combine car mixed freight consists

Hello to the Board,

While I am still acquiring track for my layout (whose design keeps changing) I have been doing a lot of reading to help decide time period and correct cars. I am leaning towards Santa Fe and have been reading about short consists that ran on the Santa Fe Howard, Kansas District in the '40's and 50's. Since Santa Fe ran mixed freights on shortlines such as this with combines until 1960 it sounds like a lot of fun to model.

The problem I am having is finding a combine car for my shortline. Is there a combination baggage/passenger car made that will serve in this capacity?

I am coming up blank on Internet searches. Please forgive if there is a already a thread on the topic as forum search functions and I don't seem to get along.

 

Usually the older heavyweights saw that type of service although there were some lightweights used by some roads. Try Rivarrossi or Lima cars. And rare but still out there today are the Bachmann 65 footers. Also some roads ran a baggage and a coach on the end. Those cars would not have steam heat or AC since they usually were on the end of a freight and instead had propane fueled stoves and older era would have been coal fired stoves. So a small smoke stack could be found on those car roofs.

 

Here's a PRR Combine on a well-known auction site.

 

There were and I had a number of them. I can't remember who made them for Atlas though I believe Rivarrossi. And there are some of them still out there in a four car set in Santa Fe.

 

Atlas ("Atlas 1st generation N/ca 1970) had a combine made by Rivarossi, Atlas catalog number 2602 and ATSF road number 2602 (NO, that is NOT a mistake- same model catalog number and prototype road number!) It is about as close to prototype as a mass-produced plastic model ever gets, for the rider combine used on the tail end of the Fast Mail. AND it is also correct for ONE ONLY of Santa Fe coach-baggage and caboose combines used on mixed trains. ATSF had 2 or 3 dozen similar combines but only one that matches this model. Or vice versa. I have a photo of it in mixed train service, but I do not have it uploaded to railimages which would tak several minutes.

 

Atlas #2602 as ATSF coach-baggage-caboose in mixed train service


Bachmann shorty combine with paired-windows joined to make wide ATSF-style. Sort of a too-short caricature of a Santa Fe combine. But would run on sharper curves than full-length cars...

 

Thank you for the replies so far.

According to the Santa Fe website the combine used on the Howard District was 70'. Since my layout is a double loop oval with tight curves the Bachmann shorty would look best.

It sounds like I will have to be patient and lucky on finding one.

 

From many of the photos I've seen, the mixed-train combines on ATSF, for some reason, many seemed to be painted maroon instead of Pullman green. I won't make that as an absolute as ATSF is one of those roads that always has exceptions, but I've still seen them.

The Perris, CA railroad museum has one that is an ex-motorcar and is painted 'I'm not sure' but I think is green and has four-wheel trucks.

http://www.oerm.org/collection/santa-fe/2543

OK, well, here, don't take my word for it: http://atsfrr.net/resources/Sandifer/Howard/Consist/Combine/Combines.htm

 

BD Ranch, check your PM.

 

The color is actually Mineral Red. A number of these cars were painted in this color when reassigned to mixed train service. Not sure why the Santa Fe did this.

 

Thank you for the comments so far.

I surfed ebay and found some Bachmann combine cars listed. However they have what I think is called “knuckle” couplers (I am a novice so I may be using incorrect terminology). The problem is my small fleet of rollingstock cars all have micro-trains couplers.

So I do I convert the Bachmann car to use micro-traincouplers? What is the cost of doing so? Remember I am a total novice.

Thanks you in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

If you have MT couplers, you already have "knuckle couplers", as R.I. Straw correctly points out. I would suspect that you are confusing the Rapido with the "knuckle".

The B-mann shorty cars are long out of production. The last time that Bahcmann sold them, they came with Rapido couplers. It is possible that some of those that you have seen on FeePay had been converted to "knuckle couplers".

At any rate, check your PM. I might be able to do better for you than FeePay.

 

There are a LOT of types of "knuckle" couplers. They will all mate with each other. Some are "magnetic" or "automatic" for remote uncoupling, and some are "dummy" couplers that require lifting one car body to mate to another car. Bachmann made dummy knuckle couplers (and red Caboose makes similar) that are direct replacements for the "Rapido" style couplers that came standard on their "65-foot shorty" passenger cars. For passenger trains, I actually prefer the dummy knuckles because (1) they don't have the slinky effect of the MicroTrains couplers, (2) they don't uncouple accidentally, and (3) Red Caboose makes a really short-shank version that allows the cars to be coupled at near-prototype distances, which work with the diaphrams you can add. Since I don't switch passenger car consists, that works for me. If you are going to want to switch your combine with the freight cars in your mixed consist, then you do NOT want dummy knuckle couplers.

Steve

 

Santa Fe 2543 mentioned by Randgust was painted Pullman Green with a black roof back when I was active at OERM. There was evidence of silver roof paint at one point.

 

All I can say is, I'm glad I wasn't drinking my tea when I saw that! I'd be out shopping for a new keyboard now

And OSHA would have some real issues with the uncoupler... [ducking]

 

Geoff Gooderham of Vancouver makes a line of resin kits and one of the models he offers is a wonderful CPR wooden truss rod combine. They are available from Central Hobbies in Vancouver.