I have the following Micro-Trains Southern heavyweight passenger cars: (I'm going to run special excursion trains) 1 - Baggage/RPO 1 - Coach 1 - Diner 1 - 12-1 Sleeper 3 - 10-1-2 Sleepers (need to be painted and decaled) 1 - Observation I was just wondering, do I need another coach? Oh, and what order should I arrange the cars? I know the baggage car goes directly behind the loco, and the observation car is last. I could use some help from any passenger train experts. Thanks for all your comments.
A typical heavyweight train was arranged in the order you listed them. The first class passengers in the sleepers were farthest away from the smoke and noisy whistle. The diner was between the coach passengers and the sleeper passengers. Unless it was an all first class train, there were usually more coaches than sleepers.
Oh brother... if I add 3 more coaches, that'll make it an 11 car train... my poor little GP9 Torpedo Tube loco is gonna need a helper.
Well, if it is an excursion train, anything would be possible. And on those old heavy weight sleepers, the sections would be folded down to make coach seats. The 12-1 could hold 24 people in the sections for daytime riding. The 10-1-2s could seat 20 people. The private compartments in each could hold 3 or 4 each for daytime riding.
I just found a hobby shop (Hiawatha Hobbies) that had 6 Southern heavyweight coaches in stock. I ordered 2. If my measurements are correct, my 10 passenger cars will make a train 5.15 feet long, not counting the two GP9s that will pull it. Let's say 6' long in total. I think that'll work okay on my 9'x10' layout (currently in the planning stage).
I wish I could use a Southern Crescent green Pacific steam loco, but I'm modeling the late 1970s and don't have any steam loco service buildings such as a coaling tower. Besides, I don't have any Crescent green cars (they're all pullman green), and I already have a GP7 torpedo tube loco (used mainly for passenger service). Hmm... I hate any green- colored bananas... Give me YELLOW bananas any time...
Surprise! I just bought 2 more new Atlas N undecorated GP7 torpedo tube locos for $60 each on ebay. I have one already, so I'll keep one of the new ones in reserve for parts. Veering off the thread theme, I also bought 5 Atlas N 11,000 gallon tank cars on ebay tonight. Hmm... where is Kisatchie going to put everything? He already has 100's of cars now, and only a 9' x 10' layout planned...
For an excursion train, they look for the most bang for the buck........meaning a 64 seat coach makes a lot more than a 20 seat sleeper. Also most excursions are short rides so no diner needed (unless of course it's a dinner train). Last excursion I was on used a modified baggage car as a "snack car" in the middle of the 5 car set. Sleepers and/or observations would be high dollar units with the riders paying big bucks to not have to sit shoulder to shoulder with other passengers.
And sometimes tourist railroads tube out (remove all the interior) cars like sleepers and turn them into lounges, concession cars and even coaches.
I was wondering if it would be too unusual to say my passenger train is a specially scheduled Southern Rwy "nostalgia" run (using heavyweight cars) instead of just saying it's an excursion train. I dunno... I'm crazy... Hmm... ain't that the truth...
No, You Are NOT! That's what draws us idiotic nostalgia freaks to part with our money. I drove to Strasburg, PA Oct. 2019 just cuz N&W 611 was there steaming her heart out. If SRHA ran the SOU Crescent with a PS-2 and her late heavyweight consist between NOLA to DC, I'd be there in a New York Second.
I used to live in New Orleans up til 2005 when Hurricane Katrina flooded us out. I left the area for 13 years, then I moved to Metairie, LA, immediately adjacent to New Orleans. I got to see the Southern Crescent and passenger cars with a green steam loco a couple or 3 decades ago. Beautiful!
It was actually not usual for excursions and other specials to use the latest equipment. There were exceptions. The Santa Fe's Bedlam Special, for example, was the football special to the OU-Texas game. This ran during an off-peak time for transcontinental travel, and was a popular train (making it heavy and long). So the road culled a couple of Hi-Level coaches from each of the five El Capitan consists. But that was unusual. Most excursions weren't streamlined until most heavyweight cars were retired.
