As usual with Pullmans, it is going to depend on (a) era, (b) close
you want to get for a specific car and (c) the assignments you want
to use the car for.
At one time in Pullman modeling, the concept was that Pullmans were
lumped into a pool and you basically took what you got, a nice
concept for modelers. That was refined somewhat to cars were
assigned to railroads. Now we know that cars were assigned to
railroads and to specific assignments, and through the use of some
research we can tell where a specific car was on a specific
day. Which puts a damper on the "just buy the car, paint it PG and
pick a name" concept. If you want to be that prototypical.
In terms of the Walthers cars, they have created a somewhat generic
mechanical A/C version. The Q-assigned cars had a MBT A/C
version. You could retrofit the cars with parts from
Branchline. Just be thankful they weren't steam ejector. Or, you
could buy the Branchline cars that are painted and unlettered and get
the parts therein. I'm not sure about the decal situation. They made
them in PG and unlettered, but not PG & Pullman and unnamed (at least
not in the catalog I have).
Before the divestiture, the decals will be "easy" in that the style
is the normal Pullman. After the divestiture, the lettering and such
becomes a little more tricky, so you have to pick an era - pre-1948
or after 1948. And then pre or post purchase. The purchases didn't
happen right at divestiture, some of the choosing from the list of
cars available for a given railroad took more than a few months into
years. So, unfortunately, an era choice becomes somewhat
necessary. As would an assignment. If the Expo, an 8-1-2 is
dependant also upon a season, because they were summer cars.
The Branchline 10-1-1 are going to fill in a big gap for Expo fans,
as are some new products coming from other vendors. The Solarium
coming is a GN car, but I'm hoping it can be made into a Q car or a
WP car. I'm not going to investigate it until I have one in my
hands, which may be a while.
BTW, Branchline indicated that they are stepping away from kits more
and more. They are seeing less and less kit makers in the hobby and
are going to R-T-R models. Which will be interesting to watch, as
that may impact other vendor choices as well. I just hope their
parts are still going to be available. Right now, they are very
useful for upgrading and modifying older brass and other cars. And
for retrofitting competitors cars.
Note that Hol used the A/C assignment register to determine Pullman
assignments. Further research has shown that the register is a good
place to start, but unfortunately it doesn't provide subsequent
assignments nor assignments of "other" A/C equipped cars. There is a
whole volume of work to be produced to go into the assignments of
cars, line numbers, etc. to really get into car use and how to model
a credible consist on anything but a specific itemized historical
basis (i.e. a conductor's report, car knocker's report, etc. - and
those are not entirely accurate, depending on their use and location).
At 10:31 AM 1/23/2007, CBQ@yahoogroups.com wrote:
>3. Walthers Standard 8-1-2 Sleeper
> Posted by: "Myers, Scott V." svmyers@southernco.com burlingtonfan
> Date: Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:29 pm ((PST))
>
>Recently I asked for comments on the Walthers Standard Diner and its
>accuracy for CB&Q cars. I see the 8-1-2 Pullman sleeper is also on sale
>for $30 through the end of this month. It is available in both CB&Q and
>Pullman options. Branchline also has an 8-1-2 Pullman in Pullman Green
>but unlettered, which I think has been produced. (Maybe someone can
>confirm this.) Both are for plan 3979a shown in the Glick book on page
>44.
>
>As I recall from previous discussions on the Walthers car, the
>Burlington version is incorrect, as it should either be lettered for
>Pullman or the letterboard left blank. It was suggested that buying the
>Pullman rather than the Burlington version was one's best option, I
>believe. Am I remembering this correctly? I see BB#42 on the
>Exposition Flyer has a photo and discussion on the 8-1-2 Pullmans on
>page 246. It shows the "John M. Forbes" with "Pullman" on the
>letterboard and the car name under the windows.
>
>If one uses the Branchline model, what is available for "Pullman" decals
>and for either model, what decals can be used for the car names?
>Microscale set #87-752 CB&Q Heavyweight and Streamlined Passenger Cars
>(1940-1970) does not contain either "Pullman" or the correct car names
>for this sleeper.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Scott Myers
Bob Webber
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