Question on Weaver Morning Hiawatha set...............won it lol!

Paul:  I purchased my "morning Hiawatha" set from Weaver, along with two extra cars when they were first announced, perhaps 8 or 10 years ago.  They remain my favorite train, as was the prototype which had been introduced to the world the year I was born.

I do have to point out a couple of errors or shortcomings, however.  The interiors are not correct for the cars, since they were originally designed for the Pullman-Bradley cars that Weaver once offered.  As a result, their are no bulkheads within the cars and the seats don't line up with the windows.

I  took on the project of preparing a more correct interior for all seven cars.  When I removed the P-B type interior, I cut a sheet of styrene to the same size as the interior sub-floor I just removed.  On several of the coaches I used the same seats that came in the P-B cars, except that I sanded the bottom surface on a belt sander, to make the seat backs lean backwards a bit (In the PB cars, the seat backs are absolutley vertical; probably not too comfortable for our 1/4" scale passengers.)  I then marked the window spacing on the styrene sub floor and glued in the now slanting seats in place so they would line up with the windows.

I made bulkheads out of .60" styrene, cutting it to form men's and women's restrooms, lounges and the aisle for passage from one car to the other.  I also installed some seating in those smoking lounges.  I sanded the plastic window material on the end window on each side to represent the lavatory so as to avoid having to install those fixtures.

I left the lighting strips in place as they were on the original interior and even though there are brackets supporting the light strip, you really can't see them through the windows.  After installing about 35 pasengers in each car, I reinstalled the floors, re-connected up the light strips and now I have cars that really look much better.

On several of the cars, I decided to use Precision Scale Models plastic interior seats and these actually look better in the  Milwaukee Road cars.  I also installed an interior in the Tip Top Tap car, the shorter car at the front of the train.  These cars came from Weaver with blackened out windows and no interiors.

It was not an easy job, fitting all those little parts and details into place, but to me the effort was worth it.  I can be really proud of my Hiawatha, now.

A word about the name, "Morning Hiawatha":  These cars represent the very first Hiawatha, and in fact the very first streamlined, lightweight conventional passenger train.  The only earlier lightweight passenger trains were the U.P. City of Salinas and the Burlington Pioneer Zephyr, BUT these consisted of much shorter and articulated cars.  The Milwaukee Road was the true pioneer of the what became the standard for passenger service.  But the train was simply called the   "Hiawatha".  Not until the popularity of this service forced the RR into building another complete train, in late 1938, were there two Hiawathas, and then they were differentiated by the names: "Morning Hiawatha" and "Afternoon Hiawatha"

You'll never have another opportunity to buy an "0" gauge Hiawatha, so even with it's shortcomings of having the incorrect interiors, it will still be worth your investment.

Paul Fischer

Thanks I put a bid in to get the buy it now gone. Looks beautiful.

Lol won it at the starting price of $425.00! LOL! Set is advertised as brand new so guess the price is good. I'm happy and can't wait to get it.

Saw the set on the bay, but wasn't in the cards, seeing as how I have the new Lionel cars on order. Also, there was the question of finding that one engine that matches those cars, which I figured would be extremely difficult. But I'm a stickler for color. Hope you enjoy those interesting cars.

I think you did well on the price and you will like the set. What do you have to pull it? The best of course is the Weaver 4-4-2 #1 without the Indian, but that is kind of hard to find and being brass and having the earliest version of TMCC, it's a bit flaky in operation when you do find it. If you get one, watch the tires. I have two of the Weaver 4-4-2's and they are the worst tire throwers I have ever seen. That said, I wouldn't part with them because they are a perfect match for the Weaver 1935 and 1937 passenger sets. 

The Lionel 4-4-2 is an option but the colors don't go well with the Weaver cars. 

Right now I have the MTH MR Hudson to pull it, will be looking for the Weaver engine. There are a couple of Weaver Hudsons on the Bay at around $650.00. There is 1 4-4-2 but doesn't have working sound for the same price.