Northern Pacific passenger trains discussion

Calzephyr Aug 17, 2021

  1. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    I was too lazy to look for some of the original threads dealing with NP... particularly the one(s) relating to the North Coast Limited (NCL).
    I figured that there are enough NP lightweight and heavyweight passenger cars in circulation that consists 'other than' the Vista Dome equiped NCL could be running on somebody's layout.
    I feel Kato has virtually blown an opportunity to put out an accurate Vista Dome NCL because so many other parties have crowded the field for the Loewy version and the Pinetree/Butterknife versions. If a manufacturer creates the two versions of the 'slab sided' coach and sleeper for the Vista Dome NCL... it will be 'game over' for a Kato attempt. ConCor did a really crummy yet passable version of these domes... but they don't look right with the better detailed Centralia Car Shop lightweight cars released over the past 15 years. Walthers(Railsmith) lightweight cars are pretty good but not all are accurate for NCL. Lowell Smith, Microtrains and Wheels of Time have done some nice heavyweights which could be used on the Mainstreeter and Western Star.
    I am sort-of feeling I will be NOT be around by the time Kato gets to doing the NCL set. I have touted Kato's full consist set since 2004 when I got the first of five California Zephyr sets... and have purchased at least one of each subsequent sets. I don't want to say 'Kato owes me' an accurate Vista Dome NCL before 'I kick the bucket'... but all N scalers passionate of the 1940 to 1960's passenger consist should be 'rewarded' with this beautiful iconic train.
    Your thoughts... and feel free to add pix of your NCL or other NP 'named consists'.
     
  2. badlandnp

    badlandnp TrainBoard Member

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    As so many other, waiting . . . . . .
     
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  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I remember when the Con-Cor set came out, forty years ago. It sold very briskly. I would have thought that could be an indicator to someone. But I guess not. Now, all these years later.....
     
  4. ggnlars

    ggnlars TrainBoard Member

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    As usual, there are cars & then there are cars. I have been able to pick up a few Kato cars that have been custom painted for the NCL over the last six months. They come from other sets that were not necessarily NCL common. The real question is how accurate do they have to be. The reality is that there were only two or possibly three passenger car manufacturers that supplied cars during the NCL purchase. They were also supplying cars for other roads. With few exceptions, the external architecture was common for a given type. The internal details may not have been, but those are not very noticeable from the outside. Window location and shape is the most dominate. There are others, but are they that important? The other issue is that the NCL was 17 cars during its prime. That would require a big price tag and or multiple sets.
    The Challenger HO brass set still commands a large price tag per car or set. They are rare as hens teeth. That is probably the closest to the actual cars as I am aware of. Wrong scale & high cost.
    Kato can surprise the market. The re run of the Zephyr sets is one example. Yes they had the tooling & the demand was there.
    Rapido did a decent job on a number of the NCL cars in HO. Again, they have not replicated them in their N scale line. That indicates that they think there are bigger pies to focus their limited resources on. Kato probably sees it in a similar light.
     
  5. Mark St Clair

    Mark St Clair TrainBoard Member

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    Eagerly awaiting the recently tooled Railsmith coach for floor plan 7510. Should be here by September in Pine Tree paint and skirts. Other schemes have already shipped. Lowell just announced the sleeper floor plan 4119. It won't be shipping for a few months. Not sure about the leg-rest coach and domes have been hinted at, but not announced. All that's needed is the leg-rest coach and your conditions will be met. While my interest is the Pine Tree era, I would love to see the NP domes newly tooled.

    Stay safe,
     
  6. ggnlars

    ggnlars TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks, just checked out their site. Looks like they are doing what the op wanted. How do these compare to the Kato cars?
     
  7. Mark St Clair

    Mark St Clair TrainBoard Member

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    One of the reasons I am “eagerly awaiting” the new coach is to find how they compare with existing offerings. Gotta give Railsmith credit for investing in new tooling. Getting the prototype model and paint I want is a big bonus. I’m optimistic about it.

    Stay safe,


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  8. ggnlars

    ggnlars TrainBoard Member

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    I ordered one of their coaches in Loewy NCL paint. Will take some pix to compare with the painted Kato coach that I have. Should be interesting.
     
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  9. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    Too bad ya'll aren't in Z-scale, we got a pretty good lookin' train last year.

    I dunno how prototypical it is, but you can put together a real nice train! The f-units in the Loewy scheme will be out soon too.;)
     
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  10. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Scale. :giggle:
     
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  11. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    Kato has never appeared to be influenced by what else is out there, and I don't believe it has impacted their sales. There are many folks (like me and a few others here) that are passenger fans and limit our purchases to full, matching, prototypical sets from Kato. I salute the many others who won't wait and instead accumulate the best collections that they can (or even better yet, have the time/skills/patience/drive to scratch build and custom paint - I'm talking about you Russell!). That said, I'm sitting here on the sideline waiting/hoping/praying that Kato has the NCL on their radar before I wind up in memory care or the grave (preferably the grave if those are the choices).
     
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  12. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    Passenger trains only existed in museums around here. So I will stick to the freights and stay out of your way. ;)
     
  13. Mark St Clair

    Mark St Clair TrainBoard Member

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    My RailSmith coaches arrived in today's mail. Very pleased with the window arrangement, overall detail and paint scheme. The only car I have handy for comparison is a Kato UP Dome Observation car. I think the RailSmith holds up very well. Looking forward to reading Larry's opinion when his coach arrives.
    RailSmith 47 NCL 210903.JPG

    F-units are due in the next few months and then NP sleepers in 2022. I believe there will be more to follow.

    Stay safe,
     
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  14. nickelplate759

    nickelplate759 TrainBoard Member

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    There are also decals (from Microscale) and car sides available for most of the cars (except the NCL observation).

    This is a simple kitbash from a Kato observation:
     

    Attached Files:

  15. Mark St Clair

    Mark St Clair TrainBoard Member

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    Union Station Products offers an overlay for the NCL observation. I have never built one so cannot comment further.

    Stay safe,
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2021
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  16. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    That looks fantastic!! That said, for those of us without skills, the term "simple kitbash" is a huge oxy-moron. :ROFLMAO:
     
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  17. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    I'm not into passenger rail. So, please explain. Isn't a Vista Dome a car with a second story that has big domed windows for viewing? Or what?
     
  18. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Two types of domes. One full car length and one with the dome in the middle third of the roof. The vista dome is the smaller one while the larger is often referred to as a great dome.
     
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  19. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    (nitpick alert) Great Northern called all of their dome cars "Great Dome Cars" and referred to the full length dome car as a "Great Dome Lounge."

    Just don't ask me what I had for breakfast... :confused:
     
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  20. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    Several years ago... Intermountain/Centralia Car Shops released some Observation cars for the NCL in the Loewy two-tone green which were with a number ("290" IIRC). They also did the Pine-tree 1947 scheme which had names ("Seattle" IIRC). I believe the were two of each version. I really thought that Intermountain/CCS was going to do the Vista Domes... instead they opted for the full length Great Domes. This was a huge disappointment for me since I had purchased all of the Pine-tree and Loewy version passenger cars they released between ~2007 to 2014. I spoke with Ron and Frank Angstead at the 2017 NMRA show in Orlando FL... and they had no immediate intention to do those Vista Domes... UGHHHHH!!
     
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