Jim,
Thanks for your reply. I checked out Palace Car but could not find any of the Budd fluting so I don't know if they still make it.
I am attempting to use Evergreen Metal Siding, #4527 and doing a little mod to the siding to give it more of a fluting look.
There was an article in Railmodel Journal Nov 2005 that used Proto2000 A&B but the fluting was done with 1/2 rounds, and although it looked good from a distance, it really wasn't fluting. I need to see how the ends look so that I can blend the "siding" with the body.
As for the brass E5's, I always wanted to get a set, but the price was too much for me. I heard that several guys swapped Proto2000 complete frames with trucks and motor for the original drive systems and that little rework had to be done. These improved the overall performance significantly. If you are interested in doing this, you may want to search our Yahoo Group or ask for help from the Group on how this was done.
Thanks for your comments.
Ray Bedard
San Jose CA
--- In CBQ@yahoogroups.com, Jim Goodin wrote:
>
> Ray,
>
> I've been working on a similar project. I can tell you that it will take a bit do work as the side windows are lower and spaced different.
>
> Palace Car make what they call Budd fluting. It is not curved, but extruded plastic. It is along the same line as many of the early brass E5's and passenger cars. I haven't come up with anything for the lower shirting(above the fuel tank) and lower rear ladders.
>
> There was talk about some brass overlays for the sides some time back, but the project died due to lack of interest. I had hoped that would happen. I picked up a brass AB set. They look great, but lack the running quality(in mt opinion) from modern plastic locomotives.
>
> I think the E5's were the best looking passenger locomotives on the road(of course opinions may vary). I'm hope others will share ideas on the project.
>
> Best of luck with your project.
>
> Jim Goodin
> Blue Grass, IA