Best Santa Fe Aluminum Passenger Cars?

K-line made a set that has seats and a few people per car.  More or less, if you want any commercial set to look like its actually making money, you have to open them up and add more people.

Lionel 18” cars made around 2005-2010 are fine cars with interiors and figures. MTH cars also have interiors with figures but most are ACF cars vs Budd cars.

Pete

Thanks @Boilermaker1 and @Norton.  From recollection of these cars, I kinda remember thinking that there weren't that many people in there.  Opening up the car and adding people is something doable.

Be careful with the Lionel 2005 - 2010 aluminum cars. Zinc pest got a lot of the trucks. If anyone knows of replacement trucks, please let me know.

Gerry

@Norton posted:

Lionel 18” cars made around 2005-2010 are fine cars with interiors and figures. MTH cars also have interiors with figures but most are ACF cars vs Budd cars.

Pete

Note that the Lionel cars are aluminum, where as the MTH cars are painted plastic. That may not be important to you, although many prefer the look of aluminum cars to best replicate the prototypes.

@gmorlitz, I guess I was MIA during the zinc pest era, I only have postwar and now some modern stuff.  Do the trucks disintegrate due to that issue?  I've seen that term a lot in the year or so I've been here, but have never seen it myself.

@breezinup, Yep, I would not be happy with painted plastic.  I didn't know that's how MTH did those.  Thanks.

Yes, they disintegrate and make the cars worthless. Unless you want to make them into stationary diners.

Gerry

Here's the end result of zinc pest.  These were 18" Penn "Red Arrow" cars.  On all four cars, the trucks disintegrated.  Had to buy all new trucks at the Lionel half off sale.

@texgeekboy posted:

@gmorlitz, I guess I was MIA during the zinc pest era, I only have postwar and now some modern stuff.  Do the trucks disintegrate due to that issue?  I've seen that term a lot in the year or so I've been here, but have never seen it myself.

Define "zinc pest era".

This is not a new phenomenon.  It's been around as long as zinc die casting has existed.

There are examples going way, way back.  Among the most prominent are the frames on some of Lionel top-of-the-line 700E Hudsons back in the 1930's.

Is it more common in the last 20 or 30 years compared to 50 or 60 years ago?  Possibly.  If so it's because of a slip in quality control by the supplier(s) of the zinc alloy.  Too much of the impurity lead (Pb) in the mix.

Mike

@texgeekboy posted:

I'd like to add a few 18" Santa Fe extruded passenger cars to my fleet.  I spent countless hours modifying four aluminum Santa Fe passenger cars, numbers 19176-19179, adding 3d printed seats, LED lighting, and painted people.  Those cars originally had incandescent bulbs and silhouettes.  Has Lionel (preferably) or anyone else made those types of cars with seats and people already installed?  I don't mind replacing the incandescent bulbs with LEDs, but I'd rather not do the entire project again.

Do you have any pics of your mods?