http://www.rapidotrains.com/ob_n.html I can't say how happy I am to see an iconic New Haven passenger car finally available in N-Scale.
I was living in the Boston area '74 - '76 and never saw an "American Flyer" coach in commuter service even though the survivors did not get retired until '76. Corrugated ex-NH corrugated cars were the rule of the day out of South Station.
By the looks of it, the KCS, SAL and SSW had the Deluxe coaches which are slightly different. You can see them on the Rapido site. http://www.rapidotrains.com/obdeluxe.html Jason
Hopefully this release will be successful enough in N scale that they will release the Deluxe floor plan somewhere down the line like they have in HO. I would really like to have one painted up for T&NO (some of the SSW cars wound up on other parts of the SP system). Looks like some of them may have been used as Jim Crow cars on the SSW before they wound up in Texas.
Great news and a long time coming. Think I remember seeing these through the 60's on the Springfield line, but that was a long time ago.
The B&M was using Osgood-Bradley coaches with the Minute Man between Boston and Troy, NY in the late 1940s and early 1950s. As I remember, they were just another comfortable coach the few times I rode, nothing outstanding or plush. Their body style made them stand out from the usual heavy weight cars with clerestory roof lines, and yes, we called them "American Flyer Cars".
Even after deducting the cost of the lighting circuit, why should these (made-in-China) cars cost roughly double that of (made-in-Japan) Kato or (made-in-USA) Micro-Trains passenger cars?
I would think that because the perceived market for these "unusual" cars is smaller, they do not think they can sell enough to recoup their investment at the lower price of the Kato or Microtrains cars. They will probably not sell well to the mass of N scale modelers, most of whom are not aware the prototype. The people who want them, want them badly, but are there enough of us to buy volume quantities? I believe it is just simple economics.
Steve, the Osgood-Bradley coaches have more and smaller windows. The roof ends are not sharp but curve down a little kind of like the arched roof and Harriman heavyweight cars.
