I've got a number of E8 sets, but not that line. Maybe I'll just mix them in with other passenger trains,...not prototypical I know, But it does appear that some RRs mixed in various different cars of their own within a consist?...or even cars they purchased from other RRs going out of business??
Brian
My Layout Plan
Interesting new Plan Consideration
I've got a whole set of Walthers Santa Fe passengers cars, and the multiple Santa Fe locos to pull them. But they are in storage until I can get my new layout up and running. I just hope they are as nice as these,...I've never taken the time to look at them that carefully,...just knew I wanted them, bought them, and stored then away.
Up until that time I had a nice Concor set that I diligently placed the 'close coupling' Talgo extensions on, and weighty them propery so I could back a long stream of them into my yard on my John Armstrong Central Midland layout I had at that time. That was a real effort to get those style couplers to back up into that yard without derailing.
I ended up selling off that 10 car set once I got the Walthers cars.
zstripeWalthers Proto... Walthers Mainline... They both had the same shell/chassis.
I don't believe this is correct -- I am pretty sure the construction is different. Walthers Mainline cars have the roof and window glazing as one part (a la the old Rivarossis) while Proto cars (and, I believe, older 932-series cars) have a seperate roof. (Hence the "twist" method of disassembly doesn't work the same way with the Mainlines -- you have to twist while holding the steps instead of the whole carbody.)
Sounds like a lot of people are annoyed with teh OP, but I'll post my experiences in case they help anyone:
Walthers Protos come with body-mount couplers, grab irons installed, roof and windows are separate.
Walthers Mainline cars come with truck-mount couplers and no grabs, and the roof and windows are one piece. A conversion kit adds grabs and body-mount couplers, but on a converted car you should see signs that the talgo mount was cut from the truck.
The older 932-series cars (beige/red box) have body-mount couplers. I've seen them with grabs factory installed or seperately applied. I can't speak to the construction as I have not disassembled any, but I do believe the prototypes of the cars were different than the Mainline streamliners, which are mostly NYC cars. Many of the 932s I have (except the Slumbercoaches) are modeled after different prototypes than the Mainlines. (Besides NYC, I model Amtrak Phase 1, and pretty much *all* of the streamline cars are correct for Amtrak. )
My guess is that the 932s morphed into Protos, but I'm not 100% sure. Best way to check is to compare the window patterns.
I have a great book (Amtrak Car Diagrams of the 1970s, by Waymer Publications) that shows the window pattern (and interior layouts) of most of the cars Amtrak inhereted, and tells who originally owned the cars. It's proven to be an invaluable resource in sussing out which prototype a model is patterned after. That's how I figured out that the Mainline cars were correct for NYC and many of the 932s weren't. :)
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=amtrak+car+diagrams+of+the+1970s
Hope this helps someone, somewhere.
Aaron
I find it interesting that this subject posting has evolved into a 'detective story',....
The current Walthers Proto passenger cars are the outgrowth of their original Ready to Run line of mostly pre ww2 PS and Post ww2 Budds, with separate roofs, floor mounted couplers and provision for interior lighting. As time went on, they were improved. Handrails and grabirons were installed, instead of coming in a small pack, for instance. Plastic couplers were replaced with metal couplers, interior lighting became an option and most recently, a Deluxe version, aimed at collectors, came with factory applied names / numbers passengers, lighting and sound. Walthers Mainline product line, has evolved into their version of the "operator's" line with less detail and more flexibility to appeal to those interested in operations, or less concerned with prototype fidelity. They come with truck mounted couplers, have a generic floor pattern, and as previously mentioned generally follow NYC prototype with two exceptions, the Wabash Budd Combine Baggage Lounge, and a Budd Dome which is definitely not NYC, (CP?). Also as previously noted, Walthers sells detail and upgrade kits to bring the Mainline cars up to basic Proto standards. With regard to the OP's photos, I will go out on a limb and guess that the original owner repainted and relettered the 932 cars for ACL. The RPO is ATSF prototype, the Diner is a NYC Hamburger Grill Lounge, the Coaches ATSF single level coaches, the Sleeping car, a UP Pacific 10-6. and the parlor a PRR Parlor car. They do appear to be Walthers 932 series coaches. Boris
Brian noted: I never met the original owner who lived here in Florida. I have only purchased a number of very nice items from a relative of his who was selling at a train show. He was apparently a PROLIFIC collector of trains, and had a LOT of quality items.
Some of the budd streamlined passenger cars Walthers released in the early 2000's looked good, but were generic, ex: a coach or grill diner would be correct for NYC, but incorrect for SF. Whether the car was a baggage, rpo, coach, diner, sleeper, or observation, the same mold was used for each car. As time went on, later releases featured PS and ACF cars with more roadnames.
The 52 seat coach looked correct for eastern roads, but would require lots of work to be kitbashed into a protypical SF coach.
If I remember correctly the roadnames were: SF, SP, UP, NYC, PRR, SOU, SAL, ACL, CP, and AMTK.
railandsaila Budd Dome which is definitely not NYC, (CP?)
I couldn't resist a challenge, so I checked the Amtrak Diagram book. The Mainline dome is very close to a CB&Q dome (ex-coffee shop, I believe) from the KC Zephyr, but a couple of the windows at the B end on the left side of the car (only one side is shown in the book) are not a perfect match. Of course, if it was a CP car, it would not have made it to Amtrak.
Walthers actually had several runs of the ATSF Single Level Budd 46 seat coach, most recently in the single level El Capitan.
Walthers also had two different Eastern 52 seat coaches, a Budd, which was a SAL - RF&P - PRR build used on SAL trains out of New York, for Florida and Atlanta/Birmingham, and a PS 52 seat (divided) coach built for the C&O,as part of their big 1948 order. These coaches ended up on the DRGW, ACL/SAL/SCL, NKP, D&H and PC as well as Amtrak The Budds also made it to Amtrak.
The 52 seat Budd Coaches were one timers, while the PS cars, which have fluting only below the windows, were run numerous times, most recently as part of the George Washington.
Walthers has also run a B&O 56 seat coach, as part of the Capitol Limited Series.
Boris
Autonerd railandsail a Budd Dome which is definitely not NYC, (CP?) I couldn't resist a challenge, so I checked the Amtrak Diagram book. The Mainline dome is very close to a CB&Q dome (ex-coffee shop, I believe) from the KC Zephyr, but a couple of the windows at the B end on the left side of the car (only one side is shown in the book) are not a perfect match. Of course, if it was a CP car, it would not have made it to Amtrak.
railandsail a Budd Dome which is definitely not NYC, (CP?)
Not sure what prototype they followed for the Budd Dome, but the CP Domes did show up on Amtrak's Grand Central to Montreal Adirondak, (between Albany and Montreal). Amtrak leased the domes for food and lounge service. This lasted until the conventional train was replaced by a Turbotrain.
Walthers Mainline actually offers two coaches described as wide window (NYC 56 Seat) and narrow Window (SP Sunset). The Mainline NYC diner represents the full Budd diner, and is not a re-run of the Hamburger Grill offered in the 932 series.