Who runs 15" aluminum passenger cars?

I run 15 inch aluminum passenger cars with scale size engines. I have 072 curves so they look fine. I could run 18 or 21 inch cars but they look silly on 072 curves. Plus, since I don't have a massive layout, the 15 inch cars allow me to run a decent length train. The 15 inch cars look fine with scale size F3/F7s and PAs, but not so much with E units. The scale size PAs are about 16 inches, but the E units are longer, so they don't look quite right, at least to my eyes. On the bright side I model the Santa Fe, so name trains were pulled by F3/F7/PA units.

Very nice. I have a early postwar set of American Flyer aluminum streamlined cars. There is something about real metal.

I have an 072 Layout and prefer to run the 15 inch Passenger cars because I think they just look better taking the curves.  I have a couple of Williams 18 inch sets and I just don't think they look as good on the layout.  Attached is a video of my 1950 Lionel 773 Hudson pulling four modern era circa 1991 Lionel Madison cars on my layout and I think they look pretty good.

I used to run AMT aluminum cars on my 042 layout because they looked better than longer ones,

also they are more realistic than Lionel ones. They are abour 14"

BREEZINUP, your 15” sets really are very nice.  Would you happen to know the product numbers for the 4paks you have, if not too much trouble?  Thx

TedW posted:

BREEZINUP, your 15” sets really are very nice.  Would you happen to know the product numbers for the 4paks you have, if not too much trouble?  Thx

Did a little research here, but I think I found all of them. By way of background on the 15" cars (or 16", depending on how you measure) Lionel made 3 types of aluminum passenger cars (at least that's how I think of it). The traditional ones everyone is familiar with, which had silhouette strips; then sometime in the early 2000s they started making some sets (some of them 6-car sets) that had more or less traditional bodies but with detailed interiors and passenger figures (I know they made UP, Pennsylvania, Norfolk & Western and New York Central sets of this type, and there may have been another as well).

Finally, Lionel made a few sets with new, more highly detailed bodies and more highly detailed painted interiors with figures. (The bathrooms even have white sinks and toilets). These later sets had add-on metal details, highly detailed sprung trucks, etc., and (IMO) were the finest 15" passenger cars ever made by Lionel and second to none anywhere. There were only 5 of these type sets made, all cataloged in 2003 Vol. 1 and 2. It seems a lot of folks aren't aware of these sets, which may be partially because they were only made for one year.

There was one set of these highly detailed cars that came only in a boxed set with engines, and that was the UP set, No. 31712, the so-called 50th Anniv. set. It came with an A-B-A set of scale Alco PAs, which were beautiful, but looked too large for the cars. They would look great with 18" cars, but Lionel hadn't started making those yet at this time. I bought the set to get the cars, and sold the engines. One thing about this set is that it included 7 cars, because a sound diner was included in the set, which was pretty nice.

The other four sets were cataloged in 2003 with the four cars sets in Vol. 1 and the two car add-on sets in Vol. 2. You can Google these catalogs and find them. These sets are:

CB&Q California Zephyr - No. 15311 4-car set (baggage and 3 domes incl. dome observation); No. 29149 2-car add-on (2 sleepers)

Santa Fe Super Chief - No. 15312 4-car set (baggage, sleeper, dome and observation); No. 29152 2-car add-on (2 sleepers) (this set is really stunning with its smooth gloss aluminum roofs)

Delaware & Hudson - No. 15313 4-car set (baggage, 2 coaches and observation); No. 29155 2-car add-on (coach and dome)

Southern "The Southerner" - No. 15317 4-car set (combo, 2 coaches, observation; No. 29158 2-car add-on (baggage and coach)

I don't have either the D&H or the Southern sets, but I'm sure they're equally nice.

For the chassis and interior conversion on the Illinois Central set I used the cars of the No. 15340 Pennsylvania "South Wind" 6-car set. This is one of the sets with traditional exteriors but detailed interiors with figures, which work great with the older MPC era aluminum passenger sets. The design didn't change, so the bodies fit on the chassis' just like the originals.

Breezinup,  thank you so much for your time and trouble. I have copied this info for reference. Thx again.  TW

scale rail posted:

That's the only passenger cars I run. Almost all are K-line. I was lucky enough to get some great buys on them and bought a lot of extra cars for long trains. The only one I switched out was a full vista dome car of the Milwaukee Road. It looked a little stubby compared to the same car from MTH. My layouts tightest curves are 072 but it seemed even the 18 inch cars didn't look very good on curves. Even behind my Erie Built FM the 15 inch cars look fine. My only non K-line passenger cars are Atlas RPOs. Also watch the "Little Joes" pulling the K-line 15 inch cars, they look good. Don

Great video.  Great scenery, videography and effects.

Alan

@Breezinup

any chance you want to part with a northern pacific observation car?

great info - thanks

Just FYI, I just listed 3 14/15" AMT aluminum passenger cars on the bay for what I think

are pretty reasonable prices. If any forum member gets them I will give

a 10% refund on the purchase price.  My ebay is JGJG49

Williams Santa Fe Red Stripe, MTH & Lionel Union Pacific smooth side, Williams Amfleet & MTH N&W Powhatan Arrow.

I own a set of Williams Congressional cars, a Lionel PWC Congressional set, and the Lionel PWC set with the orange and blue CNJ Trainmaster. I have a new baggage car on order on the Bay.

These are the only aluminum cars I have. They are made by Williams.

I have the PW Santa Fe set with extra car, PW presidential set with extra car, UP mpc set with 8 or 10 cars and a williams SP daylight set with six cars.   All 15".  I prefer they eay they look on the track.

I've seen many sets of the newer, longer, detailed cars on layouts and they just don't appeal to me.   Plus, I never see any of those people walking around or talking.  They're always doing the same thing.  They seem stiff to me.  

I can't see the people in my cars which gives them more privacy.

I run two sets of postwar AMT streamline aluminum extrusions. These are 14 inches in body length and about 15 over the couplers. Both sets are Santa Fe one is drum headed for the Super Chief the other San Diegan. These fit my 12x14 layout with O-72 curves quite well and look at home behind a 2343 A-B-A set. 

Bogie

Ah, one of my favorite topics. While many have unlimited amounts of space in which to build a layout, many of us do not. Hence my reality. I for one am limited to using 15" long passenger cars by choice and design. My limitations restrict the amount of space I have for any layout.

It is also one of my personal bugaboos, in particular on the part of Lionel's creeping away from cars and locomotives requiring ever larger curves (042, 054, 060, 072 etc.). It is one of the reasons why I have not bought much of their newer products and have sought refuge in older products and other manufacturers' products.

So here's my plea: "HEY LIONEL----- NOT EVERYONE IS FOCUSED ON TOTALLY SCALE PRODUCTS! THERE IS A SIZABLE NUMBER OF US WHO ARE IN THE MARKETPLACE FOR SMALLER PRODUCTS CAPABLE OF BEING RUN ON OUR LAYOUTS (I.E. 036 curves)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree, that is why I stick to almost all prewar, I have some postwar. But almost everything I have 

will run on 027 except for one AF streamliner.