I just recieved 5 of the just released RPO Baggage Cars from Centralia IM. Once again they have really done their homework on these cars. The car is a model of Southern Pacific cars. Pullman Standard built 2 cars SP 5003-5004 in 1949 for service on the UP SP C&NW "City of San Francisco" train ,which had just recived a post office contract for mail cars. The cars originally had full width diaphrams, full skirting and small windows on the side doors.Later the skirts were partially removed along with the full width diaphrams. Last changes were removal of all the skirting and large single windows in all the doors,which the model represents. These cars spent their entire service life on the COSF train. Now for a review of the models I recieved.The details on these cars are again outstanding. Many of us passenger train fanzees have saved the extra mail bag catcher arms from our Kato Smoothside cars parts and attached them to say old Con Cor RPO cars. Look at the IM car in compairson,the catcher arms are exact scale size,gray colored on the UP Yellow schemed car. The red reflective striping is amazing ,as are the free standing end grabs on car sides and ends.My only color complaint is the Gray is a bit light,but better than the almost white color MT used on their UP cars. Once again the black outlining around the red letters and numbers is wonderful. I ordered a Milwaukee UP scheme car (I know it does not match their real car),the car is numbered 2175. My large book "Southern Pacific Passenger Cars Volume 3 Head End Cars" tells me that MLW 2175 was assigned to the COSF as a regular car. A closer look at this car reveals paint features found on Milwaukee cars, the mail catcher arms are yellow as are certain side grabs. In 1964-65 the SP took delivery of 7 RPO Baggage Cars that helped replace heavyweight cars. These cars 5030-5036 were unskirted,had single side door windows.the side window arrangement of four on one side and five on the other side like the 1949 cars allows the same model to represent these cars. My model is numbered 5035. The mailbag catcher arms are light gray as per proto fotos. The car I recieved in the flashy Red & Silver "Golden State" scheme is very nice eventhough my sources show me that no SP light weight cars of this type operated on this train during the Red& Silver era,other RPO's did. The car number 760 is correct though for a different type RPO Bag used on that train. Lastly is a beautiful Chicago & Northwestern car in the yellow & green colors. It is marked for the "400" Streamliner on the lower car sides and numbered 5200. Now for my complaints about these cars. In order to have interrior lighting,windows were put in the end doors so the little plastic tab you pull out to activate the battery can be used. However, on 90% of the cars that I own even after carefully pulling out the tab (strip) I cannot get the lights to come on using the magnetic wand. The batteries,may not be seated in place all the way or be inserted backwards? at the factory. I do not want to pry off the roofs and risk damage so my cars whith non working lights will probably remain unlighted. Out of my five RPO Cars the lights work on just one car. Check the wheel sets to make sure they are seated correctly in the side frames for free rolling cars. Lastly the working diaphrams on some cars need to be tacky glued back together on their bottom ends,they do not want to stay snap (press) fitted together. Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake,Utah.
