Need Passenger Car Advice--am I getting warmer?

[SpaceMouse]

Well, I got the Overtons and the UPs but have been unable to find the right Pennsylvania for the 7A.

[Anonymous]

Try http://www.trainsetsonly.com for MDC-Roundhouse for 34' Overton SP cars. I recently purchased some from them, also P.E. (Pacific Electric-a subsidiary of the SP), as Xmas gifts to son and grandson. :)

Passenger cars ran $8.62 each and box cars, 2 in a set, at $14.03. S&H I believe was included in the price. I don't see it on the invoice, anyway.

Note that as Athearn only recently bought out MDC-Roundhouse that these cars may not continue to be available and that might be why you've had a hard time finding them. So, I'd sorta hurry to see if they still have any in stock. You might try e-mailing them if you don;t see what looking for online?

[tstage]

Does anyone manufacture the old, shorter passenger trains (like those built in the late 19th century) that would fit in Spacemouse's 1880 theme and radii? How about MDC Roundhouse? I know that they have more of the older steam rolling stock than most anyone else.

Tom

[ndbprr]

Without more info it is hard to say. Were did you see them? Typically Athear=n passenger cars are in the $6.50 range and are shorter than in real life so they can handle 18" radius curves. Concor, Rivarossi, Walthers, Centralia and others that are full 85' length require bigger curves like 22" and preferably 30" to look right. Generally the higher the price of the car the more accurate are its details and paint job.

[orsonroy]

The UP set should be streamliner cars, while the Pennsy E unit can have either streamliners, heavyweights, or a mix of the two.

What are your curves like? If less than 24", I'd suggest using all Athearn cars, or maybe the Bachmann Spectrum heavyweights. Con-Cor, AHM, Rivarossi, Branchline, Intermountain, Walthers and others generally make scale length cars, which means 80-footers, which will be too long for tight curves.

As for the Overland cars, buy any old Roundhouse cars you can find, strip 'em with 91% denatured alcohol, and paint and letter them yourself. It's not hard. Pullman Green and black out of Floquil spray cans, decals by Champ or Microscale, and glosscoat by Testors, and you're done. Passenger cars wih simple lettering make for great first decalling/painting projects, since they don't have a lot of lettering on them.

[SpaceMouse]

I saw passenger cars for $6.50, $20, and $40. What is the difference?

[Anonymous]

For the UP cars look into Bachmann Spectrum Heavyweight passenger cars and the Rivarossi Union Pacific passenger car sets. Both are apropriate for your UP FEF-1.

[ndbprr]

Depends how realistically you want and how much you want to spend. The PRR E7 could use Bachman P70 coaches for a traditional look at about $15-20 each on EBay or Centralia car shop P85BR coaches at $50.00+ for a post war intercity look. UP I can't help you with. If you just want matching cars you can the UP gray and PRR Tuscan red from Rivarossi on EBay for about $20.00 per car

[cacole]

You need Union Pacific and Pennsylvania passenger cars. The Union Pacific cars need to be heavyweights, and the Pennsylvania could be either heavyweights or streamliners. Check Internet sites such as 1st Place Hobbies, IHC, etc.

[SpaceMouse]

HI,

My daughter wants passenger cars to match this locomotive.



I need passenger cars to match this locomotive.



What should I be looking for? How do I tell quality from non-quality? Where are the best deals? (See guys I'm learning.)

I also need some 34' Overton passengers in SP. They seem to be hard to find.