1948 Empire Builder set ....

Don't have any info, but those are cool! 

The contours of the E unit nose look pretty accurate. The cars look to be VERY substantial.

Simon

Either Kasiner or CRC - the difference is that CRC has doors that appear to be stamped partially inset.  The Kasiners just have rectangular holes where doors go. Ends were less than satisfactory.

Nice photos.  Thanks for sharing.

Hello Bob

I'll take a few more end photos with a  ( known) Kasiner next to them....  who is CRC ? ( I'm new kid on block sorry) .

Cheers Carey  

Wow, this is a cool coincidence.  The Rockford O Scalers just set up and put into service a Precision Scale eight car Great Northern “Western Star” trainset.  The motive power is a Key (Samhongsa) F-7 A/B set.  It is interesting to compare these O Scale models to note the progress that has been made in 70 years!

Those shots are beautiful!  My EB is mostly K-Line, with Adams E-7, Penn Erie  FA/FB, or Sunset FF2 (I forget what GN called them).

Nice train Rockford ! .... Bob ever heard of  Bill Johnson trains ???? found in MR 1954.....  other ads mention GN as an option ..

Thank you Cheers Carey 

No - but you stir me - I shall post some EB here in a minute or so.

Neat stuff guys 

Hello all 

here is the MR 1952    Bill Johnson ad  mentioning and showing the GN cars .....  ...please note that my observation has the full window blinds ..as found in the ad ...so perhaps my old set are Bill Johnson's work ?   did anyone ever send off for one of their catalogs ?

Thank you Cheers Carey 

As promised, some EB photos.  I note that I do not have photos stored of the GN 5011 and 5016 box cabs, so maybe a photo shoot is in order.  The FA is Ken Krayer, and I believe, but am not sure, that he was related to Penn Erie.  The E-7 is similar to Adams, but the nose is F-3 from Stevenson and the sides are mine, with soldered rivet strips.  Cars are K-Line and Mac Shops.  I believe, dollar for dollar, the K-Line were as good as we will ever see.  Sunsets are way better, but I did say dollar for dollar . . .

Carey, re your original post regarding the EB with the Adam's E-unit. Are all of those cars extrusions? or are some of them composites (rolled sides, wood roofs and floors) Your side photo of the set stack suggests some of the car sides have "waves" in them which is not characteristic of extrusions.

RE observation car illustrated in the Bill Johnson advert appears to be a #8 Kasiner extrusion, in that it is has  the pre-war NYC Pullman Standard window plan those kits (and the fluted #7 version per below) are based on. I had never heard of Bill Johnson passenger cars as a brand or kit until now.

Hello all 

Ok a few photos of a known "Kaisner"   next to Bill Johnson ? ....  note the Kaisner  extrusion  does not include the wrap under at the ends ....that is a separate casting ....

the whole rear end on the "Johnson"  observation is a casting ....Kaisner  ..casting top and bottom ..sides continuous from rest of car .     

Also found  a lone PRR car which I  had assumed was Kaisner ...but same construction as "Johnson"  

Hopefully a  Bill Johnson   flyer or catalog will surfaces to answer more questions .

Cheers Carey 

OK thanks, I can see the difference in that context; the solid and screwed on end casting for your GN ob is indeed way different than the stock Kasiner obs component design, yet the extrusion is a still a fairly good match in a cross section comparison, and again the matching plan hmmmmm. BTW I have some extrusions that I assumed are Kasiner's (again based on the matching plan) but they have that same  lower skirting, so maybe they're not Kasiner's either. I will have to look. If you do indeed locate a Bill Johnson circular or detailed "catalog" listing please let us know. Your GN cars look dented up for aluminum extrusions so maybe it's softer metal than Kasiners?

On your related earlier query CSC's are extrusions manufactured in the late 60's and early 70's by Bob Chernay of Miami FL, his tribulations with the business were documented in a column in the October 1974 issue #34 of OSR . Here's a cross section of the extrusion, some shell shots and an advert with kit offering listed. They are nice kits if a tad "loose" in regard to prototype window plans.

Note the twin vertical ribs under the roof, this is the "tell" for these extrusions, that and as Bob mentioned the embossed and scribed door stamping's which is nice. I haven't made up my mind on what to do with these (have four of them) but am leaning to doing them in IC or KCS. 

The Kasiner smooth side extrusions had skirts.  The Pullman style did not - hence the poorly fitting sand castings.  Speer extrusions have the skirts.  Hope they did not recycle them.