Ooooo!

Rusty

Well if you want to know what happened to the last surviving car of the Train of Tomorrow, it isn't good. I see the poor thing a few times a month, really sad

Historic Moon Glow seems destined to rust away

Very good move on the part of 3rd Rail. There are many who have been asking for this train for a very long time. Keith from Ohio must be dancing in the aisles.

It is really nice to see a manufacturer listen to what the market is saying.

This is awesome news.  The GM Train of Tomorrow has been my most wanted item since I've been in the O gauge hobby.  I am so excited about this and am definitely in for the set.  A big thank you to the 3rd Rail team for offering this wonderful train.  I can't wait to see their completed cars.

For me, this is the biggest news in O this year.  I don't care how long it takes to deliver the set, I'm just glad to know that it is finally going to be made.

Oh I am  I've been grinning since I read your email about the train.  Thanks again for letting me know.

Here's a shot I took at the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1949.  I also saw the train

in St. Louis, but I haven't scanned the photos yet.

Anyone interested in GM's Train of Tomorrow should also pick up a copy of this book:

http://www.heimburgerhouse.com...T/train_tomorrow.php

The book is meticulously researched and provides a comprehensive look at the train from its conception to eventual disposition and yes, there are lots of pictures. I recommend it as a nice companion piece to the 3rd Rail set.

Bob

Any idea what the timetable is for this set? I couldn't find anything on 3rd Rail's site...

Depends on reservations.  The '51 Super Chief got fully reserved quickly so they will be here in less than a year.  The Lark not so much and almost got cancelled due to low reservations and ended up taking 4 years.

Bob,

I did pick up this book, based on your recommendation.  It IS a wonderful book and I do agree that it will be a great piece to have with the set.  In the book, I found the occasionally used dormitory/baggage car to be interesting.  Anyway, I wanted to say thanks and let you know that I enjoy this book.

The 3rd drawings of the cars has been posted on the 3rd rail website.

Is there a difference in the fact that these are being offered as a 3rd rail model as opposed to a GGD model?

Since we are selling Diesels and cars as a set, we put them under the 3rd Rail banner. These are all made by our Premier factory.  Scheduled for a late 2014 production. Reservations will close in the fall.

Scott

I'm a big GM and EMD fan and this interests me.  Do the cars have the particular GM Train of Tomorrow interior detail?

Same here but I don't know of any source for the interior detail comparable to the books published on SP passenger cars. Still, if there is a research source you can bring to Scott's attention I am sure he will consult it.

"Generic" passenger car interiors have become a major irritant for me as it really takes a lot of time and effort to plan and execute changes to them.

I want this for the modeling, not to run: I plan to set it up on display with scratchbuilt copies of the stairs into and out of the train (see lewrail's wonderful photo above - there was another entrance sort of like that at the back.  I assume the interior will be generic, but maybe not: if so I will take generic interiors out and install ones based on the book and any other photos and info I can find.

Keith & I have been supporters of this project for a long time. This will be a historic train set and anyone interested in "modern" passenger trains, should consider adding it to their roster.

I will have to pick up a copy of the book. Thanks for the tip Bob.

Beautiful train!  Glad 3rd rail is making this set.  However, I must pass as my layout does not have the wide radius curves required to run it.  If only the cars were of the 18" variety.

The description on the website states "Full Interior Details Prototypical for Each Car" 

That is a very cool train and a perfect one to model.

Art

 I saw that, but . . .  I'm not sure what that means here given its the ToT.  I'm going to order it regardless, but I'd like to know.  The actual train was both a demo with specific examples of advanced cars w. GM thinking, and in places had displays and such in place - it would be cool if they go into that much detail but understandable if they just render the basic interiors (I'll add the display and sample detail if the don't) and it would be super cool if they included the exhibit stairs.  I assume the ToT carried them in the baggage car when moving from town to town, that they folded up or something.  

Often GGD posts on its website CAD/3D images of the plans for its passenger car interiors. 3rd Rail has already posted images for the exterior of each passenger car in this set so I imagine they'll do the same for the interiors.

I think I'll wait to see what they come up with before committing to buy this. In my case it would also be mainly a display model. The fluting on the sides of the engine and the GM logos under the cab and on the nose would have to be rendered very accurately for this purpose.

Meanwhile, anyone who has any detailed photos/drawings of interior layouts, or indeed other things like the steps Lee mentions, should pass them along to Scott Mann at 3rd Rail. He does use this information although I would guess that in the production and budget process, finicky interior details get sacrificed in favour of exterior finish and features.

Originally Posted by Lee Willis:

...it would be super cool if they included the exhibit stairs.

I assume the ToT carried them in the baggage car when moving from town to town, that they folded up or something.  

According to diagrams, there was no dedicated baggage car. I would suspect that each venue supplied stairs, or perhaps they were shipped separately.

Does anyone know if they pulled a baggage car and accomodation car along with them or had another train?  

Good question, Lee. I have only seen pictures that indicate the four domes and the E-7. I would think if they included a baggage car that it would have been decorated similarly. Most likely there were two sets of stairs that leap-frog from venue to venue depending upon requirements. It' an interesting bit of logistics, and would be great to know how this was accomplished. I love your idea of including the steps. 

The baggage car was a painted up heavyweight car that was intended to be brought ahead and carried all the supplies needed; brochures and such.  Once and a while when there was no alternative it was brought with the ToT, as I understand it towed behind the observation car.

Both the ToT book described above and the Pullman Standard Library books have descriptions and drawings that are being used to design the interior.  That being said the interior will be as accurate as possible given the price point of the cars.

The added heavyweight was eventually painted and fluted to blend in with the four dome cars.  It was named "Blue Goose".  They call it a dormitory car.  It had a sitting room and locker area for the employees on tour for Pullman and GM.  It also had storage for literature , ramps and such. According to the book(The Train of Tomorrow), this car was often moved by other trains and arrived at a city before the T Of T arrived.  Many times that couldn't happen and it was included in the consist of the T of T.

Here is a pic I found online...

Hi Lee,

See my post above.  Your idea of staging the train with the stairs might be neat.  In the link, at the top of this thread, to 3rd Rail's site, they have a pic of the last car with the stairs in place.  It may be helpful to you.

Thanks for the information and photo, Keith. This explanation certainly makes sense. Now that I'm aware of the book, I'll need to secure a copy.

I ordered this train soon after it's announcement and look forward to it's delivery. I was apprehensive whether or not there would be sufficient orders to guarantee a production run. I'm delighted to see it move forward. Taking a note from Lee's idea of adding ramps and stairs, adding the fact that there was indeed a fifth support car, wouldn't it be great fun if Scott offered this as an add-on set? It would add in telling the story

Truly a fascinating train. Too bad it all but gone.

I hope that Scott considers the Baggage Car as an add-on to the ToT. I guess that will depend on the number of orders they receive for this set.

I came off the fence and decided to order one of these sets - it does say somewhere that only 50 are being produced although I imagine that depends on the pre-order take up.

Scott Mann provides reliable information about his passenger car offerings and if these are intended to have prototypical interiors and accurate renderings of the GM logos on the engine I'm good with that.

For those who are interested or nostalgic this Australian website has a very nice selection of period photos/ads about this train: 

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014...ays-trains-to-shame/

You can also download the promotional brochure:

http://streamlinermemories.info/Mfrs/tot.pdf

Rusty

Thanks Rusty, the brochure is absolutely brilliant.

Great brochure! Can't wait to get mine. 

Everything about the train reminds me of my affinity for classic beauty.

You're welcome.

Some time ago, while looking for Train of Tomorrow literature, on the auction site, I found this picture.  It shows the T of T with the dormitory car(before it was fluted and striped to match) behind the locomotive.  Neat picture.

Here is a link>> dormitory car

I'm definitely in on this...what a great move by 3rd rail.

Thanks again, Keith. Another great photo. It does make one wonder why they didn't simply build a matching dormitory car in the first place instead of refashioning a car that's obviously from yesterday.