OGR article about the numerous niche passenger car makers

Are the manufacturers you listed currently producing cars or just that they have in the past?

aussteve posted:

Are the manufacturers you listed currently producing cars or just that they have in the past?

OK Engines is still making cars, Union Station is making plastic sides etc ,not sure of others. I was thinking the article would cover both out of business and current makers.

Clark Benson and Bob of Phoenix cars are no longer with us.  Phoenix made the neat articulated UP restaurant / kitchen 3 set. The Phoenix cars were featured in a OGR product review early 2000's.  Bob was to have supplied me with additional cars but suddenly passed.

Additionally Mac cars can be added to the list, they made extruded fluted passenger cars, RDC's and I believe my Amfleets.

Mac and Benson were bare aluminum extrusions with separate end caps of varying quality fit.

Phoenix were sheet metal

I seem to remember Benson was in NJ and Mac was in FL.   Mac traded as Mac Shops.

I had received the Benson cars and the Mac cars in RDC and scale length Amfleet  pre-assembled / used, twenty years ago but sold them due to less than neat finish.  Not sure if the rough nature of the cars were due to mfg. or the first owners??

Precision had a scale full length run awhile ago.  An ongoing company, just a niche passenger car effort I believe.

Don't forget the Early kit cars like Walthers kinda small niche, some may argue the point.

Excellent thread, Scott.

I bought 8 Clark Benson O scale, 21" long, extruded aluminum passenger cars, new w/ OB's about 30 years ago at some long forgotten train show.  I still have them and I may have some photos of them which I will look for and post.  If not, the cars are readily at hand and I'll take some photos and post.

Basically, the cars are extruded aluminum shells virtually identical to the LIONEL PW 2500 series extrusions (same interior channels, etc.) and used what appear to be LIONEL PW 2500 series plastic car ends (plain and vestibule).

Of the eight, 4 are vista domes with the opening centered lengthwise (too bad!), and the vista domes are roughly cast  metal.  These are extremely heavy--I intend to weigh one and report.  (See my subsequent post with digital scale weigh-in.  LOL)

The other oddity to go with the poorly cast, extremely heavy domes, is the "flat end" observation car feature.  It too is a heavy, poorly cast metal add-on to an otherwise typical extrusion.

Hopefully, Hot Water will chime in with his vast knowledge on this subject of O scale passenger car vendors.  I recall he was very familiar with the Clark Benson cars I have when I mentioned them several years ago.

Carl, you inspired the idea for the thread.  

Tom, great post!  Forgot Mac Shops.  What did Mac Amfleet cars have for trucks?  I've been using Atlas trucks or GGD on heritage fleet cars

Scott, as luck would have it, while going through a large container of passenger car shells, interiors, etc., I stumbled across a Clark Benson lead (?) dome casting and flat end obs card rear and roof.

With my handy digital scale and point n shoot camera, the results are self-explanatory:

Yessirree, that's 1 pound and 3.4 oz. of vista dome; and, I have four of them.

If anyone knows of a vendor selling PLASTIC or better alternatives to these monster domes, my email info is in my profile.

FWIW, back in the '80s (?) Elliot Welz (sp?) had a line of popular Amtrak fluted cars.  Not being an Amtrak guy, I didn't pay attention to them, but I'm sure some forum members have them and can post info and photos.  How about it Amtrak/Welz operators/collectors?

A friend and l collected RPO cars, and l tracked down any oddball and different kit brands and configurations of RPO's, and RPO combines (Walthers has(d) a lot of different configured kit O scale HW RPO's!).  I have some of those cited above, but not Weltz or Union Station, which may not have offered RPO's?? I sought heavyweight RPO's, mostly, and the Walthers lightweights have wooden roofs, so l ignored, but Kasiner, Phoenix, other LW RPO's were warmly welcomed. I would bet there are more out there...

Carl, that is some heavy dome equipment!  Imagine how thick those would translate to life size.  I give all these guys credit for trying to offer interesting cars.  I have a Weltz Metroliner here.  It is very runted in size but is nicely proportioned and has a nice anodized aluminum finish.  

Wonderful thread !!!

Thanks to all posters !!!

CB&Q Bill

Dan Pantara will make cars for you.  John

I would like to correct a previous post someone made.

The Phoenix cars in my collection are extruded aluminum, not sheet metal.

You can add U&R cars to the list. They are lightweight aluminum sheet metal with Lionel prewar trucks and Thomas Industries couplers.

Since my posts above, OK Engines Streamliners has retired.  Ted Brebeck was still providing some parts as of earlier in 2022 but has closed the passenger car extrusions.

I have see the 21" Amfleet cars for sale on that auction site from time to time.  I was tempted to pull the trigger and see what they were like, but my GGD ones arrived first.

The Welz extrusions used for the Amfleet and Metroliner sets are compressed scale.  I have a Metroliner set that is a good runner and I like it quite a bit.  Nice detail on the sprung pantographs.  However, Eliot never did scale length cars to my knowledge. 

I have a few interesting scale length streamlined cars in my collection that I have yet to identify.  One is a smooth side 10-6 painted in PRR colors but lettered for the L&N which would have made it a through sleeper on the South Wind.  The other is fluted and is a coach baggage that I've repainted no less than 3 times since I've owned trying to figure what it wants to be when it grows up.

Great thread.  It would be nice to have more documentation on these interesting mystery cars.

Jonathan,

I found 3 of the 21" Amfleet cars prior to the GGD cars.  One of them is an Amfleet 2 car.  It came decorated incorrectly in phase 1 decals.  May sell those off sometime.  Hard to run them with GGD Amfleet in the train, just no comparison.   But they are a worthy attempt at scale Amfleet cars.

Scott

@GG1 4877 posted:

I have see the 21" Amfleet cars for sale on that auction site from time to time.

If you mean eBay, say eBay. There is no forum rule against it.

Interesting thread. Do not forget that LaBelle also made some O scale cars in kit form; more so in the wood car era, though. I have one LaBelle observation that would be contest-quality if the builder had included an interior.

Speaking of extrusions, I bought at a private sale a 21-inch fluted-side extrusion that had no cut-outs, openings, or even vestibule doors; I never did complete it but I think that it would make for an interesting car!

As for the aforementioned Mac Shops Budd RDC kit (I bought one ), unless one is a superb craftsman/machinist/builder, it is almost impossible to assemble into a good-looking model.

Walthers must have had several hundred different variations over the years. Not the easiest assembly but normally within the capabilities of most modelers.

Hopefully this article (maybe a multi-part series?) will come to fruition.