Illinois Central help Please - City of New Orleans Train

DCESharkman May 8, 2021

  1. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    Maybe this is a senior moment or something, but I heard the Arlo Guthrie song "The City of New Orleans",
    and being the passenger train addict I am, I just want to build a model of this passenger train.

    I have the motive power so now I need the car types and possible names. I have a half crazy idea to load a sound file into an ESU decoder to play the song or at least the soundbite

    "Good morning America how are you?
    Say, don't you know me? I'm your native son
    I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
    I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done"

    Are there models that can be used from Kato and others?

    Now I never rode on that train, the passenger era was pretty much over when I was a toddler.

    Maybe this sounds a bit silly, but why not be a little silly from time to time........

    Thanks for the help!
     
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  2. Jim Reising

    Jim Reising In Memoriam

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    David, I'd love to help - but don't have those resources.
    You see, I grew up in Kankakee...and had the privilege of seeing The Main Line Of Mid-America first hand for many years including the last of steam. Seeing one of the great IC streamliners led by those 4000 series E-units was always a high point.
    We would occasionally need to take the train to Chicago.
    The fact that stays with me is the way they would run between Matteson and Kankakee - upwards of 100 MPH and on jointed rail. And it was smooth as silk.
    I'll be interested in in seeing what you get. And I love the song, although my favorite rendition is by Gordon Lightfoot (in a live concert at Ravinia Park north of The Windy).
     
  3. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Exactly !!! (y)(y)

    I have a small (1/4" tall) Yoda that is never in the same forested area. I also have a phone booth...not a TARDIS...that can be found at different places all the time...even between rails in industrial areas. I also have 3 'people mooning' glued to the back platform of an observation car. Funny to see that one sticking out the doors of the 'car shop'...:ROFLMAO:
     
  4. nscalestation

    nscalestation TrainBoard Supporter

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    Hi David,

    I've never heard of anyone modeling this train before, great idea. A quick look on Wikipedia indicated that this train was started in 1947 and pulled by E7's and had all lightweight Pullman coaches. It got some dome coaches in 1967. The lyrics of the song gives some clues - "15 cars", "the club car". Look forward to seeing what you come up with and seeing it run on a layout in the future.
     
  5. acptulsa

    acptulsa TrainBoard Member

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    Putting "consist" in the old search engine helps a lot. It's a good key word for us. It'll lead you to sites like this:

    http://www.trainweb.org/fredatsf/IC-city.htm

    You know how folk singers love to talk, and Arlo Guthrie's no exception. I saw a show where he introduced that particular song by telling how he met Steve Goodman. He finished a show and this guy came up to him wanting to perform a song he wrote. Oh, no, not again, he thought. "Kid, I'll listen to your song if you buy me a beer."

    Said Guthrie, "I got a song and a beer."
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2021
  6. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    50+/- years ago, the J. C. Penney store in Pascagoula, MS, possibly other locations, offered an HO model of the City of New Orleans or Panama Limited in its toy department.
    It's possible that this train might turn up on eBay occasionally. Good luck.
     
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  7. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    I have unpainted E9's for the motive that will get painted up properly, I also have some Kato passenger cars that came out in the 1990's bookcase releases that were never numbered or named, they can be donor cars since the Amtrak and UP sets have been replaced by the multiple newer runs. I just do not know if the body styles are correct.
     
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  8. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    Can't help in that matter. There are passenger stations up here but I've only seen passenger trains in Milwaukee and south. And the cars in Green Bays Museum. Only road the little one out of East Troy to Muskego.
    Good luck finding what you need.
    I do remember and enjoy the song. Maybe you should have played it.
    Also being silly often can be fun. Just have to be careful who's near. :LOL:
     
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  9. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    I am thinking this would be so cool. A simple push of a function key on the throttle and it would play at any point on the layout....(y)(y):cool:
     
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  10. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    I am visiting my daughter this weekend but when I get home, I have a book that lists random passenger train consists from different eras. I will thumb through that when I get home and see what I can find. I have been fortunate in the past to find trains that I was modeling and got good car names for trains like the SP Argonaut.
     
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  11. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    (y)(y)(y)

    Love that ballad as it was sung by Arlo Guthrie.
     
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  12. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    I have the Illinois Central edition of the Pullman-Standard Library series by W. Randall, and I'm pretty sure it has the New Orleans consist in it. However, I'm at college right now and the book is back at home. If nobody else has information, I can check the book next week when the semester is over.

    Another option may be looking at the HO Railway Classics brass model, and I think Union Terminal Imports made this train too. A Brasstrains.com listing or Brass Guide archival listing probably tells you which cars are included in the set.
     
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  13. acptulsa

    acptulsa TrainBoard Member

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    I had dinner in one of those ex-MoPac domes. Two of them and a diner, IIRC, all from the CONO, were set up as the dining areas of a Tulsa restaurant called the Iron Horse. I ate there once or twice circa 1974.

    Their sign was a miniature heavy timber water tower. The IC cars are long gone, but last I looked that sign survives.

    Here's the P-S smooth side dome in happier days.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2021
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  14. Tad

    Tad TrainBoard Supporter

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    As far as Kato goes, the sets are

    106-95 N Illinois Central 6-Car Bookcase Set Includes: RPO, Baggage, Coach, Diner, Sleeper, Observation

    https://www.trovestar.com/generic/zoom.php?id=93952

    and

    106-096 N Illinois Central 4-Car Bookcase Set Includes: Baggage, Coach, Dome Coach, Sleeper

    https://www.trovestar.com/generic/zoom.php?id=93959

    if you can find them for a reasonable, relative, I know, price. Click on the car names and you can see Kato’s photos.

    Eight of the ten cars would be useful for “The City of New Orleans.” You wouldn’t use the sleepers.

    The first Micro-Trains N scale Illinois Central Heavyweight Passenger Set # 993 01 790 includes

    RPO Rd#103
    Baggage car Rd# 794
    2 Paired Window Coaches Rd# 2813, 2819
    Heavyweight Observation/Business Car Rd# 9

    https://trovestar.com/generic/zoom.php?id=150138

    This would give you two to four useful cars, the RPO, Baggage, and possibly the Coaches, if you wanted to mix them in as Extra Service.

    The Walthers N scale passenger cars have been out of production for a while.

    The Walthers # 932-55106 PS 72’ Baggage Car would work.
    https://www.trovestar.com/generic/zoom.php?id=152303

    So would Walthers # 932-55074 PS 64 Seat Coach.

    https://trovestar.com/generic/zoom.php?id=152557

    Wheels of Time did some nice baggage cars.

    http://www.wheelsotime.com/60-ft-bag-exp/

    60 foot: https://www.trovestar.com/generic/i...35748&Series+Name=&Item+Category=&Model+Type=

    70 foot: https://www.trovestar.com/generic/i...35748&Series+Name=&Item+Category=&Model+Type=


    And then there are the Con-Cor cars.

    https://www.con-cor.com/shop/n-smoothside-illinois-central-brown-orange/

    Lowell Smith says that he plans to do some Railsmith Illinois Central coaches.

    https://lowellsmith.net/newly-tooled-coach/


    “The City of New Orleans” can be done if you can find the cars. I hope this helps you in your search.


    You can see some of these cars in my post in this thread:

    https://www.trainboard.com/highball...-photo-fun-march-27-2020.130766/#post-1128913
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2021
  15. Tad

    Tad TrainBoard Supporter

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    Probably not as helpful for “The City of New Orleans” but Micro-Trains is coming out with a second Five Pack for the Illinois Central.

    https://www.micro-trains.com/index....ois+central+&description=true&product_id=3894

    I think it’s cool that MT is doing the second five pack. When I contacted them last year they said that they didn’t really have any plans to do a second five pack. I sent them some research and info on how they could use their existing models to do most of the heavyweights that were regularly on “The Louisiane.” The first MT five pack already had cars that worked.

    Then they announced the second five pack and it has cars from “The Louisiane.” [​IMG]

    I preordered the five pack like I told Ben that I would if they released it.

    If MT releases a couple or few single cars, they could cover the rest of the regular heavyweight portion of the train. Before it’s over, I may have enough equipment to do a second IC passenger train.
     
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  16. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    I can only help in the silly department.

    Related to George's post, When my son was still little, he had some miniature Star Wars figures and we put R2-D2, C-3PO, Yoda, and Obi-Wan on the layout I had at the time (eighties - nineties). He will be 38 in December and those guys are on my layout, today. R2-D2 and C-3PO are on the Atlas footbridge, Obi-Wan is on top of the Con-Cor furniture factory, and Yoda is the Yardmaster.

    Doug
     
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  17. acptulsa

    acptulsa TrainBoard Member

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    Oh, lord.

    Result in delays and wrecks, that will. Understand him no one can. Become normal procedure, confusion will.
     
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  18. Doug Gosha

    Doug Gosha TrainBoard Member

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    On the track, the train is.

    Doug
     
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  19. umtrr-author

    umtrr-author TrainBoard Member

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    Precision railroading it is... not. Oh, wait...

    Meanwhile, back on topic... Tad, thanks for the info on the second IC five pack that Micro-Trains has coming out. I didn't know that it could line up with a specific train.
     
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  20. Tad

    Tad TrainBoard Supporter

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    You’re welcome, sir.
     

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