Which "Madisons" Would Look the Best Behind a Post War 2046 Engine?

The Williams versions are almost identical to the postwar Lionel ones.  I run those with my postwar & MPC engines & they look good size wise. MTH railking also works well. The rugged rails cars I feel are too short.

My answer depends on the size of your layout and the largest diameter curves.

If you have a relatively small layout (say under 100 sq ft.) or you have maximum curves in the 36-42" range, I'd strongly suggest the O27 Rail Kings (which I think were later marketed as Rugged Rails).  They're around 12-13" in length and come in packs of 4 with 2-car add-on packs. Six makes for a nice long train. No doubt, as pointed out above, they look a little stubby, but a string of 15-16" cars adds 2' in length of the train which can overwhelm small layouts.

I typically run my 2056 with a string of the even shorter PW O27 streamliners that are roughly 10-11" in length. They're probably too short, but I like to keep road names together.

If you want to go with the 15-16" versions, then Williams becomes an option. They are nice replicas of the postwar Madisons. They come with the silhouettes in the windows which some object to.

The postwar Lionel cars are the same size as the Williams 14" cars. In my opinion, they have the best proportions of height to length.

The RailKing cars are less long than Lionel/Williams and they are taller than the Lionel/Williams cars. The Railking cars have more added on detail, like hand rails and such.

Some of the forum sponsors have the Williams cars. The best/newest ones wear the "Luxury Lines" logo. The Lionel cars in the legends of Lionel series were among the first ones to be released some 20 years back or more when the dies were recreated.

You can also find postwar Lionel cars, but they are expensive, the paint does not adhere well to the Bakelite body, and the trucks are not as free rolling as modern versions of the cars.

Also, the earliest of the Williams cars have fixed couplers that are a bit floppy in the vertical plane, and may not stay coupled as well as the later ones.

Jim - In addition, from time to time Lionel has marketed what they call 'Baby Madison' cars - in various road names - which would also be in keeping with the scale of your #2046 engine.

Here is something you can search... I've run these with my 2046 ...they aren't to shabby and can usually be had at a reasonable price.  Nicely detailed interiors and very smooth running... the coil springs are cast into the trucks (not individually applied) ...best, if you can find them with the Diaphragms installed.  With the Add-On(s) we are talking around 10' feet of train rolling down the track.

Lionel 6-21170 (K-Line) 15" NYC 4-car 60' Madison Passenger Set.

Lionel 6-21175 (K-Line) 15" NYC 2-car 60' Madison Passenger... Add-On Set.

Baby Madison cars are also nice. Plenty to pick from during the MPC era that can be had cheap. Perhaps one of the best things to come out of the MPC era?

Thanks so much for the great info, everybody. I had no idea what to buy, did not know what I was doing.

Last night I started going through OGR classifieds, eBay, etc. thinking of your suggestions    Trainz happened to have 4 of the short RailKing/RuggedRails Madisons  ... three different coaches and an observation car.  All PRR, which is good in my railroad world. Reasonable prices and only pay once for shipping. Too good to pass up, especially for a little Christmas train.

Thanks again, Jim

The only thing I would put with Madison cars is a GG1