FAM and Lionel '38 20th Century Limited Observation cars

I only have less than a one inch climb in the basement spread out over maybe ten to twelve foot area? I didn't level out the old benchwork from the G scale trains. So a single smaller steamer pulling a big train can spin or stall if it doesn't have speed at the "hill". A larger articulated or a double headed train is fine even if stopped and restarted. So I use the slight hill as a gauge at what has good pulling power, or how much pool power to apply to a length of cars.

(It crests right at the end of this new mountain.)

These 2 two rail Dreyfus Hudsons will pull about anything I throw at them. One will pull this train but not if stopped right before this climb. I like this and won't change it or add any traction to the stock MTH engines. Now the Weaver M1 I just converted needs some work to get better traction. I wish all the drivers had flanges and would touch the rails.

I am new to the forum so please bear with my lack of etiquette or understanding which thread to post to.  This looks like the closest one for my questions on my L-S 20th Century cars.

I have five of the cars.

Two questions that I have and have not seen answers to on the web:

1.  The literature indicates that the rooves come off to view the interiors, but I have found no instruction, diagrams or helpful hints.  I'd hate to start prying or bending and do any damage.  Also, I have not even found any photos of the interiors, just the one diagram on the pdf of the brochure/flier on the Kohs website.  Sure would like to see what's in there and get some photos and show them off to visitors and other hobbyists.

2.  When looking at the FAM models online for sale, I am confused as to how to know when an example is the 1:31 type or the true O scale that match the Lionel Smithsonian series.  Is there a part/catalog number guide that will allow differentiation from the box label before plunking down the money.  Most sellers seem oblivious to the distinction and list them all as "O" .

Thanks for your help.

Your first question:

It is not an easy task to remove the roofs of these cars. You have to unscrew all (10 or 12 for each car) philips head screws you see when you put the car upside down (e.g. on a soft cloth). The screws look very small but are very long and go into the roof. When you have unscrewed them all you can remove the roof. In the picture you see at the top one of the long screws:

I would not  recommend to do it; I did it on 2 of my cars only because there were some lose parts inside. Removing the roof is the easy part; getting it back on without damaging anything is the difficult part. But seeing the detail inside is nice.

Your second question: You are mentioning 1:31; do you mean 1:32 gauge 1 items from FAM? I have never seen a 1 gauge item advertised as 0 gauge, but that might happen. You would be very lucky then since the 1 gauge items are much more expensive (I would buy them from you at an 0 gauge price  . As far as I know are the 1 gauge items sold in green boxes. The Lionel Smithsonian 0 gauge cars all have a number like 6512nn as far as I know.

Regards

Fred

I've owned this set since it was produced new in the early '90s, and over the years nearly all of the rubberized material used on the diaphragms has literally disintegrated.  I'm aware that other owners have encountered the same problem.  Does anyone know of a source of a replacement material suitable to repair them?

Crank

Fred:

Thanks very much.  I didn't expect such a complete answer so fast!

Yes, I was afraid about the delicacy of the operation.  But, for one shot at a good set of photos, I'll do it.  Thanks for your photos.

Yes again, I mistyped (too late at night.)  I did mean 1:32.   The listings categories on ebay are sometimes the only clue as to gauge from some sellers, and of course that is thoroughly unreliable.  I was confused because another thread on a forum had a posting about the parallel line of scales manufactured from Kohs and little else.

If I do see a 1 gauge listed, I will let you know.  I find S and G and 1 gauge stuff strewn about in the O and HO listings routinely on ebay.  People handling estate sales do not typically know, or ask, it seems.

I appreciate the help.  I will post the photos as I take them.

Steve

The Rockford O Scalers are lucky to have a full 13 car Fine Arts Models ‘38 Century and Dreyfus Hudson in our roster of passenger trains.  Here are our thoughts:

These are magnificent models, no doubt about that.  They (the passenger cars) are also very heavy at about 5 or 6 lbs each.  Thankfully, they have ball bearing journals or the Hudson would have no chance to pull them.  As it is, the locomotive can barely pull the 13 cars without slipping on our level layout trackage but it will pull them.  Needless to say, we don’t run the train too often with the Hudson for fear of over taxing it.  Instead, we use a SS3rd Rail Niagara or an A/A set of Key Alco PAs, both of which are unprototypical, of course.

The cars are beautiful with incredible detail and amazingly we have only had one shorting issue with one of the cars which is pretty miraculous!  

What are the cars missing?  Window shades for one thing, which would be a great addition and it is also strange that with all of the light bulbs in each car, that the Observation doesn’t have illuminated marker lights or drumhead.

All things considered, there will never be another passenger set in O Scale with similar detail for anything approaching the current price of these cars.  Our advice is to get them while you can!

Two other comments:

When the train is running at track speed the weight of those 13 heavy cars represents a lot of momentum and inertia.  We hate to think of what a derailment would be like .......so we don’t think about it!

Regarding the rubber diaphragms, we have found that coating them with some “Armour All”, applied with a cotton swab, helps to keep them from drying out and cracking.  However, if they are already cracked, there is not much one can do other than to replace them with something (not sure what!).