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Can anyone identify these model passenger cars?
Can anyone identify these model passenger cars?
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7 replies
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MisterBeasley
Member since
December 2004
From: Bedford, MA, USA
21,481 posts
Can anyone identify these model passenger cars?
Posted by
MisterBeasley
on Monday, October 3, 2005 11:29 AM
These are over 50 years old. They are corrugated aluminum bodies with metal bases as well. The ends and vestibules are gray plastic. They have frosted windows, and no interior detail. They're lit with a single incandescent bulb.
I can't find any manufacturer's info at all on them. I've got a coach in addition to the coach/baggage car pictured. I'd love to round out the set with an observation car and a dome car.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Reply
csmith9474
Member since
April 2005
From: Colorado Springs, CO
3,590 posts
Posted by
csmith9474
on Monday, October 3, 2005 11:32 AM
They look like OK Streamliners. They are still making these things and are available through Walthers. My hobby shop has a whole stack of 'em. They would be great for a younger modeler. Seem pretty tough.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?manu=543&split=30
Smitty
Reply
jrbarney
Member since
January 2002
1,132 posts
Posted by
jrbarney
on Monday, October 3, 2005 3:02 PM
For more information than is in the Walthers catalogue, the Web site for the
OK Engine Company
is:
http://okengines.com/products.shtml
Too modern for my taste.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543
"Time flies like an arrow - fruit flies like a banana." "In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." --German proverb
Reply
Tracklayer
Member since
August 2005
From: Southeast Texas
2,392 posts
Posted by
Tracklayer
on Monday, October 3, 2005 3:46 PM
Hello MisterBeasley. What scale are they, and do - or did they have a road name ?.
Tracklayer
Reply
MisterBeasley
Member since
December 2004
From: Bedford, MA, USA
21,481 posts
Posted by
MisterBeasley
on Monday, October 3, 2005 4:47 PM
Sorry, I did forget to include dimensions. They are HO, and the car body (not counting couplers or vestibules) is about 10 1/4 inches long. They did have some Santa Fe decals on them, but they were flaking off and were probably not put on at the factory.
I got these in a yard-sale box-o-trains about 40 years ago, so I have no idea where they've been.
And yes, to confirm csmith9474's observation, they are rugged enough for young modellers. Thanks for the complement - most people don't refer to me as "young." [(-D]
I would, however, watch out for the furniture. I think these cars could inflict significant damage on a mahogany veneer if wielded as a club. Good thing I don't have one of those "club cars."
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Reply
TomDiehl
Member since
February 2001
From: Poconos, PA
3,948 posts
Posted by
TomDiehl
on Monday, October 3, 2005 5:18 PM
They're Mantua's models. They made a whole line of streamlined passenger cars that had extruded aluminum bodies, then the windows and doors were punched out, and the ends were a simple plastic casting. The floor is a sheet of aluminum, and by your picture, is lighted.
They go for a pretty good price on Ebay, so adding the two others can cost some bucks.
Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. Chief of Sanitation; Clowntown
Reply
Don Gibson
Member since
June 2004
From: Pacific Northwest
3,864 posts
Posted by
Don Gibson
on Monday, October 3, 2005 5:22 PM
'OK" -fomerly Herkimer- extruded aluminum bodies,
stamped end's, plastic foil doors.
came in 80' or 60' car lrngth's
ON 2nd thought:
Mantua exruded aluminum bodies -
plastic car end's and doors
. KEY: 72' length. Originally came with Mantua 'hoop' type coupler's. Can't tell from your picture.
The Mantua trucks had brass wheels on one side and plastic on the other.
Don Gibson .............. ________ _______ I I__()____||__| ||||| I / I ((|__|----------| | |||||||||| I ______ I // o--O O O O-----o o OO-------OO ###########################
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MisterBeasley
Member since
December 2004
From: Bedford, MA, USA
21,481 posts
Posted by
MisterBeasley
on Monday, October 3, 2005 5:55 PM
72-foot is about right, if I compare it to a 40-foot boxcar. The couplers that were on there were horn-hook, but the draft gear was very narrow and may have been designed to accomodate the old hoops. I have a number of other passenger cars from the same lot that are still equipped with hoops. I've swapped off one coupler on each end, and I just put them together in the middle. (It's an easy conversion - no height problems - but my Kadee stash is running low and I'm conserving while converting.)
The trucks are indeed brass/plastic wheelsets, as Don has described. I guess the MR Detective Agency has solved another one. Thanks.
And now, off to E-bay....
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Reply
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