Boston &Albany 4-6-4 J1e Hudson - correct passenger cars

MTH did offer B&A cars years ago. Standard heavyweight set, separate sale diner, combo and RPO. The B&A was part of the NYC. A few name trains such as the 20th Century , Wolverine etc. all had sections leaving Boston. They were pulled or combined into trains for the NYC at Albany.

 The MTH set really is fantasy. The B&A lettering was mostly on their suburban coaches with 2 axle trucks. Not heavyweights. Still a sharp looking set that will go nicely with this engine. I would look for something with PULLMAN lettering or something NYC based.

 This is the MTH RPO that has been modified with Weaver trucks. The rest of the consist is GGD PULLMAN's. The engine is an old MTH Proto 1 relettered and converted to TMCC.

G

Per freight duty on the B&A, never say never (real RR's were never so pure as the model ones; power was power, and if a tight situation came up, locos were used sometimes out of their "best" roles) on the B&A, but as the B&A dleselized before the parent NYC, the B&A's J2 class (they had 75" drivers rather than the 79-inchers on the NYC-proper's J1's and the J3's - the B&A was hardly a "water-level route") all wound up on the NYC and spent several years there in productive service. Larger tenders were added to the ones that had the B&A 8-wheel tenders, and the big, A-1 Berkshire-like sand domes were replaced with J3-style domes. Most original NYC and ex-B&A Hudsons did eventually do freight service later in life, but on the B&A I would think that it was only occasionally. 

Also, the MTH model, beautiful as it is - almost ordered it - represents a non-existent locomotive; the as-delivered green J2's all had smaller, 8-wheel tenders. Only after they went to the parent NYC did most or all get 12-wheelers. Never when they were green with the original small (as modeled) sand dome and big tender.

None of which helps with your passenger car question, but, what the hey? I also don't blame you for getting the engine, "non-existent" or not - it's striking. 

Thank you for that history and information. It is appreciated. One of the main reasons I choose this particular Hudson was due to the fact that is was different.  I have plenty of black steamers in my roster. 

Dave

Dave_C posted:

MTH did offer B&A cars years ago. Standard heavyweight set, separate sale diner, combo and RPO. The B&A was part of the NYC. A few name trains such as the 20th Century , Wolverine etc. all had sections leaving Boston. They were pulled or combined into trains for the NYC at Albany.

 The MTH set really is fantasy. The B&A lettering was mostly on their suburban coaches with 2 axle trucks. Not heavyweights. Still a sharp looking set that will go nicely with this engine. I would look for something with PULLMAN lettering or something NYC based.

 This is the MTH RPO that has been modified with Weaver trucks. The rest of the consist is GGD PULLMAN's. The engine is an old MTH Proto 1 relettered and converted to TMCC.

G

 

Dave is that your layout- impressive, not to high-jack this thread any other photos?

Thanks

Another option I had forgotten about  for cars although they aren't out yet. Are the Atlas reissue of the Weaver Troop Sleepers. I run all scale equipment. I'm the first to admit the scale length passenger cars don't look great on my curves. The Troop cars are more at home length wise for most model RR's and they're scale and will match your scale engine. If the B&A had this color scheme on their engines is debatable. They did receive the Hudson type tender after the war. With B&A lettering. Many NYC Hudson's received the new Niagara style tender and the B&A got the hand me downs. I can't blame the manufactures for this. It's a matter of tooling costs. Both K-Line and Lionel's Berkshires have the Hudson style tender. A few did receive them. The  Atlas cars would put you in a time frame between about 1943 to 1946. I'm sort of a rivet counter and try to run prototypical consists. I have this engine as well and these are what I pull mixed in with some baggage cars.

 Often times engines after shopping were broken in on local type freights before going back into regular service. I've seen pics of Hudson's in Milk Train service. The Boston & Maine carried pretty much all the milk to Boston. Do your research and you could assemble a New York City bound milk train. Would certainly be a colorful and varied consist. I believe milk was delivered through Chatham from the Rutland. Using B&A power on this run is not much of a stretch. It just may have happened. It only has to happen once to be prototypical.

Sparky74 posted:

Thank you for that history and information. It is appreciated. One of the main reasons I choose this particular Hudson was due to the fact that is was different.  I have plenty of black steamers in my roster. 

I've asked a few of the experts in the NYC RR historical sociaty about the green Berkshire and Hudsons.  While there's no known pictures or any record of which engines had green paint.  It's general accepted that a few engines got this special paint treatment for some special event back sometime in the 30's. How long they stayed green who knows.

also the B&A ended being a independent sub of the NYC during WWII.  Major maintenance in west Springfield was moved to Selkirk, no new motive power or freight equipment was lettered in B&A after that.  The last steam run was done by a L3 Mohawk in the spring of 51

George do a search of my posts.  I posted videos and pics of Daves layout some time ago