Baltimore and Ohio streamline passenger cars

hudsonman posted:

Attention Baltimore and Ohio railroad fans

Has anyone seen the streamline passenger cars being offered in the B&O livery by Golden BetteGate Depot . They appear to be quite nice . How do they stack up against those  cars from other  manufacturers of similar types ?

Better. Much better.

The Golden Gate Depot cars will be accurate models of the Capitol Limited cars. Scale 85 foot length. No other builder makes accurate B&O cars.

Here are some pictures of the K-line extruded aluminum observation car, next to a GGD car in B&O paint (streamlined heavyweight) so you can compare/contrast them.

The K-line cars are a great value, but as you can see I have my work cut out for me in redetailing and toning it down to better match the GGD car, and to make a reasonable facsimile of a proper B&O observation car.

Also, as expected the GGD cars compare very favorably with the 3rd rail E6 of the same paint:

Admittedly the K-Line cars have a gray that looks too dark, along with striping and lettering that is oversized and too bright. However, there is one thing that can be done to help the K-line cars look more like they 'belong' in a B&O train. Mask the car and paint the roof satin or flat black.

The top most gold stripe on the observation car may also be painted black. (It should have been narrower and positioned below the eaves seam cap, not on top of it). In time, imitation gold eaves and bottom still stripes were omitted as cars were shopped and repainted. 

An all-gray roof was not B&O.  When light-weight cars were new, it was a 16" wide gray band on each side of the roof along the eaves line. The rest of the roof above those band was black.  However, these gray roof bands were not replaced when cars were shopped for overhaul and a repaint after a few years of service.\

When Golden Gate produced the B&O "Cincinnatian" cars, they had a specific extrusion die made to replicate the bodies of re-built, 'stream-styled' heavy-weight cars from which B&O created that train in 1947, as well as additional up-dated passenger cars like the modernized coach in the photos above. 

S. Islander

Forgot to add, silver trucks on B&O streamlined cars only lasted a few years after delivery.  Black paint quickly covered them.

S. Islander

I don't know if there are any prototypical glitches, other than the windows, but Lionel's 18" aluminum streamliners are really beautiful, expecially when seen in person. Paint looks like a dead ringer for the bottom photo of the prototype.

S. Islander posted:

Forgot to add, silver trucks on B&O streamlined cars only lasted a few years after delivery.  Black paint quickly covered them.

S. Islander

Thank you for the info.  I've been slowly putting together a plan of attack, and reviewing some old pictures. 

I think painting the roof black, filling in the aft skirt holes and redoing the corner grabs and stirrup steps, and adding some roof vents and side skirt grills from Scale City Designs will make for a convincing 'stand-off' model.  Also need the rear train line details.  I will probably tone down the yellow a bit, too with a light overspray.  I found some great 2-rail trucks from American Scale Models, and plan to paint them black as well.  Lastly, I will probably retain the side skirt, because it is so nice, and just the thought of taking a razor saw to it wears me out, haha.  I have a few more projects before this one in the queue, but whenever I get around to it I'll be certain to post the results.

Also, nothing against the K-Line model.  They are very nicely weighted, not too hard to find and most excellent for the price.

Here are a couple pictures I have been referencing, both a newly-commissioned observation and after some years in service, which reflect all the differences you have noted: