Walters Proto Deluxe passenger sets woth the money

[ATSFGuy]

If I want Walthers passenger cars, I sometimes buy them one or two at a time verses a whole 13-15 car set at once.

Sure it keeps the price down, but it takes longer to build up a train.

[PATRICK J DEVINE]

Thank you for your reply. I have read in other forums about the difficulty in removing the roofs. That is an excellent point.

[PATRICK J DEVINE]

Thank you for the response. That is quite a railroad you are building.

[tstage]

Thanks for the links to the ESU lighting strips, Ed!  I wasn't aware that they offered those.

Tom

[gmpullman]

Hi, Tom

The early ones for DC had "some" electronics, a capacitor, voltage regulator, diodes and heat sink, with 5 volt GOW lamps in a lucite assembly.

Later they changed the electronics for a DCC version, still using incandescent lamps but eliminated the cap.

Most recently they are SMD LEDs mounted to a PC board. No appreciable "keep alive" is provided.

MY recent prefered choice for interior passenger lighting is the ESU 50708 or 09 DCC lighting strip. This includes a programmable decoder, 11 LEDs, easy addition of a plain capacitor, an ESU power pack or a "supercap" which is what I installed, plus a pair of red LEDs if you decide to want marker lamps.

I bought mine at SBS4DCC for less than $20. each.

Regards, Ed

[tstage]

Ed,

Is the "lighting kit" for the Walthers cars battery-powered, or do they use caps?  If batteries I would consider that a big minus for me.

Tom

[gmpullman]

  

PATRICK J DEVINE

Should I go with the regular or deluxe set?

I bought a few individual "Deluxe" cars from a popular on-line retailer that was selling the cars at a decent discount.

I usually get around to installing figures, details and painting the interior furnishings for most of my passenger cars myself. The added cost of the Deluxe cars primarily is due to the addition of ~ 10 or 12 Preiser figures and the lighting kit already installed.

For me it was worth while to have lighting and a few figures pre-installed. Preiser figures are going for $10-20 per set of five or six pieces. The light kit might be another $15-20. Prying the roof off Walthers passenger cars can be a challenge. If you don't anticipate opening one up to add figures then the added cost might be worth it for you.

As Marlon commented, it is entirely the buyer's decision. 

Good Luck, Ed

[Medina1128]

PATRICK J DEVINE

Is the deluxe version of the Walthers Proto passenger sets worth the extra money? I am looking to but the Twin Cities Hiawatha set. Should I go with the regular or deluxe set?

 

That is entirely dependent on its value to you. They are pricey IMHO, but, if they are worth it to you, then go for it. I've seen one set, based on the Santa Fe, and they are of high quality in terms of detail and performance. I don't have any of their railroad name sets, but I do have a set of their Santa Fe heavyweight passenger cars, and I really like them. 
A few years ago, Proto 2000 locomotives had a problem with axle gears cracking, but as far as I know, that issue has been addressed.

[PATRICK J DEVINE]

Is the deluxe version of the Walthers Proto passenger sets worth the extra money? I am looking to but the Twin Cities Hiawatha set. Should I go with the regular or deluxe set?