Demand for O-Gauge Passenger Cars

Not interested in another horizontal tin can with wheels.

I would be in for New Haven Osgood Bradley Lightweights if they were about 16 inches long for 031 curves.

Great thread Brain,

I would love to see Lionel make aluminum 18 inch passenger cars in a lot of different road names. They would sell like crazy. I see the same thing on E-bay also, as soon as a set of aluminum cars are listed there gone.

Thanks, Alex

I ordered the new Blue Comet set and its diner car today.  I hope they are very detailed as I hear some of the new sets (Southern Crescent) are . . .

As to what I'd like.  I prefer 15 and 18 inch cars - 21" cars will run on my big loop but even 18" look a little silly on 72" curves. 

What I would like to see in the future is even more detail inside - detailed window blinds and such, dinnerware on the tables in the dining car, and animation - figures moving up and down the aisles, making, well, animated conversation at the bar in the lunge car, turning and point at the window, etc. 

I have on order from 3rd Rail, the full 12 car set of aluminum streamliners in VIA Rail livery, can't wait. Passenger trains are far more interesting to me.

I too would like to see 18" aluminum passenger cars.

Rich 

I favor the 15" or 18" cars.  I love the look of the 21", but as Lee says, they look a bit out of place even on large curves.

I also prefer the 15"-18"cars. I like the RK size cars I have now. Just wish they would put more detail on the heavyweights that they use on the Premier scale..like a rounded  roof on one side. As is, these RK streamline and heavyweights look pretty good for me.

I've been getting my fix from OK Engines, but if 3rd rail/GGD ever comes out with a Silver Meteor set I may have to go back to work full time!

I tried to get Red Cap Line, makers of HO interior equipment, to move up to O-scale but they said the economy isn't where it should be for them to do so.

Hey, if you guys want stuff made I suggest you email them, I did.

What someone needs to do is design a car where the windows can be positioned by the buyer, to make whatever configuration they choose.  I've mentioned this before, something like a sliding puzzle game where you have sliding pieces and one empty slot.  The pieces stay in somehow so all they have to do is take one apart and see how it's done

I'd like to see whoever wound up with the K-Line tooling revive the aluminum cars in all three lengths - 15", 18", and 21". And especially, to build the cataloged, but never produced, 21" Milwaukee Road "Madison" sleeper with the up-and-down window levels (I think those correspond to roomettes). And one more thing - build the Super Dome cars with the correct six-wheel trucks. 

Some more variety in heavyweights would be nice as well. I've never seen a scale-size heavyweight observation car with a solarium instead of an open platform. (MTH does make a 60-footer in Rail King). 

Passenger cars are great and I'm consistent with most everyone else.

15 and 18 inch for the look on the curves, and the more interior details the better! There are a couple of related threads with others thinking the same thing we are here. Terry

Bob, I have a car with the removable window strips.  I believe that it was made by Midland Reproductions.  It is 21" long and is a Budd car.  The strip that came with it is for a Tavern/Lounge (at least that is what it looks like to me).  Maybe someone else has more information on the history/status of these cars.  James

James, that sounds great.  I've never heard of that company.

I know the makers have a hard time of it, all the RRs seemed to take pride in changing things around as soon as they got hold of a new car, Seaboard sure seemed to do it.  They got a lot of cars from C&O and FEC and photos I've seen of both before and after clearly show window positions altered.

Now that I have 21" cars, I dont really want to go back. IMO, the 21s are great if you have a club or other huge layout to run on, and there's no substitute for the full scale cars. With all of these work of art engines now available, the matching scale cars really do make a difference.

I would love to see GGD do Amfleets and Viewliners in full scale length. No one has done Viewliners and GGD could do them up like no one else. 

A 2 Viewliner, Diner, 4 Amfleet set would be perfect.

Plastic 18" phase IV Amtrack Superliners. Been chasing a set since I rode them cross country but they go for too much used. A reissue set would bring the price down some.

I'm busily converting everything I can to LED lighting.

China manufacturer Kader is the resting place for the K-Line Ext. Aluminum cars/tooling.  As I mentioned in a thread several months ago, I collared a Bachmann representative a couple of Yorks ago.  (Bachmann is the principal stakeholder in Kader production.)  He was rather blunt about the future of those cars.  He said they ran a cost estimate to produce those cars...with all of the final K-Line 'bells and whistles'...and found that they'd have to charge over $200 PER CAR to re-introduce that product.  Even as a premium 'Williams-Spectrum' product, and especially with the current economy and market receptivity, it's dead-on-arrival.  Not going to happen.

Then, there are those who say 'Never say never!',  although I personally am too pragmatic to expect the unexpected re these cars in my remaining lifetime, given our economy, China's economy, the aging demographics of this hobby segment, etc., etc., etc..  (While I'm writing this I'm hearing about the GAO's annual report released today which promises dire consequences for the national economy in the absence of drastic policy changes.  Yeah, right.)

At the same York I talked with MTH and Atlas about the shorter passenger car market.  We're talking 15" to 18" in length.  The MTH rep was unequivocal about their old 15" Aluminum products...you'll never ever see them in a catalog again, even with only silhouette windows and 2-bulb lighting.  Atlas?...Not a chance as part of their Masterline products, not on the horizon for Trainman (streamline) or Industrial Rail.  And, you'll never see anything less than scale from GGD (3rd Rail).  Don't know about Lionel except to say they seem to march to the beat of a closer-to-scale drummer in creating new tooling lately. It's a powerful lobby.   

I'm a passenger car junkie, myself.  But I've decided to work with the cards already dealt, add interiors, riders, LED lights, diaphragms, closer coupling, etc., etc., etc., rather than expect the unexpected.  Life's too short.

Just MHO, of course.

KD

Two Great Needs from MTH Rail King:

1. Smooth side passenger cars with Budd domes

2. Heavyweight Madison Observation car with open platform

I suggest something along the lines of a four axle commuter coach such as the CNJ 1064: 

The appearance is very generic, making it suitable for a wide variety of roads. Atlas has the right idea and offers a similar model, based upon what I believe is a C&NW prototype, in the Trainman line. I'd be interested in a car closer in length to the CNJ prototype.

Thank you,

Bob   

Have to jump back in and add LED lighting that lots of you listed. Left that off my original post and it's a great add! Terry

I would love for Lionel to make Amtrak Viewliner cars in the same size frame as the recent amfleet cars.  A diner and amfleet cafe car would also be nice.

That is very similar looking to the Atlas Trainman 60' passenger cars.

They look great, been have been produced in very few road names.

I would love to see Atlas expand that line. LIRR please!

And you have some roads with cars which seem to have their own style of passenger cars.  MILW, UP in streamline, and L&N in HW sleepers come to mind.

I have two sets of the Kline cars.  Both in Santa Fe livery.  One set of the bi-levels which I have rarely run and another set that I run a fair amount.

I am surprised (somewhat) to hear that the cars are going at a premium although I had a set of CNW MTH bi levels that I actually made money on.

I have as many passenger cars as freight cars.

I have some of the traditional Lionel cars with the silhouettes, and all the way to the set of the NYC Pullmans I just asked santa for.  I like running them with the lights dimmed in the basement.  It's a cool look and honestly very peaceful to watch.

John

Lee,

What Blue Comet diner car?  The last one Lionel made was in 2002. There is only a 4 pack passenger car set.  Do you have the part number of this new Blue Comet Diner car?

If you can't buy it why not make it? Here are some 13 1/2" Osgood Bradley coaches and cafe car that i fabricated.

At the risk of being charged with blasphemy...

The 15" cars are a bit too long for 031 layouts -- backing particularly.

And the 11" series are too short and toy-like.

What we need are some nice 13" sets.

  --Joe

I just love passenger cars!  The 21" cars are my favorite since they arrived on the market, but since not a lot of them are made at any one time I am just as happy with buying 18" cars in road names I like, of which there are many.  Highly detailed interiors are always preferable to me, but I'd at least like to have more people inside.

That said, here is my passenger set wish list:

21” Passenger Sets: 

Amfleet (And as an added bonus, an Amtrak E60 locomotive)

Amtrak Viewliner Sleeper & Diner 

Amtrak Bi-Level sets w/ Full Dome car

Santa Fe Bi-Level sets w/ Full Dome car

Penn Central

Brian....great thread!!! 

I am hooked on passenger trains and over the past 30 years have amassed far more than I can put on the layout!!  Anyway, I feel very fortunate to have several sets of the K-Line 21" Amtrak Superliners as well as the Santa Fe Hi-level cars.  I tend to agree with "Southwest Hiawatha" and "Boilermaker1" in their posts above but also think that "KD" is most likely correct as far as us seeing the resurrection of the K-Line cars.  If you want them, you better go after them on the secondary market.  GGD and Atlas seem to be the only two manufacturers that are going to produce full length/scale cars.  While I have a lot of the 18"cars produced by MTH and Williams (by the way, the Williams car is actually almost 19" in length), those full scale beauties still catch my attention more than the shorter cars.  I have designed my layout so that most of the curves have some sort of view block so that one doesn't notice the larger overhang with the full length cars.

Alan

I'm partial to F3 passenger sets. Currently at three, but more to come I'm sure!!!

I've posted it before, and I'll post it again: RailKing-sized Orient Express carriages.

I did E-mail MTH about considering RailKing European stuff.  Never heard back.

Aaron

I'm also a "passenger car fan". MTH has all ready made perfect Railking PRR heavyweight and streamlined cars for me. I have filled them with figures and dining car place settings.

I wish they would stop incuding dome cars in sets for RRs that never had them. And RMT not letting you buy extra coaches (without another baggage or obs.).

modeltrainsparts,  Those NY NH & Hartford passenger cars are out of this world.  How about telling us how you made them.  Thanks

PTC Great thred! I do love my passenger cars even tho I don't have a lot of different RR's.

I have 3 passenger stations on the layout and I am looking to place a 4th station near the far end of the layout.

I run the MTH PREMIER CN and GTW cars which are the 70' types. I also run the GGD GTW HWT & CN in the 20" size. I wish I could find more of the GGD 20" in CTW and CN. I never seem to get to order the GGD before they are all gone . I also run ATSF 21"k-LINE both high lev el and low level 21" and so far no other Mfg in the ATSF livery. I don't run any AMTRACK rquipment.

I would like more 20"+passenger cars in GTW,& CN. I think I have all the ATSF cars that I need. The only other passenger cars I might want are the 20/21"CaliforniaZephyr

by either GGD or K-Line.

I sure hope the intrest in 20"/21" Passenger cars does not get ignored by the Mfg's like they have for any new INTERMODAL equipment.

My most likely options will not be thriugh the large Mfg's(i HAVE LOST FAITH IN THEM) but by the secondary market or GGD.

Brian thanks for starting this thread.

I went quickly from one passenger train to three. My Daylight has yet to see running time as the necessary minimums will not be met until my new layout space is available. One of the 3 sets has the silhouetted people in the windows. They are especially pretty in the dark (at night) with the light showing throw the windows.

I would like to see them in kit form unpainted. That way you can paint them any color scheme you want and add any road name of your choice. YOu can even choose which lighting, bulbs or leds. I know you can take an existing set and repaint it but Im sure it can be made cheaper and I dont want to paint over brand new cars.

David:

The gentleman who adds interior details, especially diners, is Jack Pearce from, Ontario, CA. He is the same individual who sells the vehicles with headlights, lighted fire trucks, etc. He does sell in the Orange Hall at York.

His workmanship is that of a master craftsman.

Ditto, I think there should be some of the non-Pullman and non-Bud cars on the market.

However, enough already with the cars that are too long, ungainly and flat-out ugly on typical O-gauge sectional track curves.

Lets have some commuter train cars of the late steam and early diesel era such as the New Haven's Osgood Bradley car, Long Island P54 and Ping Pong cars, LIRR T62 Double Decker

13" long cars look good on curves, and they enable trains with more cars.

If the length is prototypical or very close I'll buy it.  I have a K-Line heavyweight Diner and a Baggage car that are 18" and are very close to the prototypical length of car Seaboard used.  Painted Pullman green and lettered SEABOARD they look good mixed in with my Lightweight Budd cars from OK Engines.

I too wish the makers would move to all LED lighting with track or battery power capability.  They could disguise the battery compartment easy enough, along with a small switch or push button.

Also, make them so that interiors either come with them or could easily be installed without mounting posts in the way or that could be seen.

I'd also like to see them use some other metal for the wheels and to offer a wider variety of sideframes/trucks.  Here's a link to some trucks:

http://www.rpca.com/pdfs/passengercartrucks.pdf

and to a general list of Pullman cars and RRs:

http://www.pullmancar.org/lightweight.pdf

and some thoughts on yards:

http://macrodyn.com/ldsig/wiki...reight_and_passenger

more Pullman stuff:

http://macrodyn.com/ldsig/wiki...reight_and_passenger

KD:

Your comments are very insightful. In terms of 21" cars, my guess is GGD will be the only act in town for the foreseeable future. They appear to have mastered the ability to get these done and still make a profit. As far as the 18" lightweights, Lionel looks like they have settled into this market. I just wish they would make them in different road names than we are accustomed to from them.