Parts for South Shore Line passenger car shells

Chris

Isn't this a question you ask yourself BEFORE YOU BUY? 

Chris,   This is my recollection and if wrong, I trust some members will correct me.  The first pair(one powered, one not powered) was a special TCA run.  The non-powered car may have been a dining car.  There was something wrong with the shells/bodies and K-Line supplied two passenger car shells/bodies to TCA, don't know if they went to the Association or directly to the individual members.  Later, a second pair (powered and non-powered) were offered on the open market.  Six road numbers for six bodies/shells.  All were 17 1/2 inches over the sills, all fit on K-Line 17 1/2 inch floors with trucks.  The underside detail piece varies as baggage cars, RPOs and dining cars have sill steps which are easy to remove.  Underside detail piece is listed in the For Sale Forum. John

The 1st Kline set was a special for TCA members. It was painted a very light orange and consisted of one powered car and a coach.  They then release the extra shells to correct the color issue, but the shells werent much better and didn’t include any of the hardware like door chains  or colored leds which needed to be manually moved to the new set.  This sounds like what youu is purchased.

Kline then issued a 2nd  set of these and came with powered car and a diner.  The orange was much better but lacked the door chains.  Both sets were 18” and had silhouettes.  

Around 2005 Kline came out with a 15” version of these sets where the color is much improved and included sounds and interiors.

That seller tried to sell them to me; I wondered why I've seen multiple sets of these bodies for sale.  I have the original TCA set it seems.  With the original 4 light bulbs in each car, light glows right through the sides of the cars.  They weren't painted too light, they were molded in that almost-salmon color.  Seriously, lit up they look like they came right out of the slab mill and onto the tracks.  I replaced the bulbs with LEDs, much better, but still a little light shows through in places.

My advice, test shine-through with the lights you want to use before deciding what to do.  Or paint the interior of the shell with a few coats of black paint.  As for parts, taking mine apart to change bulbs, they really look close to Lionel's heavyweight cars in size and form, maybe give one of those a look.  Or pick up a different roadname set and switch shells.

I own 3 sets; one is the original that I got via the TCA offer, and two are ones that I obtained later - because they were so cheap.  Here's what I can tell you...

The original set has 2701 in its UPC code but other than that the set number is not displayed on the box.  Paperwork has a 1991 date on it.  As I recall, when I received it the cars they were too "pink" and they ran terribly (fortunately they loosened up after awhile).  I opened up my original set - the colors were not as bad as I remembered them - I don't know if I got the replacement shells and swapped them, or if my perception of the color has changed.  If I did swap shells, I don't recall whether or not they came with the details or if I had to take them from the originals.

Subsequently, I've obtained two more sets that appear to have better color - they were too cheap to resist.  Both of the later sets have a sticker on the box saying that the item # is 2701-A.  However, each set has a different pair of cars!

The shorter South Shore cars that were produced later (2000ish?) are much better in just about every respect.

IIRC, K-Line also sold identical cars marked for Reading.  If you find a set of K-Line interurbans in a black box, they're probably the same as the South Shore set.

These are just generic interurbans - the ends, windows, and roofs are all wrong, so I wouldn't obsess over the details - perhaps make your own grab irons and see if you can find a set of pantographs that will fit.

I'm not usually a rivet counter, but I grew up near the South Shore, and I've always hoped that someone would make a semi-realistic set.  Not holding my breath, though. 

Thanks for the information everyone. These cars seem to have quite the interesting history. Mine appear to be the set of replacement shells.

I was able to acquire a K2702 Pennsylvania Electric Interurban set to use as a parts donor. I have a roll of aluminum foil tape to help with light bleed through.

I hear you Mallard4468, I would love to see a realistic Highliner or even Highliner II made.