that there never was a fully blue Empire Builder, other than the one for the publicity photos. I CAN replace some cars with the earlier scheme, but it just grates.
Ed
Unique1028 I am looking for one very specific car type to complete the collection. I need a streamline oberservation car
If you decide to scratch or kitbash a car you can look here for some great, detailed builder's construction photos that happen to have been recently posted.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/'
Lot 3447037 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Lot 3447054 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Unfortunately, the Walthers "Port" series parlor version did not include the taller "look-out" windows that the 2 roomette-lounge "Mountain" series had. Con-Cor did a very close rendition in N scale, though.
Builder_1 by Edmund, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
GN didn't use the MOUNTAIN cars on the back of the Builder after they added the dome cars. They used the COULEE series. Which, to the untrained eye, look pretty much like a generic round end obs. Which then is a possibility, though the window spacing might be off.
But. If yer gonna add an obs where there shouldn't be one (see earlier comments), why not add the wonderfuller one. Which would definitely be the MOUNTAIN cars.
If'n I were gonna do that, I'd hustle up a brass one--so much easier to do. With those big windows, the interior detailing would show nicely.
Thank you. I will do that.. Im kind of in an odd situation in that I am not exactly new to model rail roading yet I have very little experience with it at the same time. I've been dabbling with it here and there for the better half of 28 years as i started when I was a kid. I am now tryin to catch up as an adult as time allows. I am currently toying with learning how to wire locomotives for DCC and doing ok with that, but i want to learn other skills as well including kitbashing, painting and decorating rolling stock and locos (lettering and numbering also) and other things.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question and I hope you will be a regular poster to my questions in the future.
Sincerely,
Shawn